Hitchcock is a city in Galveston County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. The population was 7,301 at the 2020 census.

History

Hitchcock was created as a station of the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

between

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

and

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

in 1873 and around the turn of the 20th century, it became a vegetable shipping center. The settlement's economy crashed in the 1930s after insect plagues in the surrounding areas, and the area stayed impoverished until the establishment of Camp Wallace an anti-aircraft training base and the Naval Air Station Hitchcock at the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the end of the war, the bases were used as discharge centers, and some former soldiers settled in the area. Hitchcock was established in 1960 as the area's population boomed, topping out at nearly 7,000 by the end of the 1960s. Since 1984, Hitchcock has been home to the Galveston County Fair & Rodeo. The Galveston County Fair & Rodeo began in 1938 and was held at facilities in Runge Park in Arcadia. In the early 1980s, the County Fair had reached its limits of growth at Runge Park, and plans began for a move to Jack Brooks Park in Hitchcock. The move to Jack Brooks Park was completed in time for the 1984 fair. Hitchcock was affected by

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...

in 2017. The director of community development, D. Joe Wood, stated that

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

was a possibility in the post-Hurricane environment.

Geography

Hitchcock is located at (29.338715, –95.010861). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 34.35%, is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,301 people, 2,880 households, and 2,021 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 6,386 people, 2,434 households, and 1,737 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,754 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 59.96%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 32.81%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 4.76% from other races, and 2.00% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 13.73% of the population. There were 2,434 households, out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 17.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.14. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,848, and the median income for a family was $35,013. Males had a median income of $31,098 versus $22,340 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $14,964. About 16.3% of families and 19.0% 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 ...

, including 27.3% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The Hitchcock Post Office is located at 8120

Texas State Highway 6 State Highway 6 (SH 6) runs from the Red River of the South, Red River, the Texas–Oklahoma state line, to northwest of Galveston, Texas, Galveston, where it is known as the Old Galveston Highway. In Sugar Land and Missouri City, it is k ...

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Most of the city of Hitchcock is served by the Hitchcock Independent School District. Some of Hitchcock is served by the

Santa Fe Independent School District Santa Fe Independent School District (SFISD) is a public school district based in Santa Fe, Texas (USA) in the Houston metropolitan area. In addition to Santa Fe, the district serves parts of League City, La Marque, Hitchcock, and Dickinso ...

Private schools

Our Lady of Lourdes School
a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

elementary school operated by the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

, is in Hitchcock.

Colleges and universities

The Hitchcock and Santa Fe districts (and therefore all of Hitchcock) are served by the College of the Mainland.

Public libraries

The Genevieve Miller Hitchcock Public Library was established in 2015.

Parks and recreation

Each year

Juneteenth Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States, federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the End of slavery in the United States, ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's n ...

is celebrated in the Stringfellow Orchards, a complex previously owned by a slave owner. The

Texas Historical Commission The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the U.S. state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas. The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Histor ...

enacted a historical marker in 1992. In 2004, the site had not been previously maintained, but John Collins discovered it in 2004 and, with his wife Doris, later purchased it. the Collins' remain the owners.

Notable people

Taurian Fontenette Taurian J. Fontenette (born 1983), also known as "Air Up There" and "Mr. 720", is a streetball player from Hitchcock, Texas, Hitchcock, Texas. He is a former player on the AND1 Mixtape Tour, AND1 Mixtape and Ball4Real Tours. He is 6'2" tall and ...

(born 1983),

streetball Streetball (or street basketball) is a variation of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules. As such, its format is more conducive to allowing players ...

player whose nicknames include "The Air Up There" and "Mr. 720" * Randy Hymes, former NFL player who played for Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Minnesota Vikings * David M. Medina, former Texas Supreme Court Justice and General Counsel to Governor Rick Perry *

Michael Sam Michael Alan Sam Jr. (born January 7, 1990) is an American former professional American football, football defensive lineman who is a coach for the Panthers Wrocław in the European League of Football (ELF). Sam played college football for the ...

Free Agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

defensive end, first openly gay

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

player

References

External links

City of Hitchcock official website

Historic Images
from the Genevieve Miller Public Library, hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
* {{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Galveston County, Texas Greater Houston Galveston Bay Area Populated places established in 1873 1873 establishments in Texas Populated coastal places in Texas