DeWitt County, Texas
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DeWitt 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 In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
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 19,824. The
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 Cuero. The county was founded in 1846 and is named for Green DeWitt, who founded an early colony in
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 ...
.


History


Native Americans

Archeological digs UT Texas at Austin UT Texas at Austin indicate early habitation from the
Paleo-Indians Paleo-Indians were the first peoples who entered and subsequently inhabited the Americas towards the end of the Late Pleistocene period. The prefix ''paleo-'' comes from . The term ''Paleo-Indians'' applies specifically to the lithic period in ...
hunter-gatherers A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, especially w ...
period. Later,
Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct language, extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Tonkawa ...
, Aranamas, Tamiques,
Karankawa The Karankawa were an Indigenous people concentrated in southern Texas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, largely in the lower Colorado River and Brazos River valleys."Karankawa." In ''Cassell's Peoples, Nations and Cultures,'' edited by Joh ...
,
Tawakoni The Tawakoni (also Tahuacano and Tehuacana) are a Southern Plains Native American tribe, closely related to the Wichitas. They historically spoke a Wichita language of the Caddoan language family. Currently, they are enrolled in the Wichita ...
,
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 The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...
lived and hunted in the county.


Explorers

The first European visitors to the county are thought to have been
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (; 1488/90/92"Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Núñez (1492?-1559?)." American Eras. Vol. 1: Early American Civilizations and Exploration to 1600. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 50-51. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 December ...
,
Alonso del Castillo Maldonado Alonso del Castillo Maldonado (died after 1547) was an early Spanish explorer in the Americas. He was one of the last four survivors of the original members of the 1527 Narváez expedition, along with Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Andrés Dorant ...
,
Andrés Dorantes de Carranza Andrés Dorantes de Carranza (ca. 1500 – 1550s), was an early Spanish explorer in the Americas. He was one of the four last survivors of the Narváez expedition, along with Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, and ...
, and his slave
Estevanico Estevanico (–1539), also known as Mustafa Azemmouri and Esteban de Dorantes and Estevanico the Moor, was the first person of African descent to explore North America. He was one of the last four survivors of the Narváez expedition, along with ...
of the ill-fated 1528
Narváez expedition The Narváez expedition was a Spanish expedition started in 1527 that was intended to explore Florida and establish colonial settlements. The expedition was initially led by Pánfilo de Narváez, who died in 1528. Many more people died as the e ...
. French explorer
René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name ( Renée being the feminin ...
Texas State Historical Association is believed to have crossed the county on his way westward from Victoria County; and while La Bahia Texas State Historical Association was a common route, no evidence of any settlements exist before the Anglo homesteaders.


