Giddings is the county seat of
Lee County, Texas
Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,478. Its county seat is Giddings. The county is named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee and has many Confederate memorials and monument ...
, United States situated on the intersection of U.S. Highway
77 and U.S. Route
290. Its population was 4,969 at the 2020 census.
The city is in Lee county, named in honor of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
History
The land where the city of Giddings now stands was part of the land granted to
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...
in 1821 for a colony in
Spanish Texas
Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1690 until 1821. The term "interior provinces" first appeared in 1712, as an expression meaning "far away" provinces. It was only in 1776 that a lega ...
, and later became part of the
Robertson Colony.
[Giddings, TX]
" ''Handbook of Texas
The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA).
History
The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...
''. Retrieved on August 21, 2010.
![PumpJack](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/PumpJack.jpg)
The city itself was founded in 1871 when the
Houston and Texas Central Railway
The Houston and Texas Central Railway (H&TC), was an 872-mile (1403-km) railway system chartered in Texas in 1848, with construction beginning in 1856. The line eventually stretched from Houston northward to Dallas and Denison, Texas. with branch ...
came to the area. It probably took its name from local magnate Jabez Deming Giddings, who was instrumental in bringing the railway to the area. He had come to the area from
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
in 1838 to claim the land bounty of his brother Giles A. Giddings, killed at the
Battle of San Jacinto
The Battle of San Jacinto ( es, Batalla de San Jacinto), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Pasadena, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged ...
. Another theory is that the city was named after Jabez's brother
Dewitt Clinton Giddings
Dewitt Clinton Giddings (July 18, 1827 – August 19, 1903) served three non-consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives as a representative from Texas.
Early life
Dewitt Clinton Giddings was born July 18, 1827, in Susquehan ...
.
Early settlers in the new town were mostly pioneers from the surrounding communities, such as Old Evergreen and Shady Grove. The majority of these people were ethnically British Isles natives, but a sizable minority were
Wendish families from the
Serbin area. They would later establish the German-language newspaper ''
Deutsches Volksblatt''.
A syndicate headed by
William Marsh Rice
William Marsh Rice (March 14, 1816 – September 23, 1900) was an American businessman who bequeathed his fortune to found Rice University in Houston, Texas. Rice was murdered by his valet Charles F. Jones while sleeping. The murder was pa ...
owned the whole townsite and sold property to settlers. Later, Rice Institute (now
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
) in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
had control and sold the lots.
Wide streets were a distinguishing characteristic of the town; the two main thoroughfares (Main and Austin Streets) were 100 feet (30 m) wide, and other streets were 80 feet (24 m) wide. The town's first church, established in 1871, was Methodist. J. D. Giddings Masonic Lodge, chartered in Evergreen in 1865, moved to Giddings, and early churches and a public school met in its building. Soon after the Civil War, freed slaves from farms and plantations settled in Giddings. Classes for more than 50 black students were held in a church in 1883, and the first black public school was built in 1887.
Giddings became the county seat when Lee County was established in 1874. Early businesses included the Granger store, a blacksmith shop and saloon, a millinery shop, a saddle and harness shop, and an oil mill. Brick buildings came in 1875. The courthouse built in 1878 burned and was replaced in 1899. Fletcher House, built in 1879 by August W. Schubert, was sold to the Missouri Synod of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in 1894 to house Concordia Lutheran College. By 1890, the town was part of a rich cotton-growing area with access to the
San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway
The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway first began operation in the U.S. state of Texas in 1886. It was developed by Uriah Lott and businessmen of San Antonio as a direct route from the city to Aransas Bay on the Texas Gulf coast. It was eventual ...
, several gins, an opera house, newspapers, and a population estimated at 1,000. The
First National Bank was opened in 1890 and was still in operation more than a century later. The town was incorporated in 1913 and had a population of 2,000 by 1914.
In the early 1980s, the oil-laden Austin chalk that underlies the town was tapped, and the area experienced an oil boom. Some 300 oil-related businesses located in the town, and many oil rigs were operating in outlying areas. In the late 1980s, however, the oil activities decreased almost to a standstill. The population of Giddings in 1988 was 5,178. In 1990, local businesses included a hospital, a medical clinic, a dialysis clinic, a chiropractic clinic, two nursing homes, a library, motels, restaurants, two newspapers, a peanut mill, Invader Boat Manufacturing Company, and Nutrena-Cargill Mills. Nineteen churches were in the city.
