Goliad 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 ...

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, the population is 7,012. 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 Goliad. The county is named for Father

Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican Wa ...

; "Goliad" is an

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into the phrase "nag a ram"; which ...

, minus the silent H. The county was created in 1836 and organized the next year. Goliad County is a part of the Victoria, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Pajalat and Siquipil, both

Coahuiltecan people The Coahuiltecan were various small, autonomous bands of Native Americans who inhabited the Rio Grande valley in what is now northeastern Mexico and southern Texas. The various Coahuiltecan groups were hunter gatherers. First encountered by the ...

s, were Indigenous peoples who lived in what became Goliad County. A 1727 Spanish map records them living in the area. The first declaration of independence for 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 ...

was signed in Goliad on December 20, 1835, although the formal declaration was made by the

Convention of 1836 The Convention of 1836 was the meeting of elected delegates in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas in March 1836. The Texas Revolution had begun five months previously, and the interim government, known as the Consultation, had wavered over whether t ...

at Washington-on-the-Brazos. Goliad County was the site of two battles in the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

. The Battle of Goliad was a minor skirmish early in the war. However, the subsequent battle of Coleto was an important battle that culminated on March 27, 1836. Col. James Fannin and his Texan soldiers were executed by the Mexican army, under orders from Gen.

Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. often known as Santa Anna, wa ...

, in what became known as the Goliad Massacre. This event led to the Texas Revolutionary battle cry "Remember the

Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alam ...

! Remember Goliad!" Although many remember the Alamo today, fewer remember Goliad. The site of the massacre is located near Presidio la Bahia, just south of the town of Goliad. In 1874, Juan Moya, a prominent

Tejano Tejanos ( , ) are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent. Etymology The word ''Tejano'', with a ''J'' instead ...

landowner and

Mexican army The Mexican Army () is the combined Army, land and Air Force, air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army. The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National Defense o ...

captain who fought in the Texas Revolution, was lynched, along with his two sons, by a mob who suspected them of murdering a neighboring family in Goliad County. Goliad County is also the birthplace of General

Ignacio Zaragoza Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín (March 24, 1829 – September 8, 1862) was a Mexican Army officer and politician. He is best known for leading a Mexican army of 3,791 men which defeated a 5,730-strong force of French troops at the battle of Puebla ...

, who led the Mexican army against the invading forces of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

in the

Battle of Puebla The Battle of Puebla (; ), also known as the Battle of May 5 () took place on 5 May 1862, near Puebla de los Ángeles, during the second French intervention in Mexico. French troops under the command of Charles de Lorencez repeatedly failed to s ...

on May 5, 1862 ("

Cinco de Mayo Cinco de Mayo (; ) is an annual celebration held on May 5 to celebrate Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza. Zaragoza died months after the battle from an illness, ho ...

").

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 (0.9%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 59 ** Interstate 69W is currently under construction and will follow the current route of U.S. 59 in most places. * U.S. Highway 77 Alternate/ U.S. Highway 183 * State Highway 119 * State Highway 239 * Farm to Market Road 81 * Farm to Market Road 622 * Farm to Market Road 883

Adjacent counties

* DeWitt County (north) * Victoria County (northeast) * Refugio County (southeast) * Bee County (southwest) * Karnes 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, there were 6,928 people, 2,644 households, and 1,975 families 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 . There were 3,426 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 82.62%

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 ...

, 4.82%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.55% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 10.05% from other races, and 1.73% from two or more races. 35.20% of the population were

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. There were 2,644 households, out of which 33.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.10% 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, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.30% were non-families. 22.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.90% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 25.00% from 25 to 44, 25.20% from 45 to 64, and 17.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,201, and the median income for a family was $40,446. Males had a median income of $30,954 versus $20,028 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 $17,126. About 11.90% of families and 16.40% 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 25.70% of those under age 18 and 11.10% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Goliad County is served by the Goliad Independent School District.

Communities

City

* Goliad (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Angel City * Berclair * Fannin * Weesatche

Politics

References

External links

Goliad County Government

Goliad County Chamber of Commerce

Goliad County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''

"Goliad County Profile" from the Texas Association of Counties
{{coord, 28.65, -97.43, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 Victoria, Texas metropolitan area 1837 establishments in the Republic of Texas Populated places established in 1837