County established and growth

In 1825, empresario Green DeWitt Texas State Historical Association received a grant from the
Coahuila y Tejas Coahuila y Tejas, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila y Tejas (), was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution. It had two capitals: first Saltillo (1822–1825) f ...
legislature to settle 400 families. Texas A&M University Between 1826 and 1831 Texas State Historical Association settlers arrived from
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
,
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
,
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
, and other Southern states. A temporary county government was set up in 1846, with the county seat being Daniel Boone Friar's store at the junction of the La Bahía Road and the Gonzales-Victoria road. On November 28, 1850, Clinton became the county seat until Cuero became county seat in 1876. Dewitt County voted 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, and sent several military unitsTexas State Archives to serve. During Reconstruction, the county was occupied by the Fourth Corps, based at Victoria. From April 1866 until December 1868, a sub-assistant commissioner of the
Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was a U.S. government agency of early post American Civil War Reconstruction, assisting freedmen (i.e., former enslaved people) in the ...
Texas State Historical Association served at Clinton. The community of Hopkinsville was established in 1872 by Henry Hopkins, freedman former slave of Judge Henry Clay Pleasants, Texas State Historical Association the judge credited for ending the Sutton-Taylor Feud. Residents began a school that was active until 1956, and established the Antioch Baptist Church. The notorious Sutton–Taylor feud Legends of America began as a Reconstruction-era county law enforcement issue between the Taylor family and lawman William E. Sutton. It eventually involved both the Taylor and Sutton families, the Texas State Police, the Texas Rangers, and John Wesley Hardin. The feud, which lasted a decade and cost 35 lives, has been called the longest and bloodiest in Texas history. April 1, 1866, marked the first cattle drive on the
Chisholm Trail The Chisholm Trail ( ) was a stock trail and wagon route used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in southern Texas, across the Red River into Indian Territory, and northward to rail stops in Kansas. The trail cons ...
, Chisholm Trail Heritage Center which originated at Cardwell's Flat, near the present Cuero. The coming of the railroads eliminated the need for the Chisholm Trail. Dewitt's first rail line, the Gulf, Western Texas and Pacific, Texas State Historical Association extended to San Antonio. The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway, was the second line in the county. In 1907 the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway Texas State Historical Association came through Dewitt. In 1925, the three lines came under the control of the Southern Pacific lines and operated as the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. Texas State Historical Association Passenger service continued until November 1950. The United States Army Air Corps opened Cuero Field, Texas State Historical Association serving 290 cadets, at Cuero Municipal Airport as a pilot flight school in 1941. The school was deactivated in 1944. Cuero and its large turkey-growing industry bills itself as the "Turkey Capital of the World". The turkey industry in Cuero began large-scale operations in 1908. Much like ranchers had cattle drives, Cuero poultry growers drove their turkeys down Main Street to the local packing plant. Cuero Turkeyfest Association, Inc. Each year, the crowds grew to watch the sight and sound of upwards of 20,000 turkeys going through town. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. The first annual Cuero Turkey Trot Texas State Historical Association celebration began in 1912, complete with the "Turkey Trot" dance music of the era. By the 1970s, the event had become a 3-day typical Texas celebration with parades, live entertainment, food booths, and street dances.


Geography

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.


Major highways

* U.S. Highway 87 *
U.S. Highway 77 Alternate/ U.S. Highway 183 * State Highway 72 * State Highway 119


Adjacent counties

* Lavaca County (northeast) * Victoria County (southeast) * Goliad County (south) * Karnes County (southwest) * Gonzales County (northwest)


Demographics

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, 20,013 people, 7,207 households, and 5,131 families were residing 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 8,756 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 76.4% White, 11.0% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 10.0% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. About 27.2% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race; 28.0% were of
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
and 6.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000, and 77.2% spoke English, 20.5%
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
, and 1.6%
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
as their first language. Of the 7,207 households, 31.0% had children under 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were not families. Around 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.53, and the average family size was 3.04. In the county, the age distribution was 23.8% under 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 105.2 males. The median income for a household in the county was $28,714, and for a family was $33,513. Males had a median income of $27,134 versus $18,370 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 $14,780. About 15.3% of families and 19.6% 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 25.5% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.


Education

Dewitt County is served by: * Cuero Independent School District * Meyersville Independent School District * Nordheim Independent School District * Westhoff Independent School District * Yoakum Independent School District * Yorktown Independent School District Of the six school districts, four have high schools. Meyersville ISD and Westhoff ISD students transfer to one of the other high schools in the county. Those high schools are: * Cuero High School * Yorktown High School (Texas) * Nordheim High School All of the county is in the service area of Victoria College.Texas Education Code Sec. 130.208. THE VICTORIA COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
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Communities


Cities

* Cuero (county seat) * Nordheim * Yoakum (partly in Lavaca County) * Yorktown


Unincorporated communities

* Arneckeville *
Concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
* Hochheim * Lindenau * Meyersville * Pearl City * Thomaston * Westhoff


Ghost town

* Clinton


Politics


Notable people

* James Dahlman, eight-term
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
mayor from 1906 to 1930, was born in DeWitt County. * Harlon Block, one of the Marines pictured in '' Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima'', was born in Yorktown. * Roy Benavidez,
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
recipient of the
Studies and Observations Group Study or studies may refer to: General * Education **Higher education * Clinical trial * Experiment * Field of study * Observational study * Scientific study * Research * Study skills, abilities and approaches applied to learning Other * Study ...
of the United States Army, was born in Lindenau.


See also

* List of museums in South Texas * National Register of Historic Places listings in DeWitt County, Texas * Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in DeWitt County


References


External links


DeWitt County government's website

DeWitt County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
at the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
{{coord, 29.08, -97.36, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1846 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1846