Concho County, Texas

Concho County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 3,966 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Paint Rock.^[1] Concho is named for the Concho River.

History Timeline

• 8000 b.c. • 1800’s Paleo-Indians in the county leave behind archealogical remains of a burned-rock midden. ^[2] Athabascan-speaking Indians associated with the prehorse Plains culture live in this part of Texas. Later native inhabitants include Jumano, Tonkawa, Comanche and Lipan Apache.

• 1519-1685 Hernando Cortez and Alonso Álvarez de Pineda claim Texas for Spain.

• 1685-1690 France plants its flag on Texas soil, but departs after only five years. ^[3].

• 1821 Mexico claims its independence from Spain. Anglos from the north settle in Texas and claim Mexican citizenship.

• 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.

• 1845, December 29 -Texas Annexation by the United States

• 1846, May 13 - The United States Congress officially declares war on Mexico.

• 1847 John O. Meusebach sends surveyors into the area.

• 1848, February 2 - Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ends the Mexican-American War.

• 1849 Robert Simpson Neighbors leads a small expedition through the area.

• 1858 The legislature forms Concho County from Bexar County.

• 1861

February 1 - Texas secedes from the Union

March 2 - Texas joins the Confederate States of America

• 1863, January 1 • The Emancipation Proclamation. ^[6]

• 1865

April 9 • Robert E. Lee formally surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House.

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. ^[7]

December 6 • The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits slavery.

• 1870, March 30 - The United States Congress readmits Texas into the Union.

• 1874 Ranald S. Mackenzie campaign to drive out remaining Indians establishes the Mackenzie Trail.

• 1879 The county is organized. The county seat is named Paint Rock after the nearby pictographs. ^[8]

• 1882 Eden community is established. ^[9]

• 1909 Lowake community is established. ^[10]

• 1910 The Concho, San Saba and Llano Valley railroad is completed to Paint Rock.

• 1911 The Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway is completed across the southeastern corner of the county.

• 1912 The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe railroad finishes a line to Eden.

• 1930 - 449 farms are operated by owners and 682 by tenants, of whom 619 are sharecropping.

• 1940 Concho County becomes part of a soil-conservation district.

• 1970 Over 100 Czechs reside in the vicinity of Eola ^[11].

• 1985 Texas Water Commission grants permission to impound 554,000 acre-feet of water on the Colorado River at Stacy, to create the O. H. Ivie Reservoir. ^[12]

• 1988 Concho County is the leading sheep-producing county in Texas.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 994 square miles (2,574 km²), of which, 991 square miles (2,568 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (6 km²) of it (0.22%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 87
• U.S. Highway 83
• State Highway 153
• State Highway 206

Adjacent counties

• Runnels County (north)
• Coleman County (northeast)
• McCulloch County (east)
• Menard County (south)
• Tom Green County (west)

Demographics

As of the census^[13] of 2000, there were 3,966 people, 1,058 households, and 757 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 1,488 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.20% White, 0.98% Black or African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 8.93% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. 41.33% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,058 households out of which 29.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.40% were married couples living together, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.40% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county, the population was spread out with 16.10% under the age of 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 38.20% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 181.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 209.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,313, and the median income for a family was $36,894. Males had a median income of $20,750 versus $21,458 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,727. About 7.50% of families and 11.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.80% of those under age 18 and 14.20% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

• Eden
• Eola
• Lowake
• Millersview
• Paint Rock

References

1. ^ . National Association of Counties. . Retrieved 2008-01-31.
2. ^ Handbook of Texas, Concho County [1]
3. ^ The Six National Flags of Texas [2]
4. ^ The Magnificent Life of Vicente Ramon Guerrero [3]
5. ^ TAMU Chieftans of Mexican Independence [4]
6. ^ Government documents, Emancipation Proclamation [5]
7. ^ Cinnamon Hearts Juneteenth [6]
8. ^ Texas Beyond History, Paint Rock Pictographs [7]
9. ^ Texas Escapes, Eden [8]
10. ^ Texas Escapes, Lowake [9]
11. ^ Texas Escapes, Eola [10]
12. ^ Handbook of Texas. O.H. Ivie Reservoir [11]
13. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

External links

• Concho County government’s website
• Concho County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas

Coordinates: 31°20′N 99°52′W / 31.33°N 99.86°W

Categories: Texas counties | Concho County, Texas