St. Hedwig is a rural town in

Bexar County Bexar County ( or ; ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324, making it the state's fourth-most populous county. Bexar 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 founded by German and Polish emigrants in 1852. The population was 2,227 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

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 ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was founded by German and Polish emigrants and named after Saint Hedwig, a prominent Germanic saint in the Catholic Church.

History

The town was founded by John Demmer in 1852 when he moved to the area from his native

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

(modern day Poland). In 1856, four more Silesians immigrated to the area and built the site's first Catholic Church, Annunciation (under the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio The Archdiocese of San Antonio () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It encompasses in the U.S. state of Texas. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio had a self-reported 2018 population of 796,954, ...

). In 1860, a post office named Cottage Hill was opened, but was later renamed St. Hedwig after the patron saint of Silesia. By 1868, the community had built a stone church, and in 1897, the town boasted 200 families, mainly from Poland and Germany. To this day, most of the area's residents can trace their ancestry back to Poland and Germany.

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 ...

, St. Hedwig has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,227 people, 790 households, and 573 families residing in the town.

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 1,875 people, 653 households, and 543 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 687 housing units at an average density of 22.8 per square mile (8.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 91.95%

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 ...

, 2.88%

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 ...

, 0.32% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.05%

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 ...

, 2.67% from other races, and 1.92% 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 10.35% of the population. There were 653 households, out of which 40.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.0% 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, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.7% were non-families. 13.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.17. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.2% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $55,481, and the median income for a family was $58,603. Males had a median income of $34,615 versus $27,700 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 town was $19,477. About 4.1% of families and 6.7% 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 9.3% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most of St. Hedwig is in East Central Independent School District. A portion is in Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District.
Text list
/ref> East Central ISD operates Tradition Elementary in St. Hedwig. East Central High School is that district's comprehensive high school.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Hedwig, Texas Towns in Bexar County, Texas Towns in Texas Greater San Antonio Populated places established in 1852 Silesian-American culture in Texas Silesian-American history 1852 establishments in Texas