unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
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 ...
. According to the
Handbook of Texas
The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...
, the community had a population of 100 in 2000. The community is located within the
Greater Austin
The Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area, metropolitan statistical area, or Greater Austin, is a five-county United States metropolitan area, metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas, as defined by the Office of ...
metropolitan area.
History
A post office was established at Mendoza in 1892 and remained in operation until 1911. Sources differ as to whether the community was named for
Antonio de Mendoza
Antonio de Mendoza (1495 – 21 July 1552) was a Spanish colonial administrator who was the first viceroy of New Spain, serving from 14 November 1535 to 25 November 1550, and the second viceroy of Peru, from 23 September 1551, until his d ...
or a local settler.
On December 7, 2009, a Piper PA-46-500TP, registration number ''N600YE'', impacted terrain near the community in a steep descending right turn during an ILS approach in low visibility, substantially damaging the aircraft and killing the pilot and single passenger.
Geography
Mendoza is located on
U.S. Route 183
U.S. Route 183 (US 183) is a north–south United States highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Presho, South Dakota, at an intersection with Interstate 90. Its southern terminus is in Refugio, Texas, at the southern intersection ...
, north of Lockhart in the north-central part of Caldwell County.
On January 30, 1989, Texas State Highway 297 was a route that extended southwestward to Seguin, roughly parallel to
Interstate 35
Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...
. It was to be part of the improved traffic flow around the city of Austin. This route was renumbered as a southward extension of
Texas State Highway 130
State Highway 130 (SH 130), also known as the Pickle Parkway, is a controlled-access highway, freeway and Toll roads in Texas, toll road in the U.S. state of Texas. It runs parallel to Interstate 35 in Texas, Interstate 35 (I-35) in San Ant ...
on December 8, 1993.
Education
In 1905, Mendoza had a school with one teacher and 47 students. It also had a school featured on the 1936 county highway map. Today the community is served by the
Lockhart Independent School District
The Lockhart Independent School District is a public school district based in Lockhart, Texas. In addition to Lockhart, the district also serves the portions of Mustang Ridge, Niederwald, and Pettytown in Caldwell County, as well as the uninc ...