Vidor, Texas
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Vidor is a city located in Southeast Texas at the intersection of Interstate 10 and State Highway 105, six miles east of Beaumont in western Orange County. The area was heavily logged after the construction of the Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway that was later part of a line that ran from Kansas City to Port Arthur, Texas. The city was named after lumberman Charles Shelton Vidor, grandfather of director King Vidor, who owned the Miller-Vidor Lumber Company. By 1909 the Vidor community had a post office and four years later a company tram road was built. Almost all Vidor residents worked for the company. In 1924 the Miller-Vidor Lumber Company moved to Lakeview, just north of Vidor, in search of virgin timber. A small settlement remained and the Miller-Vidor subdivision was laid out in 1929. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 11,440.
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Geography
TXMap-doton-Vidor.PNG
Location of Vidor, Texas
Vidor is located at 30°7'53" North, 93°59'47" West (30.131492, -93.996292)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 27.4 km² (10.6 mi²). 27.4 km² (10.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.09% is water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 11,440 people, 4,222 households, and 3,158 families residing in the city. The population density is 418.3/km² (1,083.6/mi²). There are 4,652 housing units at an average density of 170.1/km² (440.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 97.33% White, 0.07% African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. 3.49% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 4,222 households out of which 34.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% are married couples living together, 13.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 25.2% are non-families. 22.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.66 and the average family size is 3.09.
In the city the population is spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $31,982, and the median income for a family is $37,572. Males have a median income of $35,781 versus $21,054 for females. The per capita income for the city is $15,381. 14.5% of the population and 10.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 19.5% of those under the age of 18 and 8.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Claims to fame
Vidor was the subject of many national news stories throughout the 1990s concerning the attempts of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to desegregate the local housing project in the predominately white community.
The city is the hometown of professional bowler David Ozio and country music singer Tracy Byrd.
External links
- Vidor Independent School District (http://www.vidor.k12.tx.us/)
- Vidor Chamber of Commerce (http://www.vidorchamber.com/)
- Vidor in Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/VV/hev2.html) at the University of Texas