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Benavides, Texas
Benavides ( ) is a city in Duval County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,362 at the 2010 census, down from 1,686 at the 2000 census. History The town is named after Plácido Benavides (1837–1919), namesake nephew of Plácido Benavides (1810–1837), Tejano 1832 alcalde of Victoria, who served under Stephen F. Austin with Juan Seguin, in the Siege of Béxar. Plácido Benavides whom the town is named after served in the Confederate States Army. After the war, he built his "Rancho Palo Alto" into one of the largest ranches in Duval County. In 1880, he agreed to let the county locate a railroad station on his property. In 1881, he donated to establish the community that grew up around the station on the Texas Mexican Railway. In 1882 Archie Parr arrived to manage the Sweden Ranch for the Lott & Nielson Pasture Company. The former schoolteacher and ranch hand was later a rancher, Texas state senator, and the first "Duke of Duval", political boss of the county. His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be defined as a permanent and densely settled place with administratively defined boundaries whose members work primarily on non-agricultural tasks. Cities generally have extensive systems for housing, transportation, sanitation, utilities, land use, production of goods, and communication. Their density facilitates interaction between people, government organisations and businesses, sometimes benefiting different parties in the process, such as improving efficiency of goods and service distribution. Historically, city-dwellers have been a small proportion of humanity overall, but following two centuries of unprecedented and rapid urbanization, more than half of the world population now lives in cities, which has had profound consequences for g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcalde
Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) and judge of first instance of a town. ''Alcaldes'' were elected annually, without the right to reelection for two or three years, by the ''regidores'' (council members) of the municipal council. The office of the ''alcalde'' was signified by a staff of office, which they were to take with them when doing their business. A woman who holds the office is termed an ''Alcaldesa''. In New Spain (Mexico), ''alcaldes mayores'' were chief administrators in colonial-era administrative territories termed ''alcaldías mayores''; in colonial-era Peru the units were called ''corregimientos''. ''Alcalde'' was also a title given to Indian officials inside the Spanish missions, who performed a large variety of duties for the Franciscan missionaries. M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waco
Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the state. The 2021 U.S. Census population estimate for the city was 139,594. The Waco metropolitan statistical area consists of McLennan and Falls counties, which had a 2010 population of 234,906. Falls County was added to the Waco MSA in 2013. The 2021 U.S. census population estimate for the Waco metropolitan area was 280,428. History 1824–1865 Indigenous peoples occupied areas along the river for thousands of years. In historic times, the area of present-day Waco was occupied by the Wichita Indian tribe known as the "Waco" (Spanish: ''Hueco'' or ''Huaco''). In 1824, Thomas M. Duke was sent to explore the area after violence erupted between the Waco people and the European settlers. His report to Stephen F. Austin, described the Waco vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Diego, Texas
San Diego is a city in Duval and Jim Wells counties, Texas, United States. The population was 3,748 at the 2020 census and 4,488 at the 2010 census. It is located primarily in Duval County, of which it is the county seat. Geography San Diego is located at (27.762559, –98.238771). It is west of Alice, west of Corpus Christi, and east of Laredo. According to the United States Census Bureau, San Diego has a total area of , all of it land. Demographics 2020 census As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,748 people, 1,390 households, and 916 families residing in the city. 2000 census At the 2000 census there were 4,753 people, 1,548 households, and 1,187 families living in the city. The population density was 2,917.1 people per square mile (1,125.9/km2). There were 1,793 housing units at an average density of 1,100.4 per square mile (424.7/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 78.06% White, 0.27% African American, 0.78% Native American, 0.02% Asian, 0.04% ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
County Courthouse
A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply called "courts" or "court buildings". In most of continental Europe and former non-English-speaking European colonies, the equivalent term is a palace of justice ( French: ''palais de justice'', Italian: ''palazzo di giustizia'', Portuguese: ''palácio da justiça''). United States In most counties in the United States, the local trial courts conduct their business in a centrally located courthouse. The courthouse may also house other county government offices, or the courthouse may consist of a designated part of a wider county government building or complex. The courthouse is usually located in the county seat, although large metropolitan counties may have satellite or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Berham Parr
George Berham Parr (March 1, 1901 – April 1, 1975) was an American politician, who controlled a Democratic political machine that dominated Duval County, Texas and, to a lesser extent, Jim Wells County. He was known as "The Duke of Duval," like his father before him. Early life George Berham Parr was born on March 1, 1901 in San Diego, Texas. His father was Archie Parr, a prominent local political boss. Personal life Parr was a legislative page at the Texas capitol during one of his father's terms in the Texas Legislature and attended the West Texas Military Academy for four years. He graduated from Corpus Christi High School in 1921, where he played end on the football team that won the South Texas championship. He attended a variety of post-secondary educational institutions, each briefly, and without completing a degree. He entered the University of Texas Law School in 1923 as a special student, but left without taking a degree. In 1926, he passed the bar examina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Political Boss
