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Colorado County, Texas

Coordinates: 29°37′N 96°31′W / 29.62°N 96.52°W / 29.62; -96.52
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Colorado, Texas or Colorado City, Texas.

Colorado County
County
Colorado County Courthouse in Columbus. Built 1890-1891: this 2014 photo shows restoration to original color scheme made in 2013
Colorado County Courthouse in Columbus. Built 1890-1891: this 2014 photo shows restoration to original color scheme made in 2013
Map of Texas highlighting Colorado County
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Map of the United States highlighting Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 29°37′N 96°31′W / 29.62°N 96.52°W / 29.62; -96.52
Country United States
State Texas
Founded1837
Named forColorado River
SeatColumbus
Largest cityColumbus
Area
 • Total974 sq mi (2,520 km2)
 • Land960 sq mi (2,500 km2)
 • Water13 sq mi (30 km2)  1.4%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total20,557
 • Density21/sq mi (8.1/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district10th
Websitewww.co.colorado.tx.us

Colorado County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,557.[1][2] Its county seat is Columbus.[3] It is named for the Colorado River of Texas. The county was founded in 1836 and organized the next year.[4][5]

History

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The territory that is now Colorado County has been continually inhabited by humans for at least 12,000 years. The Coco branch of the Karaknawa are said to have hunted in the area, while Tonkawa crossed the area from the south.

Confederate Memorial Museum, Colorado County, Texas

The first record of a European coming through the area that is now Colorado County was January 20, 1687, when René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, camped along Skull Creek. The party located an Indian village and named it Hebemes. The fourth expedition of Alonso De León may have crossed into the area while looking for Fort St. Louis in 1689.[6]

The area was settled by Anglo colonists who were part of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred starting in 1821. Some families settled near Beeson's Ford, a few miles south of Columbus' present day location. The area was active during the days of the Texas Revolution.[6] Dilue Rose Harris wrote her memoir of the Runaway Scrape from within the boundaries of Colorado County.[7]

The county was one of the original Republic of Texas counties when it formed in 1836.[6] Following the American Civil War, the county had one of the larger populations of African-American freedmen in the state, and was granted a Freedmen's Bureau office in Columbus.[8]

Many European settlers, particularly Germans, as well as Moravians and Bohemians from what became Czechoslovakia, began to settle in the county after the Civil War, although Germans had settled in the area as early as 1830.[6]

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 974 sq mi (2,520 km2), of which 13 sq mi (34 km2) (1.4%) are covered by water.[9]

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

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National protected area

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18502,257—
18607,885249.4%
18708,3265.6%
188016,673100.3%
189019,51217.0%
190022,20313.8%
191018,897−14.9%
192019,0130.6%
193019,1290.6%
194017,812−6.9%
195017,576−1.3%
196018,4635.0%
197017,638−4.5%
198018,8236.7%
199018,383−2.3%
200020,39010.9%
201020,8742.4%
202020,557−1.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
1850–2010[11] 2010[12] 2020[13]
Colorado County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000[14] Pop 2010[12] Pop 2020[13] % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 13,165 12,496 11,761 64.57% 59.86% 57.21%
Black or African American alone (NH) 2,962 2,636 2,222 14.53% 12.63% 10.81%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 40 24 13 0.20% 0.11% 0.06%
Asian alone (NH) 42 75 80 0.21% 0.36% 0.39%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 3 15 0 0.01% 0.07% 0.00%
Other race alone (NH) 0 25 41 0.00% 0.12% 0.20%
Mixed Race or Multiracial (NH) 154 151 450 0.76% 0.72% 2.19%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4,024 5,452 5,990 19.74% 26.12% 29.14%
Total 20,390 20,874 20,557 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

As of the census[15] of 2000, 20,390 people, 7,641 households, and 5,402 families were residing in the county. The population density was 21 people/sq mi (8.1 people/km2). The 9,431 housing units averaged 10 per square mile (3.9/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 72.79% White, 14.80% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 10.06% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. About 19.74% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 7,641 households, 31.1% had children under 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were not families. About 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.56, and the average family size was 3.08.

In the county, the age distribution was 25.6% under 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and % who were 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,425, and for a family was $41,388. Males had a median income of $30,063 versus $20,014 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,910. About 12.3% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.0% of those under age 18 and 15.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

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Cities

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Census-designated place

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Unincorporated communities

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Ghost towns

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Politics

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Like many southern counties, Colorado County was predominantly Democratic prior to the 1960s and predominantly Republican since then. The last Democrat to carry the state was Jimmy Carter in 1976; George W. Bush, Mitt Romney and Donald Trump all received more than 70 percent of the vote in the county.

United States presidential election results for Colorado County, Texas[16]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 7,472 74.91% 2,420 24.26% 83 0.83%
2016 6,325 74.30% 1,987 23.34% 201 2.36%
2012 6,026 74.24% 2,029 25.00% 62 0.76%
2008 5,795 69.38% 2,508 30.03% 50 0.60%
2004 5,488 71.37% 2,161 28.10% 41 0.53%
2000 4,913 67.77% 2,229 30.75% 107 1.48%
1996 3,381 49.90% 2,795 41.25% 599 8.84%
1992 3,286 45.88% 2,442 34.10% 1,434 20.02%
1988 3,723 56.41% 2,847 43.14% 30 0.45%
1984 4,528 64.95% 2,428 34.83% 15 0.22%
1980 3,520 58.75% 2,377 39.68% 94 1.57%
1976 2,991 49.23% 3,028 49.84% 56 0.92%
1972 3,495 69.66% 1,502 29.94% 20 0.40%
1968 2,296 42.22% 1,976 36.34% 1,166 21.44%
1964 1,918 34.41% 3,650 65.48% 6 0.11%
1960 1,909 44.95% 2,299 54.13% 39 0.92%
1956 2,691 61.62% 1,648 37.74% 28 0.64%
1952 3,237 61.19% 2,043 38.62% 10 0.19%
1948 900 28.53% 1,316 41.71% 939 29.76%
1944 638 20.59% 1,517 48.97% 943 30.44%
1940 1,166 41.00% 1,674 58.86% 4 0.14%
1936 372 20.50% 1,435 79.06% 8 0.44%
1932 331 10.79% 2,715 88.47% 23 0.75%
1928 891 33.22% 1,787 66.63% 4 0.15%
1924 681 21.54% 2,105 66.57% 376 11.89%
1920 477 19.27% 765 30.91% 1,233 49.82%
1916 358 24.17% 1,041 70.29% 82 5.54%
1912 106 7.24% 1,204 82.18% 155 10.58%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Colorado County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  2. ^ "Colorado County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ^ Mark Odintz (June 12, 2010). "Colorado County". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  5. ^ "Colorado County". Texas Almanac. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d ODINTZ, MARK (June 12, 2010). "COLORADO COUNTY". tshaonline.org. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  7. ^ LANG, HERBERT H. (June 15, 2010). "HARRIS, DILUE ROSE". tshaonline.org. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  8. ^ Crouch, Barry A., 1941- (1992). The Freedmen's Bureau and Black Texans (1st ed.). Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292724756. OCLC 24320568.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  10. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
  11. ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  12. ^ a b "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Colorado County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  13. ^ a b "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Colorado County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  14. ^ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Colorado County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  15. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  16. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
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Wikisource has the text of an 1879 American Cyclopædia article about Colorado County, Texas.

29°37′N 96°31′W / 29.62°N 96.52°W / 29.62; -96.52

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