Vidor, Texas

Vidor ( ) is a city in western Orange County, Texas, United States. A city of Southeast Texas, it lies at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Farm to Market Road 105, east of Beaumont. The town is mainly a bedroom community for the nearby refining complexes in Beaumont and Port Arthur and is part of the Beaumont-Port Arthur metropolitan statistical area. The population was 9,789 at the 2020 census.

Historically, Vidor has been described as a sundown town, a term used to describe racially homogeneous communities, specifically all-white towns, that have shown hostility to people of other races after sunset. Vidor's segregated public housing practices were formally abolished in 1993 after U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice issued an order to desegregate 36 counties in Texas, which included public housing in Vidor. The Ku Klux Klan responded by hosting rallies in support of an all-white Vidor, though some citizens protested the anti-Black coalition.

History

The area was heavily logged after the construction of the Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway that was later part of a line that ran from Kansas City to Port Arthur, Texas. The city was named after lumberman Charles Shelton Vidor, owner of the Miller-Vidor Lumber Company and father of director King Vidor. By 1909, the Vidor community had a post office and four years later a company tram road was built. Almost all Vidor residents worked for the company. In 1924, the Miller-Vidor Lumber Company moved to Lakeview, just north of Vidor, in search of virgin timber. A small settlement remained and the Miller-Vidor subdivision was laid out in 1929. Vidor was incorporated in 1960.

Vidor had a reputation as a "sundown town", where African Americans are not allowed after sunset. In 1993, after district court judge William Wayne Justice ordered that 36 counties in East Texas, including Vidor, desegregate public housing by making some units available for minorities, the Ku Klux Klan held a march in the community after a long legal battle was lost by Vidor's leaders. Church leaders held a well-attended prayer rally in opposition to the KKK hatred. After four Black families moved into the complex, the residents suffered racial threats, including a bomb threat to the complex. All nine Black residents eventually moved out under this pressure. One of the residents, Bill Simpson, was interviewed about his negative experiences while living there. "I've had people who drive by and tell me they're going home to get a rope and come back and hang me. . . ." During the George Floyd protests of 2020, Black Lives Matter held a rally in Vidor that was attended by a diverse crowd of 150–200 people.

In 2005, 2008, and 2017, Vidor and surrounding areas suffered extensive damage from, respectively, Hurricanes Rita, Ike and Harvey. A mandatory evacuation was imposed upon its residents for about two weeks.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 9,789 people, 3,727 households, and 2,531 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,405 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 91.7% White, 0.4% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.6% from some other races and 5.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.92% of the population.

2022 American Community Survey (ACS)

There are 3,851 households accounted for in the 2022 ACS, with an average of 2.50 persons per household. The city's a median gross rent is $791 in the 2022 ACS. The 2022 ACS reports a median household income of $56,866, with 73.8% of households are owner occupied. 7.9% of the city's population lives at or below the poverty line (down from previous ACS surveys). The city boasts a 59.8% employment rate, with 9.9% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 87.1% holding a high school diploma.

The top nine reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were German (18.1%), Irish (12.4%), French (except Basque) (11.3%), English (8.0%), Italian (2.1%), Scottish (0.9%), Norwegian (0.7%), Polish (0.5%), and Subsaharan African (0.0%).

The median age in the city was 40.7 years.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 10,579 people, 3,969 households, and _ families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,397 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 95.7% White, 0.1% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 1.5% from some other races and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.1% of the population.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 11,440 people, 4,222 households, and 3,158 families were residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,652 housing units averaged 440.6 per square mile (170.1/km). The racial makeup of the city was 97.3% White, 0.1% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.73% from some other races and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.49% of the population.

Of the 4,222 households, 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.2% were not families. About 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66, and the average family size was 3.09.

In the city, the population distribution was 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,982, and for a family was $37,572. Males had a median income of $35,781 versus $21,054 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,381. About 10.7% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Vidor is served by the Vidor Independent School District,
Text list
/ref> which is the largest of the six school districts in the county.

Notable people

* Tracy Byrd, country music artist
* Dean Corll, prolific 1970s Houston serial killer
* Tamara Hext, 1984 Miss Texas
* John Hirasaki, NASA mechanical engineer
* George Jones, country music artist
* Roger Mobley, former child actor, was a police detective in Vidor
* David Ozio, Professional Bowlers Association and USBC Hall of Famer
* Don Rollins, songwriter, co-author of "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere"
* Billie Jo Spears, country music artist
* Clay Walker, country music artist

See also

* List of sundown towns in the United States

Notes

References

External links

City of Vidor – official website

Vidor Independent School District
*

{{Authority control

Cities in Orange County, Texas
Cities in Texas
Cities in the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area
Sundown towns in Texas