Sandia is an

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 ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Jim Wells 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 population was 326 at the 2020 census, down from 379 at the 2010 census.

History

Sandia was a part the Casa Blanca land grant, issued to Juan José de la Garza Montemayor by

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

on April 2, 1807. The Montemayor family occupied the land until 1852. In 1896, John L. Wade purchased it and established the Casa Blanca Ranch (Wade Ranch). Upon his death, the ranch was divided among his heirs, one of whom sold his share to Joseph B. Dibrell. Dibrell gave the task of dividing and selling the land to Fennell Dibrell and Max Starcke, who founded Sandia in 1907. At the time the streets were platted, there was only one building in the community. Dibrell and Starcke chose the name ''Sandia'', Spanish for "

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

", because of the large number of watermelons grown in the area. The lots in Sandia were all sold within eight months, during which time a lumberyard, a hardware store, two grocery stores, a meat market, a boardinghouse, and a barbershop opened. By 1914 Sandia had 150 inhabitants, a bank, two general stores, and a

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...

. The population steadily increased, and in 1925 was estimated at 200, a figure which increased to 500 by 1927. In 1936 Sandia had three businesses, two churches, multiple farm units, and several dwellings and was a stop on the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. In 1940, it had a population of 300 and fifteen businesses. Sandia had a peak population of 310 during the 1960s and early 1970s. Residents numbered 215 in 1974 and in 1990.

Geography

Sandia is located in northeastern Jim Wells County at (28.019507, -97.878652).

Texas State Highway 359 State Highway 359 (SH 359) is a state highway that runs from Skidmore in southeastern Texas, near Corpus Christi, southwest and west to Laredo at the international border with Mexico. History The 359 route designation was first used on May ...

forms the northwest side of the community, leading northeast to Mathis and southwest to

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

, the Jim Wells

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 ...

. 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 ...

, the Sandia CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.04%, are water. The town is on high ground south of

Lake Corpus Christi Lake Corpus Christi is a reservoir in coastal southern Texas. The lake was created by impoundment of the Nueces River by the Wesley E. Seale Dam opened in 1958. The lake and the dam that creates it are managed by the City of Corpus Christi. La ...

, an impoundment on the

Nueces River The Nueces River ( ; , ) is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, about long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande. ''Nu ...

Demographics

Sandia first appeared as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2000 U.S. 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 431 people, 139 households, and 106 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 158 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 75.87%

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 ...

, 1.16%

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 ...

, 3.25% Native American, 0.93% Asian, 0.23%

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 ...

, 16.47% from other races, and 2.09% 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 61.25% of the population. There were 139 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.2% 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, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.10 and the average family size was 3.63. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 30.4% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $41,786, and the median income for a family was $46,579. Males had a median income of $36,319 versus $22,708 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 CDP was $11,516. None of the families and 3.4% of the population were living 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 no under eighteens and 30.4% of those over 64.

Education

Sandia is served by the

Orange Grove Independent School District Orange Grove Independent School District is a public school district based in Orange Grove, Texas, Orange Grove, Texas (United States, USA). In addition to Orange Grove, the district also serves the communities of Alfred, Texas, Alfred, K-Bar R ...

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Jim Wells County, Texas Census-designated places in Texas Unincorporated communities in Jim Wells County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas