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 18,198 at the 2020 census.
History
Alton was founded in 1910 or 1911 by citizens and railroad officials of
Alton, Illinois
Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...
.
On September 21, 1989, the
Alton bus crash
A school bus crash occurring on September 21, 1989, in Alton, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley (Texas), Rio Grande Valley region, resulted in the deaths of 21 junior and senior high school students by drowning or causes related to being asphyxiate ...
occurred; a Dr. Pepper truck hit a
Mission Consolidated Independent School District
Mission Consolidated Independent School District is a public school district based in Mission, Texas, Mission, Texas (United States, USA), in the lower Rio Grande Valley (Texas), Rio Grande Valley.caliche
Caliche () is a soil accumulation of soluble calcium carbonate at depth, where it precipitates and binds other materials—such as gravel, sand, clay, and silt. It occurs worldwide, in aridisol and mollisol soil orders—generally in arid or se ...
pit, killing 21 students.
Geography
Alton is located at (26.284307, −98.305940). It is bordered to the south by Palmhurst and to the north and east by
McAllen
McAllen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Hidalgo County. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexican border. The city limits extend south to the Rio Grande, across ...
, although downtown McAllen is southeast of Alton. It is about north of Brownsville.
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 ...
, Alton has a total area of , of which , or 0.04%, are water.
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 18,198 people, 4,566 households, and 3,959 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 4,384 people, 1,059 households, and 988 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,175 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 79.33%
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 ...
, 0.05%
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 ...
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 97.90% of the population.
There were 1,059 households, out of which 58.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.7% 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, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 6.7% were non-families. 6.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.14 and the average family size was 4.29.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 37.9% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 14.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
The
median income
The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...
for a household in the city was $22,097, and the median income for a family was $23,563. Males had a median income of $18,487 versus $15,341 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 $6,230. About 38.7% of families and 42.7% 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 51.9% of those under age 18 and 39.3% of those age 65 or over.
La Joya Independent School District
La Joya Independent School District is a school district headquartered in La Joya, Texas, United States.
The La Joya Independent School District, located in the western portion of Hidalgo County, Texas consist of more than stretching west of ...
.About Alton ." Alton. Retrieved on August 2, 2018.
Much of Alton was in the Alton Independent School District until January 27, 1975, when that district merged into Mission CISD.
In 2018 city manager Jorge Arcaute stated that some families moved to Alton specifically to put their children in the Mission CISD and Sharyland ISD schools.
All of Hidalgo County is in the service area of South Texas College.
Schools
Mission CISD operates the following elementary schools that serve sections of Alton:Proposed Zoning Map 2017 ." City of Alton. Retrieved on August 2, 2018. This map shows the city boundaries and which schools are in the city limits.Mission CISD School Zones " Mission Consolidated Independent School District. Retrieved on August 2, 2018 See HTML version Junior high boundaries are determined by the elementary school zoning, with some optional exceptions, while high school boundaries are described by text.
* Alton Elementary School – Alton
* Arturo Cantu Elementary School – Alton
** Named after Arturo Cantu, a Mission ISD teacher who in 1969 drowned in the Anzalduas Park after rescuing three of his students.
* Raquel Cavazos Elementary School – Alton
* Waitz Elementary School – Alton
* Hurla M. Midkiff Elementary School – Palmhurst
* Salinas Elementary School – annexed into the City of McAllen
Mission CISD operates Alton Memorial Junior High School, named in honor of the Mission CISD students who died in the 1989 bus crash, in Alton. Students zoned to Cantu, Cavazos, and Waitz elementaries are zoned to Alton Memorial, while those zoned to Alton Elementary, Midkiff, and Salinas are zoned to Rafael A. Cantu Junior High School in Palmhurst. Sections of Alton are zoned to Mission High School and Veterans Memorial High School in
Mission
Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to:
Geography Australia
*Mission River (Queensland)
Canada
*Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality
* Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood
* ...
.
There is a Mission CISD alternative high school: Mission Collegiate High School, in Alton. Sharyland ISD operates Jesse Jensen Elementary School in Alton. Sharyland ISD sections of Alton are zoned to Jensen, North Junior High School in
McAllen
McAllen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Hidalgo County. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexican border. The city limits extend south to the Rio Grande, across ...
, and Sharyland Pioneer High School in unincorporated Hidalgo County.
La Joya ISD operates Domingo Treviño Middle School in Alton. The sections of Alton in La Joya ISD are divided between:
* Diaz/Villareal Elementary School and Kika de la Garza Elementary School
* Treviño Middle and Memorial Middle School
*
Juarez-Lincoln High School
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln High School (JLHS) is a public senior high school in the Citrus City census-designated place in unincorporated Hidalgo County, Texas (with a Mission postal address), and a part of the La Joya Independent School District. ...
South Texas Independent School District
South Texas Independent School District (STISD) is a magnet school district headquartered in Mercedes, Texas ( USA). STISD operates magnet schools that draw students from three counties: Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy. STISD covers an area o ...
operates magnet schools that serve the community.
Parks and recreation
Josefa Garcia Park is in Alton. It previously had of land. In 2018
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitat (ecology), habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state park, state's parks and historical ar ...
(TPWD) gave a $500,000 grant to increase the park's size to . The park includes a memorial to the 1989 bus accident, with 21 crosses, one per deceased victim, and a statue of Jesus Christ.