West Columbia is a city in Brazoria 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 city is centered on the intersection of Texas Highways 35 & 36, southwest of downtown

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 ...

. The population was 3,644 at the 2020 census. The

1st Congress of the Republic of Texas The First Congress of the Republic of Texas, consisting of the Senate of the Republic of Texas and House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas, met in Columbia at two separate buildings (one for each chamber) and then in Houston at the pres ...

was convened in West Columbia on October 3, 1836. (It was then named simply Columbia.)

Geography

West Columbia is located in western Brazoria County at (29.141513, –95.647016), about west of the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

Texas State Highway 35 State Highway 35 (SH 35) is a state highway near the southeastern edge of Texas, United States, that is maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). It runs primarily south–north, paralleling the Gulf of Mexico for much o ...

leads east to Angleton, the county seat, and southwest to Bay City. Texas Highway 36 leads north to Rosenberg and southeast to

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Freeport, name of several space stations in the video game ''Freelancer'' (2003) * Freeport, a fictional town in the video game ''SiN'' (1998) * ''Freeport: The Cit ...

on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. 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 ...

, West Columbia has a total area of , of which , or 0.67%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,644 people, 1,398 households, and 984 families residing in the city. 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 4,255 people, 1,607 households, and 1,099 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,755 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 70.15%

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 ...

, 19.51%

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 ...

, 0.40% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 7.83% from other races, and 1.72% 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 18.05% of the population. There were 1,607 households, out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% 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, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.19. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,115, and the median income for a family was $38,090. Males had a median income of $37,981 versus $19,775 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 $15,647. About 14.0% of families and 20.0% 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 24.5% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over.

History

Columbia was established in 1826 by Josiah Hughes Bell when the town was laid out two miles west of Marion, later known as East Columbia. Columbia was briefly the capital of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

from September to December 1836. The town hosted the First Congress of the Republic of Texas when

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

became president on October 22, 1836. The House of Representatives and Senate each met in private homes. The First Congress voted to move the capital to

on November 30 because Columbia lacked living quarters for government officials. On December 27, 1836, Stephen F. Austin died at the home of George B. McKinstry in Columbia. The town, which became known as West Columbia, saw its commerce decline after the government moved away. A post office was set up in 1905. When oil was discovered in the West Columbia oil field in 1918, the town became a center for cotton, oil, rice and

sulphur Sulfur (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundance of the chemical ...

. By 1928, the town's population rose to 2,500, but the ill-effects of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

caused the number of residents to fall to about 1,000. In 1940 there were 1,573 persons living in West Columbia and 50 businesses. During the 1950s, the population increased to 2,100. By the 1960s big oil companies had a considerable presence near town and the area boasted the most cattle in the state. In 1960 West Columbia had 2,947 residents, in 1970 it had 3,335 and in 1990 it had 4,372. In the next two decades the population dipped slightly. Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historic Site is near West Columbia. File:West Columbia TX SF Austin Deathplace.jpg, Stephen F. Austin death place on County 467 File:West Columbia TX Charlie Brown.jpg, Charlie Brown state historic marker on Brazos Ave. File:West Columbia TX War Memorial.jpg, Veterans War Memorial at the American Legion Post

Government and infrastructure

The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

West Columbia Post Office is located at 350 West Brazos Avenue. West Columbia is
General Law
municipality, like approximately 75% of Texas cities. As a "general law" city, West Columbia must operate according to specific state statutes prescribing powers and duties. City Council is composed of five Council members and a Mayor, elected at-large to two (2) year terms in

nonpartisan Nonpartisan or non-partisan may refer to: __NOTOC__ General political concepts * Nonpartisanship, also known as Nonpartisanism, co-operation without reference to political parties * Non-partisan democracy, an election with no official recognition ...

elections. The day-to-day operation of West Columbia falls to a full-time City Manager. File:West Columbia TX Post Office.jpg, US Post Office at 350 W. Brazos Ave. File:West Columbia TX Brazoria Pct 4.jpg, Brazoria Co. Precinct 4 building at 121 N. 10th St. File:West Columbia TX City Hall.jpg, West Columbia City Hall at 512 E. Brazos Ave.

Education

The city is served by the

Columbia-Brazoria Independent School District Columbia-Brazoria Independent School District (CBISD) is a public school district based in the Kenneth C. Welch Administration Building in West Columbia, Texas, West Columbia, Texas (United States, USA). In addition to West Columbia, the distri ...

. Schools that serve the city include West Columbia Elementary School, Barrow Elementary School, Wild Peach Elementary School, West Brazos Junior High School, and

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

. One elementary and the high school are in West Columbia. The junior high and Barrow Elementary are located in Brazoria. There is a charter school called West Columbia Charter School. The West Columbia Library is a part of the Brazoria County Library System. The

Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. 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 p ...

assigned the area in Columbia-Brazoria ISD (including West Columbia) to the

Brazosport College Brazosport College (BC) is a public community college in Lake Jackson, Texas. The college opened in 1968 and offers primarily associate degrees and some bachelor's degrees. The campus features The Clarion, a regional musical performance venue, ...

district.Texas Education Code Sec. 130.170. BRAZOSPORT COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
/ref> File:West Columbia TX High School.jpg,

at 520 S. 16th St. File:West Columbia TX Elem School.jpg, West Columbia Elementary School at 711 Gray St. File:W Columbia TX Library.jpg, West Columbia Public Library at 518 E. Brazos Ave.

Health services

West Columbia is served by Central EMS. There is not a hospital within the city limits. However, Sweeny Community Hospital, Brazosport Regional, Angleton-Danbury Medical Center and Matagorda Regional are all within a 30-mile radius.

Notes

References

External links

*
A photo album of West Columbia

Columbia Archives

{{authority control Cities in Brazoria County, Texas Cities in Texas Capitals of former nations

Greater Houston