Victoria County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 91,319. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is also named Victoria. Victoria County is included in the Victoria metropolitan statistical area, and comprises the entirety of the Victoria

media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...

in Texas.

History

Through colonial times

Paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers, and later Tonkawa, Aranamas, Tamiques, and Karankawa, inhabited the area before the time of European contact. Tawakoni,

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan languages, Southern Athabaskan Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people, who have lived in the Oasisamerica, Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European ...

, and Comanche were later inhabitants of modern-day Victoria County. In 1685, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle established Fort St. Louis. In 1689, Alonso de Leon named the Guadalupe River in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In 1722, Nuestra Señora de Loreto Presidio and Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga became the first Spanish settlement in Victoria County. In 1824, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Jesús Victoria (the future city of Victoria) was established by Martín De León, who started his colony with 5,000 branded cattle and established the county's claim as the "Cradle of the Texas Cattle Industry." It was the only primarily Mexican colony in Texas. In 1835, Victoria's settlers supported the revolution against Antonio López de Santa Anna, but were ostracized by new incoming Americans, many of whom were adventurous soldiers or fortune hunters, who wrongly profiled them as Mexican sympathizers and forced them to flee after the revolution in 1836. Anglo-Americans resettled the area. In 1836, Victory County was formed by the Republic of Texas. It is named after Guadalupe Victoria, the first

President of Mexico The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

. About 3000 troops of the Texas Army encamped near Spring Creek, Victoria County, under the command of Gen. Thomas J. Rusk, as the main defense against a threatened attack by Mexican General José de Urrea. In 1842, Rafael Vásquez and Adrián Woll led Mexican forces in an invasion into the county.

After the Revolution through the Civil War

In 1850, Coletoville was established by German immigrant Carl Steiner. The next year, Victoria County's first toll bridge was erected across the river, built by Richard Owens and Sylvester Sutton. As of 1860, 1,413 slaves were in the county. In 1861m county residents voted 318–88 in favor of

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

from the Union. Victoria County sent 300 men to fight for the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

. Confederate General John B. Magruder destroyed the railroad from Port Lavaca to Victoria in 1863 to keep it out of Union hands. He also sank trees and boats into the Guadalupe River. From 1867-1869, the county was occupied by federal troops. Mob violence by those same troops resulted in the axing death and corpse mutilation of local official Benjamin F. Hill, who at the time was incarcerated for an alleged self-defense killing of a discharged Union soldier. The Gulf, Western Texas and Pacific Railway connect Victoria with Cuero and the coast in 1873. The New York, Texas and Mexican Railway provided the first cross-country route to Rosenberg Junction in Fort Bend County in 1882. That next year, the Texas Continental Meat Company was erected in the county and was the largest meat packing plant in Texas. Bray's Ferry was established in 1886 at the San Antonio River by G. B. Amery and John Bray. Twenty years later, the Guadalupe River Navigation Company was established. By 1930, when oil was discovered at the McFaddin Oil Field, Victoria County held more cattle than any other county in Texas. Foster Air Force Base was established as Victoria Army Air Field as a training air field in 1941. The Victoria Barge Canal was completed in 1967, connecting Victoria County with the Intracoastal Waterway.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, 91,319 people, 32,520 households, and 22,172 families resided in the county. 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, 84,088 people, 30,071 households, and 22,192 families lived in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . The 32,945 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 74.22% White, 6.30% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 15.92% from other races, and 2.22% from two or more races. About 39.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race; 16.2% were of German, 6.2% American, and 5.6% English ancestry according to Census 2000, and 73.3% spoke English and 25.5% Spanish as their first language. Uf the 30,071 households, 37.2% had children under 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were not families. Around 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.23. In the county, the age distribution was 29.1% under 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 91.7 males. The median income for a household in the county was $38,732, and for a family was $44,443. Males had a median income of $35,484 versus $21,231 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 county was $18,379. About 10.50% of families and 12.90% 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 17.20% of those under 18 and 11.70% of those 65 or over.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (0.8%) are covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 59 ** Interstate 69 is currently under construction and will follow the current route of U.S. 59 in most places northeast of Victoria. ** Interstate 69W is currently under construction and will follow the current route of U.S. 59 in most places southwest of Victoria. * U.S. Highway 77 ** Interstate 69E is currently under construction and will follow the current route of U.S. 77 in most places southwest of Victoria. * U.S. Highway 87 * Farm to Market Road 444 * Farm to Market Road 616 * Farm to Market Road 622

Adjacent counties

* Lavaca County (north) * Jackson County (northeast) * Calhoun County (southeast) * Refugio County (south) * Goliad County (southwest) * DeWitt County (northwest)

Politics

County government

Victoria County elected officials

Communities

City

* Victoria (county seat)

Census-designated places

* Bloomington * Inez * Placedo * Quail Creek

Unincorporated communities

* McFaddin * Moursund * Nursery * Telferner

Education

School districts include: * Bloomington Independent School District * Industrial Independent School District * Meyersville Independent School District * Nursery Independent School District * Refugio Independent School District * Victoria Independent School District All of the county is in the service area of Victoria College.Texas Education Code Sec. 130.208. THE VICTORIA COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
/ref> University of Houston-Victoria is in Victoria.

References

External links

Victoria County government's website

''Victoria Economic Development Corporation'' economic development
*
"Victoria County Profile" from the Texas Association of Counties

{{coord, 28.80, -96.97, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1836 establishments in the Republic of Texas Populated places established in 1836 Victoria, Texas metropolitan area