Placedo is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in

Victoria County Victoria County is the name of several locations: In Australia: *Victoria County, Western Australia * County of Victoria, South Australia In Canada: * Victoria County, New Brunswick * Municipality of the County of Victoria and the eponymous histo ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States. This was a new CDP for the 2010 census with a population of 692. It is part of the

Victoria, Texas Victoria is a small city in South Texas and county seat of Victoria County, Texas. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 as of the 2000 censu ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

Geography

Placedo is located at (28.691936, -96.825904). It is situated along

U.S. Highway 87 U.S. Highway 87 (US 87) is a north–south United States highway (though it is signed east–west in New Mexico) that runs for 1,998 miles (3,215 km) from northern Montana to southern Texas, making it the longest north-south roa ...

in southeastern Victoria County, approximately 14 miles southeast of Victoria. The CDP has a total area of , all land.

History

A settlement has existed at the site since the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

era. The community is named for

Plácido Benavides Plácido Benavides (1810–1837) was an early Mexican-born settler in De Leon's Colony, Victoria County, Texas. Benavides earned himself the sobriquet of the Paul Revere of Texas for his 1836 journey from San Patricio to Goliad to Victoria, warn ...

, a participant and organizer of volunteer troops in the Texas Revolution, and an early settler who established a ranch in the area during the 1830s. The

San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railroad The San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railroad (SA&MG) was a railroad set up in 1850 to connect the city of San Antonio, Texas, San Antonio to the Gulf of Mexico. The railroad survived the American Civil War, Civil War and merged with the Indianola Rai ...

established a station at Placedo in 1860. In 1906, the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway crossed the old line and renamed the station Placedo Junction. Placedo was platted in 1910 and infrastructure improvements, including sidewalks and gutters, were added. By 1920, the community had a population of 300 with a bank, school, and several businesses. Much of the community was damaged during a 1925 hurricane and the population didn't begin to recover until the mid-1930s. In the following years, Placedo's population fluctuated from 400 in the 1940s to 220 in 1949, and rose to 480 by the mid-1960s and 515 a decade later. The number of inhabitants remained at that level until 2000, when an estimated 760 people were living in the community. Placedo has a post office with the ZIP code 77977.USPS – Cities by ZIP Code
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Education

Public education in the community of Placedo is provided by the Bloomington Independent School District. The district has four schools, one of which is located in Placedo
Placedo Elementary School
serves Bloomington ISD students in grades pre - kindergarten through first grade.

Notable residents

* John Sharp, former

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is an executive branch position created by the Texas Constitution. The comptroller is popularly elected every four years, and is primarily tasked with collecting all state tax revenue and estimating the am ...

(1991-1999) and, since 2011, chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, is a native of Placedo. *Jesse Bernal, former University of California Regent (2008-2010), is a native of Placedo. *Josh Looman, lead game designer on the Madden video game franchise, is a native of Placedo.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Victoria County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas Victoria, Texas metropolitan area