Caldwell County, Texas
Caldwell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. In 2000, the population was 32,194. Its county seat is Lockhart[1]. Caldwell County was named in 1848, after Matthew Caldwell, a ranger captain who fought in the Battle of Plum Creek against the Comanches and later against Santa Anna's armies during the Texas Revolution and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. It is in the Lochart-San Marcos Micropolitan Statistical Area.
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History Timeline
- 8000 b.c. Paleo-Indians Hunter-gatherers, and later Tonkawa, Karankawa.and Comanche, first inhabitants.[2]
- 1519-1685 Hernando Cortez and Alonso Álvarez de Pineda claim Texas for Spain.
- 1821 Mexico claims its independence from Spain. Anglos from the north settle in Texas and claim Mexican citizenship
- 1825 Caldwell County is part of Green DeWitt's petition for a land grant to establish a colony in Texas is approved by the Mexican government.
- 1829, September 15 - Mexican President Vicente Ramon Guerrero, himself an ex-slave of Spanish, African and Native American descent, emancipates all slaves within the Republic of Mexico:[4][5]
1st - Slavery is abolished in the republic.
- 2nd - Consequently, those who have been until now considered slaves are free.
- 3rd - When the circumstances of the treasury may permit, the owners of the slaves will be indemnified in the mode that the laws may provide. And in order that every part of this decree may be fully complied with, let it be printed, published, and circulated.
- Given at the Federal Palace of Mexico, the 15th of September, 1829.
- Vicente Guerrero To José María Bocanegra
- 1836
- March 2 - Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico establishes the Republic of Texas.
- March 6 - The Alamo falls.
- April 21•22 - Battle of San Jacinto, Antonio López de Santa Anna captured.
- May 14 - Santa Anna signs the Treaties of Velasco.
- April 21•22 - Battle of San Jacinto, Antonio López de Santa Anna captured.
- March 6 - The Alamo falls.
- 1839 Edmund Bellinger becomes the first settler of Prairie Lea, the county’s oldest town. Sam Houston names the town for his future wife Margaret Moffette Lea.[6]
- 1845, December 29 - Texas Annexation by the United States
- 1846, May 13 - The United States Congress officially declares war on Mexico.
- 1848
- February 2 - Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ends the Mexican-American War.
- 1860
- County population is 2,871. There are 1,610 slaves.
- Community of Fentress is established, originally as Riverside, later changed to Fentress to honor the town’s first physician James Fentress.[7]
- 1861
- County votes 434-188 in favor of secession from the Union. Several hundred men from Caldwell County serve in the Confederate States Army.
- February 1 - Texas secedes from the Union
- March 2 - Texas joins the Confederate States of America
- February 1 - Texas secedes from the Union
- 1863
- January 1 • The Emancipation Proclamation.[8]
- 1865 :April 9 • Robert E. Lee formally surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House.
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- April 15 • President Abraham Lincoln dies of a head wound inflicted by assassin John Wilkes Booth.
- June 19 • Major General Gordon Granger arrives in Galveston to enforce the emancipation of all slaves. It is the first time African Americans in Texas know of the Emancipation. The date becomes celebrated annually in Texas as Juneteenth, and later as an official state holiday known as Emancipation Day.[9]
- December 6 • The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits slavery.
- June 19 • Major General Gordon Granger arrives in Galveston to enforce the emancipation of all slaves. It is the first time African Americans in Texas know of the Emancipation. The date becomes celebrated annually in Texas as Juneteenth, and later as an official state holiday known as Emancipation Day.[9]
- April 15 • President Abraham Lincoln dies of a head wound inflicted by assassin John Wilkes Booth.
- 1870, March 30 - The United States Congress readmits Texas into the Union.
- 1870’s St. John Colony established by former slaves.[10]
- 1874
- 1887 The Missouri, Kansas and Texas completes its track between Lockhart and San Marcos.
- 1889 The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway connects Lockhart and Luling to Shiner.
- 1892 The Missouri, Kansas and Texas lays track from Lockhart east to Smithville.
- 1880-1900 Tenant farming accounts for nearly half of all the county's farming and as much as 75 percent of the 3,149 farms.
- 1902 The Southwest Texas Sacred Harp Singing Convention is established in McMahan.[14]
- 1922, August 9 • Edgar B. Davis discovers the Luling Oilfield.[15]
- 1927 The Luling Foundation is established by Edgar B. Davis to teach diversity in agriculture and improve the lives of farm and ranch families.[16]
- 1948 Lockhart State Park opens to the public.[17]
- 1953 Luling establishes its annual Watermelon Thump celebration.[18]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 547 square miles (1,418 km²), of which, 545 square miles (1,413 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (5 km²) of it (0.31%) is water.
Major highways
Adjacent counties
- Travis County (north)
- Bastrop County (northeast)
- Fayette County (southeast)
- Gonzales County (south)
- Guadalupe County (southwest)
- Hays County (northwest)
Demographics
As of the census[19] of 2000, there were 32,194 people, 10,816 households, and 8,079 families residing in the county. The population density was 59 people per square mile (23/km²). There were 11,901 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 70.13% White, 8.50% Black or African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 17.66% from other races, and 2.74% from two or more races. 40.44% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 10,816 households out of which 37.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.00% were married couples living together, 13.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.30% were non-families. 21.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.28.
In the county, the population was spread out with 28.30% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,573, and the median income for a family was $41,300. Males had a median income of $29,295 versus $21,595 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,099. About 10.40% of families and 13.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.10% of those under age 18 and 15.40% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities and towns
Unincorporated areas
References
- ^ . National Association of Counties. . Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Handbook of Texas, Caldwell County
- ^ The Six National Flags of Texas
- ^ The Magnificent Life of Vicente Ramon Guerrero
- ^ TAMU Chieftans of Mexican Independence
- ^ Texas Escapes, Prairie Lea
- ^ Texas Escapes, Fentress
- ^ Government documents, Emancipation Proclamation
- ^ Cinnamon Hearts Juneteenth
- ^ Texas Escapes, St. John Colony
- ^ Texas Escapes, Luling
- ^ Texas Historic Markers, Zedler’s Mills
- ^ Texas Escapes, Zedler’s Mills
- ^ Texas Escapes, McMahan
- ^ Handbook of Texas, Luling Oilfield
- ^ Luling Foundation
- ^ TPWD Lockhart State Park [1] l
- ^ Luling CC
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links
| Austin portal |
| Hays County | Travis County | Bastrop County | ||
| Caldwell County, Texas | ||||
| Guadalupe County | Gonzales County | Fayette County |
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Coordinates: 29°50′N 97°37′W / 29.84°N 97.61°W
Categories: Texas counties | Caldwell County, Texas | Austin • Round Rock metropolitan area
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