Seadrift is a city in Calhoun 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 995 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the

Victoria, Texas Victoria is a city and the county seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria, Texas metropolitan area, Victoria Metropolitan Statis ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Seadrift is located in southwestern Calhoun County. It is on the northeastern shore of

San Antonio Bay San Antonio Bay is a bay on the Texas Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast situated between Matagorda Bay, Matagorda and Aransas Bay. It consists mainly of the combined waters of the San Antonio River, San Antonio and Guadalupe River (Tex ...

, by air but by road northeast of Corpus Christi and southeast of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. 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 city has a total area of , of which , or 1.98%, is water.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Seadrift has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 Census data

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 995 people, 617 households, and 353 families residing in the city.

2000 Census data

At 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 1,352 people, 488 households, and 347 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 652 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 77.74%

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 ...

, 0.89%

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 ...

, 0.22% Native American, 10.21% Asian, 7.91% from other races, and 3.03% 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 27.07% of the population. There were 488 households, out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% 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, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.34. In the city, the population was 32.8% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $26,339, and the median income for a family was $31,010. Males had a median income of $29,531 versus $21,250 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 $11,481. About 20.6% of families and 25.1% 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 33.1% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Seadrift residents are served by the Calhoun County Independent School District. Seadrift School serves residents from Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade. Residents attend Calhoun High School in Port Lavaca for high school.

1979 incident

Seadrift is remembered for a killing that took place on August 3, 1979. Prior to this date, there had been several negative racial incidents between local citizens and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

ese refugees. As the central area relied heavily on the commercial fishing industry for income, many White natives felt threatened by the increasing number of Vietnamese. On the night of August 3, 1979, a fight broke out between Billy Joe Aplin, 35-year-old crabber, and Sau Van Nguyen, a Vietnamese crabber, which ended with the fatal shooting of Aplin. Within hours of the shooting, several Vietnamese boats were burned and there was an attempted bombing of a crab plant that employed Vietnamese workers. Sau Van Nguyen and his brother Chinh Nguyen were tried for murder and acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. The incident inspired the creation of both the 1981 documentary ''Fire on the Water'' and the 1985 film ''

Alamo Bay ''Alamo Bay'' is a 1985 American drama film about a Vietnam veteran who clashes with Vietnamese immigrants who move to his Texas bay hometown. The film was directed by Louis Malle, and stars Amy Madigan and Ed Harris. Future Texas A&M and Dalla ...

''. In January 2019, Title 8 Productions, LLC premiered an independent documentary called, Seadrift, in Park City Utah. It continues to be screened throughout the United States. The documentary series "Reel South" examined the 1979 incident in the 2020 film "Seadrift".

References

External links

Seadrift Chamber of Commerce

Handbook of Texas Online article
*Reel South documentary "Seadrift" https://www.reelsouth.org/documentaries/seadrift {{authority control Populated coastal places in Texas Cities in Calhoun County, Texas Cities in Texas Victoria, Texas metropolitan area