Geography
Giddings is located at (30.183116, –96.934614).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which (0.58%) is covered by water.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
describes the weather as
humid subtropical
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
, ''Cfa''.
Demographics
As of the
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, 4,969 people, 1,685 households, and 1,364 families were residing in the city.
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, 5,105 people, 1,639 households, and 1,125 families resided in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 991.9 people per square mile (382.7/km). The 1,852 housing units averaged 359.9 per square mile (138.8/km). The
racial makeup
A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 65.99% White, 13.26% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 16.47% from other races, and 3.19% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 34.73% of the population.
Of the 1,639 households, 38.1% had children under 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were not families. About 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.74, and the average family size was 3.39.
In the city, the age distribution was 31.3% under 18, 13.5% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 15.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.4 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 98.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,046, and for a family was $37,115. Males had a median income of $27,370 versus $21,706 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $14,768. About 13.8% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 20.5% of those under 18 and 12.0% of those 65 or over.
Economy
Compared to other places, Giddings has an unusually high number of mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (6.46 times higher than expected), other services except public administration (2.55 times), and transportation and warehousing (2.24 times) industries. From 2016 to 2017, employment in Giddings grew at a rate of 4.79%, from 2300 to 2410 employees.
Major employers include:
Altman Plants. Headquartered in California, the company has a total greenhouse area of 38 acres and 20 docks at the Giddings facility that equip the company to effectively and efficiently turn quality material around from the greenhouse to regional retail garden centers.
KaemarkThe nation's largest manufacturer of salon furnishings, the company's headquarters in Giddings features a =10,000 sq ft showroom facility where buyers can view hundreds of different types of salon equipment including Made In The USA styling stations, shampoo bowls, wet stations, reception desks and more.
Giddings State School. Giddings State School is a juvenile correctional facility of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department located in unincorporated Lee County, Texas, near Giddings.
The Giddings Seed Laboratory (previously Pieratt's Seed Lab
), a project of the
Texas Department of Agriculture
The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) is a state agency within the state of Texas, which is responsible for matters pertaining to agriculture, rural community affairs, and related matters. It is currently headed by Agriculture Commissioner S ...
, is located in Giddings.
The
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
operates the Giddings Post Office in Giddings.
Giddings is a part of the Rural Capital Area Workforce Development Board and the area is served b
Workforce Solutionsin a community partnership that provides no cost recruitment, employment, and information services to businesses and job seekers in the nine-county Rural Capital Area
The business community is served by both th
Giddings Economic Development Corporationand th
Small Business Development - Texas State each of who assist existing businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs with free face-to-face business consulting and at-cost business
In 2014, the Giddings Economic Development (GEDC) purchased 165 acres of land on the east side of town with highway frontage for the development of the Giddings 290 Business Park. The GEDC broke ground on construction in the spring 2015. The GEDC also expanded its office space to a new location along Hwy 290 to increase visibility and to provide more amenities to clients.
Education
The City of Giddings is served by the
Giddings Independent School District
Giddings Independent School District is a public school district based in Giddings, Texas ( USA).
In addition to Giddings, the district also serves rural areas in southern Lee County as well as very small portions of neighboring Fayette and Wa ...
. Giddings High School is a 9th-12th grade campus located in Giddings, Texas. The campus is a member of District 13-AAAA Div.2 with an enrollment of 657 students.
The
Texas Youth Commission
The Texas Youth Commission (TYC) was a Texas state agency which operated juvenile corrections facilities in the state. The commission was headquartered in the Brown-Heatly Building in Austin. As of 2007, it was the second largest juvenile correct ...
operates the
Giddings State School
Giddings State School is a juvenile correctional facility of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department located in unincorporated Lee County, Texas, near Giddings.[unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to:
* Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality
* Unincorporated entity, a type of organization
* Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...]
Lee County, near Giddings.
The
Texas Legislature
The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...
designates most of Lee County (Giddings included) as being in the
Blinn Junior College
Blinn College is a public junior college in Brenham, Texas, with additional campuses in Bryan, Schulenburg, and Sealy. Brenham is Blinn's main campus, with dormitories and apartments.
History
Blinn was established as Mission Institute in 1884 ...
district.
Media
Local newspapers serving Giddings and Lee County at large are presently the ''Giddings Times and News'' and the ''Lexington Leader''.
A local radio station
KGID, Inc. FM 96.3 has operated since 2018.
The
Giddings ''Deutsches Volksblatt'', a trilingual German-English-Wendish/Sorbian newspaper, was published in Giddings.
Arts and culture
![Giddings fire dept](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Giddings_fire_dept.png)
In 2015, the city of Giddings, the Giddings Economic Development Corporation and members of the American Legion launched Phase I of the Veterans Memorial Wall Project. The Lee County Veterans Association was created to manage and conduct fundraising for the project which broke ground in Spring 2020.
The
Wendish heritage in Giddings is celebrated annually in nearby
Serbin, Texas, put on by the Texas Wendish Heritage Society. It occurs on the fourth Sunday every September.
Th
Giddings Area Chamber of Commerceoperates th
Lee County Heritage Center/ Hubert-Fletcher Home
The City Meat Market restaurant at the corner of Austin and Main Streets was rated one of the 50 best places for
barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...
by''
Texas Monthly
''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...
''.
In 2017, Texas Monthly Magazine selected Snow's BBQ as Best BBQ in Texas, thereby elevating female pitmaster
Tootsie Tomanetz
''Tootsie'' is a 1982 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Dustin Hoffman. Its supporting cast includes Pollack, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Bill Murray, Charles Durning, George Gayn ...
to regional celebrity status one week before her 85th birthday. The business was previously honored with this award in 2008. Tomanetz is slated to appear in the Netflix documentary
Chef's Table.
The Historic Freight Station and Depot Complex is located in Downtown Giddings. Property owner Giddings Economic Development Corporation has leased one of the freight stations t
Dime Box Distilleryfor use as a tasting room and bottling operation and another building for use as a Brewhaus and German Restaurant, currently under development.
In popular culture
The 2021 season of the Netflix series ''Chef's Table'' takes a look at barbecue around the world and will feature Lee County pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz.
Notable people
*
Gwendolyn Bennett
Gwendolyn B. Bennett (July 8, 1902 – May 30, 1981) was an American artist, writer, and journalist who contributed to '' Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life'', which chronicled cultural advancements during the Harlem Renaissance. Though ofte ...
(born in Giddings in 1902), a major
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...
figure, poet, short story writer, and art news and criticism column "Ebony Flute," ''Opportunity'' magazine
*
Bill Longley (gunfighter)
William Preston Longley (October 6, 1851 – October 11, 1878), also known as Wild Bill Longley, was an American Old West outlaw and gunfighter noted for his ruthless nature, speed with a gun, quick temper, and unpredictable demeanor. He is consi ...
,
outlaw
An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...
hanged in Giddings in 1878; a character of the same name is the hero of the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''
The Texan'', starring
Rory Calhoun
Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as ''How to Marry a Millio ...
[Billy Hathorn, "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967", '' West Texas Historical Review'', Vol. 89 (2013), pp. 113-115]
*
Gus Mutscher
Gus Franklin Mutscher (November 19, 1932 – February 26, 2023) was an American politician who was Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Texas House of Re ...
, former
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives. The Speaker's main duties are to conduct meetings of the House, appoint committees, and enforce the Rules of the House. The current s ...
*
David J. Porter (born 1956),
Texas Railroad Commission
The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC; also sometimes called the Texas Railroad Commission, TRC) is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and su ...
er; unseated incumbent
Victor G. Carrillo
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
in the 2010 Republican
primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
;
Certified Public Accountant
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
in Giddings
*
Hilton Smith
Hilton Lee Smith (February 27, 1907 – November 18, 1983) was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro league baseball. He pitched alongside Satchel Paige for the Kansas City Monarchs between 1932 and 1948. He was inducted into the National B ...
, pitcher in Negro-league baseball
*
Tootsie Tomanetz
''Tootsie'' is a 1982 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Dustin Hoffman. Its supporting cast includes Pollack, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Bill Murray, Charles Durning, George Gayn ...
, pitmaster of Snow's BBQ, twice voted by ''Texas Monthly'' as Best BBQ in Texas
*
Larry Wade
Larry Wade (born November 22, 1974 in Giddings, Texas) (Graduated from Elgin High School) is an American former track and field athlete who specialized in the 110 metres hurdles. His personal best is a time of 13.01 seconds, achieved in July 1999 ...
, World Class 110 Hurdler and NCAA Champion in 110 Hurdles (Texas A&M University)\
References
External links
*
Handbook of Texas Online about Giddings
{{Authority control
Cities in Texas
Cities in Lee County, Texas
County seats in Texas
Sorbian-American culture in Texas
Populated places established in 1871
1871 establishments in Texas