Weimar ( or, by many non-locals, ) is a city in Colorado 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 2,076 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Texas-German belt region and was founded and named by German emigrants after the city of

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

, Germany. In 1873, the town was founded in anticipation that the Galveston, Harrisburg, & San Antonio Railroad was going to build through the site. It was originally named "Jackson" after D.W. Jackson, a native Georgian and landowner, but subsequently was called "Weimar" in tribute to the German city of Weimar. Located on Interstate 10 and US 90 between

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 ...

, Austin, and

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Weimar is a small community of predominantly Czech and German descendants.

History

Weimar was founded in 1873 in anticipation that the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway was going to build through the site. The community was first called "Jackson", after D. W. Jackson, a native Georgian and area landowner who donated land for the railroad right-of-way and the townsite. The populace subsequently chose the name "Weimar"; an early record states that Thomas W. Pierce, who authorized Jackson to sell lots at the site, had visited Weimar, Germany, and was favorably impressed. The Weimar post office was established in 1873. The town was incorporated in 1875. After beginning with a few hundred townspeople, Weimar had by its tenth birthday achieved a population over 1,000. As it grew, Weimar established itself as a center of trade for pecans, poultry, and dairy products. By 1877, the town was large enough to make its first city map. In 1888, Weimar witnessed the origin of the first town newspaper, ''The Weimar Mercury'', which currently remains in publication. A strong history of baseball exists in Weimar. Veterans Park (Strickland Field) was ahead of its time when it was built in 1948, and was the first lighted baseball field between San Antonio and Houston. Veterans Park remains a state-of-the-art baseball stadium, having hosted a Babe Ruth League World Series Tournament in 2005. Weimar is where Norman J. Sirnic and Karen Sirnic were murdered by serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz on May 2, 1999. Their parsonage was adjacent to the train tracks. Throughout the 20th century, Weimar enjoyed a slow yet steady growth in population, increasing on average by 250 persons every ten years. Business establishments held their numbers steady at around 70. After a high population of 2,400 in 1976, the town declined slightly in the following decade. In 1980, the population was 2,128. In 1990, the population of Weimar was 2,052, and in 2000, it was 1,981. By 2010, the population had rebounded to 2,151.

Geography

Weimar is located in western Colorado County at (29.702348, –96.779950). 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 , all land. U.S. Route 90 passes through the center of town as Main Street, while Interstate 10 passes through the southern edge of the city, with access from Exit 682. Via either highway it is east to Columbus, the

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 ...

. Downtown

is to the east, and downtown

is to the west.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,076 people, 1,017 households, and 660 families residing in the city. 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, 1,981 people, 817 households, and 522 families resided in the city. The population density was . The 940 housing units averaged 416.3 per square mile (160.6/km). The racial makeup of the city was 67.95% White, 21.76% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.91% Asian, 7.67% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 14.74% of the population. Of the 817 households, 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% 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, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were not families. About 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.99. In the city, the population was distributed as 24.5% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 24.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The

median The median of a set of numbers is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a Sample (statistics), data sample, a statistical population, population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as the “ ...

age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.8 males. The

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...

for a household in the city was $27,667, and for a family was $42,143. Males had a median income of $31,477 versus $16,757 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 $16,272. About 9.0% of families and 13.2% 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 22.0% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Local industries include meat processing, tooling and sheet-metal works, and manufacturing of gaskets. Agriculture continues to play an important role, as Weimar continues to trade in feed grain, poultry, corn, pecans, and beef. The former GH&SA railroad remains in service today as part of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

system.

Education

The city is served by the Weimar Independent School District, which consists of a kindergarten, an elementary school, a junior high school, and a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

. Additionally, a private Catholic school, St. Michael's of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria in Texas, offers education for students from kindergarten through junior high. The designated community college for Weimar ISD is Wharton County Junior College.

References

External links

City of Weimar official website
{{authority control Cities in Colorado County, Texas Cities in Texas Czech-American culture in Texas German-American culture in Texas German-American history 1873 establishments in Texas