In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous officeholders in that unit are subordinate to the single boss in party affairs. Bosses may base their power on the support of numerous voters, usually organized voting blocs, and manage a coalition of these blocs and various other stakeholders. When the party wins, they typically control appointments in their unit, and have a voice at the higher levels. Reformers typically allege that political bosses are corrupt. This corruption is usually tied to patronage; the exchange of jobs, lucrative contracts and other political favors for votes, campaign contributions and sometimes outright bribes. History The appearance of bosses has been common since the Roman Republic, and remains fairly common or maybe widespread today. In Spanish America, Braz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas Senate
The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per constituency, based on the 2010 U.S. Census. There are no term limits, and each term is four years long. Elections are held in even-numbered years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. In elections in years ending in 2, all seats are up for election. Half of the senators will serve a two-year term, based on a drawing; the other half will fill regular four-year terms. In the case of the latter, they or their successors will be up for two-year terms in the next year that ends in 0. As such, in other elections, about half of the Texas Senate is on the ballot. The Senate meets at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. The Republicans currently control the chamber, which is made up of 18 Republicans and 13 Democrats. Leadership Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archie Parr
Archer "Archie" Parr (December 25, 1860 or 1859 – October 18, 1942), was a Texas cattle rancher and politician, who was nicknamed "the Duke of Duval County", where he was the local Democratic Party political boss. Beginning in 1914, Parr was elected to the Texas State Senate for numerous consecutive terms, serving nearly two decades, from 1915 to 1934. He had previously been elected as country commissioner, serving for a decade after repeated re-election. He amassed a great fortune through his career. Anglo in ancestry, Parr spoke Spanish and acted as a ''patron'', developing a power base among the Mexican Americans who constituted the majority of residents in the county. He retained their favor by supporting his constituents, showing sensitivity to their customs, and sometimes making cash payments. Parr controlled the party machine in the county. By his death in 1942, his son, George Parr, had taken it over, keeping control until 1975. Biography Early life, marriage and w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas Mexican Railway
The Texas Mexican Railway was a railroad that operated as a subsidiary of the Kansas City Southern Railway in Texas. It is often referred to as the Tex-Mex, or TexMex Railway. On January 1, 2005, Kansas City Southern took control of the Texas Mexican Railway and the U.S. portion of the Texas Mexican Railway International Bridge in Laredo, Texas. The railroad is a vital link in KCS's rail network, connecting KCS and TFM (aka KCS de Mexico). While Tex-Mex remains a separate legal entity, KCS and Tex-Mex are operated as one railroad. History 19th century Chartered in March 1875, the Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande Gauge Railroad built a narrow-gauge line from Corpus Christi, Texas to Rancho Banquete, Texas between 1875 and 1877, and then on to San Diego, Texas by 1879. This line's main purpose was to take domestic sheep from Texas ranches to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and received some funding from Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy. In 1881, the line was so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting against the United States forces to win the independence of the Southern states and uphold the institution of slavery. On February 28, 1861, the Provisional Confederate Congress established a provisional volunteer army and gave control over military operations and authority for mustering state forces and volunteers to the newly chosen Confederate president, Jefferson Davis. Davis was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, and colonel of a volunteer regiment during the Mexican–American War. He had also been a United States senator from Mississippi and U.S. Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce. On March 1, 1861, on behalf of the Confederate government, Davis assumed control of the military situation at Charleston, South C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Béxar
The siege of Béxar (or Béjar) was an early campaign of the Texas Revolution in which a volunteer Texian army defeated Mexican forces at San Antonio de Béxar (now San Antonio, Texas). Texians had become disillusioned with the Mexican government as President and General Antonio López de Santa Anna's tenure became increasingly dictatorial. In early October 1835, Texas settlers gathered in Gonzales to stop Mexican troops from reclaiming a small cannon. The resulting skirmish, known as the Battle of Gonzales, launched the Texas Revolution. Men continued to assemble in Gonzales and soon established the Texian Army. Despite a lack of military training, well-respected local leader General Stephen F. Austin was elected commander. Santa Anna had sent his brother-in-law, General Martín Perfecto de Cos, to Béxar with reinforcements. On October 13, Austin led his forces towards Béxar to confront the Mexican troops. The Texians initiated a siege of the city. Background In 1835 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
