San Patricio is a city in San Patricio County 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 ...

. The population was 384 at the 2020 census. In the 2000 U.S. Census, a portion of San Patricio was indicated as being in

Nueces County Nueces County ( ) is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 353,178, making it the 16th-most populous county in the state. The county seat is Corpus Christi. The county was formed in 1846 from portions o ...

. As of the 1990 U.S. Census, the 2010 U.S. Census, and the 2020 U.S. Census, that particular area is indicated as being in San Patricio County.

Geography

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 ...

, San Patricio, located at (27.959196, -97.773134), has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10.0 km), of which 3.8 square miles (9.9 km) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km) (1.03%) is water.

History

The town was founded in 1829 by

empresario An empresario () was a person who had been granted the right to settle on land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for settling the eastern areas of Coahuila y Tejas in the early nineteenth century. Since ''empresarios'' attract ...

s James McGloin and John McMullen. They had received approval from the Mexican government to settle 200 Irish

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

families on the landHandbook of Texas Online - San Patricio
/ref>—the name meaning

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

, the patron saint of Ireland. Empresario James Power was involved as well. The

Battle of San Patricio The Battle of San Patricio was fought on February 27, 1836, between Texian rebels and the Mexican army, during the Texas Revolution. The battle occurred as a result of the outgrowth of the Texian Matamoros Expedition. The battle marked the sta ...

was fought near the town in 1836 during 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 ...

. With the approval of the General Council, Texas revolutionaries James Grant,

Frank W. Johnson Francis White Johnson (October 3, 1799 – April 8, 1884) was a leader of the Texian Army from December 1835 through February 1836, during the Texas Revolution. Johnson arrived in Texas in 1826 and worked as a surveyor for several empresarios, ...

and

Robert C. Morris The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

collaborated on plans to lead an assault on the Mexican town of Matamoros. Recruiting some 300 men, several of whom were native to San Antonio, they gathered provisions from 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 ...

and

Presidio La Bahia A presidio (''jail, fortification'') was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire mainly between the 16th and 18th centuries in areas under their control or influence. The term is derived from the Latin word ''praesidium'' meaning ''pr ...

for their expedition.Todish ''et al.'' (1998), p. 29. The men needed mounts for their long journey and divided into groups as they traveled toward the coast to capture wild horses. On February 27, 1836, Mexican General

José de Urrea José Cosme de Urrea y Elías González (full name) or simply José de Urrea (March 19, 1797 – August 1, 1849) was a Mexican general. He fought under General Antonio López de Santa Anna during the Texas Revolution. Urrea's forces were never d ...

's advanced reconnaissance patrol discovered

and about 34

Texians Texians were Anglo-American immigrants to Mexican Texas and, later, citizens of the Republic of Texas. Today, the term is used to identify early Anglo settlers of Texas, especially those who supported the Texas Revolution. Mexican settlers of tha ...

camped at the abandoned Irish settlement of San Patricio. In a surprise attack at 3:30am, Mexican troops fired on the

Texian Army The Texian Army, also known as the Revolutionary Army and Army of the People, was the land warfare branch of the Texian armed forces during the Texas Revolution. It spontaneously formed from the Texian Militia in October 1835 following the Bat ...

and killed about 10 (7 of them Hispanics) and captured 18. Johnson and four others who were captured managed to escape and rejoin

James Fannin James Walker Fannin Jr. (January 1, 1804– March 27, 1836) was an American military officer and planter who served in the Texian Army during the Texas Revolution. After being outnumbered and surrendering to the Mexican Army at the Battle o ...

's command at Goliad. One man, Daniel J. Toler, escaped capture. The men killed were buried in the Old Cemetery on the Hill in San Patricio. Grant and Morris's party was also surprised by Urrea's army as they camped at Agua Dulce Creek. On March 2, the Mexicans surprised them, killing both Grant and Morris and twelve others. The survivors were taken captured and imprisoned at Matamoros. In 1846, San Patricio became the second county seat of San Patricio County after

was partitioned from San Patricio County. In 1893, the county seat was moved to Sinton.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 384 people, 155 households, and 116 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 318 people, 113 households, and 89 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 124 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 81.45%

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 ...

, 0.94%

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 ...

, 0.63% Native American, 14.47% from other races, and 2.52% 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 39.94% of the population. There were 113 households, out of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.6% 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, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were non-families. 18.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.22. The population in the city was spread out, with 33.0% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,386, and the median income for a family was $40,313. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $19,063 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 $13,531. About 12.6% of families and 14.9% 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 17.9% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of San Patricio is served by the Mathis Independent School District.
Text list

2010 map
an
2010 list
/ref>

References

{{authority control Cities in San Patricio County, Texas Cities in Texas Cities in the Corpus Christi metropolitan area Irish-American history and culture in Texas Former county seats in Texas 1829 establishments in Mexico Irish emigrants to Mexico