Real County, Texas

Real County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 3,047. The county seat is Leakey.^[1]

History Timeline

• 5000 b.c.-600 a.d. Paleo-Indians first inhabitants. Tonkawa, Lipan Apache, and Comanche later inhabitants. ^[2]

• 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]

• 1762 Looking for protection from Comanches, Lipan Apache chief El Gran Cabezón persuades Franciscans and the Spanish military to establish San Lorenzo de la Santa Cruz Mission on the Nueces River.

• 1771 San Lorenzo de la Santa Cruz Mission abandoned.

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

• 1829, September 15 - Mexican President Vicente Ramon Guerrero, himself 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.

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

• 1856 John and Nancy Leakey settle in Frio Canyon.

• 1857 Camp Wood is established on the Nueces River near the site of the former San Lorenzo mission.

• 1861

February 1 - Texas secedes from the Union

March 2 - Texas joins the Confederate States of America.

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

• 1864 Lipan Apaches attack the family of George Schwander in the abandoned ruins of the San Lorenzo mission.

• 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.

• 1868 Theophilus Watkins, F. Smith and Newman Patterson construct a gravity flow irrigation canal from the Frio River that operates for a century. ^[8]

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

• 1879 Indians attack and kill Jennie Coalson, wife of Nic Coalson, and two children at Half Moon Prairie.

• 1881 Lipan Apaches strike the McLauren home at Buzzard's Roost in the Frio Canyon. Last Indian raid in southwest Texas.

• 1910 Crop farming declines in the county, livestock ranching gains prominence, in particular angora goats.

• 1913 Texas state legislature establishes Real County from parts of Edwards, Bandera, and Kerr counties. Leakey is the county seat.

• 1920 Camp Wood township is founded and becomes a railroad terminus to transport heart cedar.

• 1948 Farm Road 337 is completed.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 700 square miles (1,813 km²), of which, 700 square miles (1,813 km²) of it is land and 0 square miles (0 km²) of it (0.02%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 83
• State Highway 41
• State Highway 55
• Ranch to Market Road 337

Adjacent counties

• Edwards County (north & west)
• Kerr County (northeast)
• Bandera County (east)
• Uvalde County (south)

Demographics

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 3,047 people, 1,245 households, and 869 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 2,007 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.40% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 6.01% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. 22.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,245 households out of which 26.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were married couples living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were non-families. 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 5.40% from 18 to 24, 21.50% from 25 to 44, 28.80% from 45 to 64, and 20.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 97.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,118, and the median income for a family was $29,839. Males had a median income of $21,076 versus $18,352 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,321. About 17.40% of families and 21.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.60% of those under age 18 and 15.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

• Camp Wood — city
• Leakey — city
• Rio Frio — unincorporated

References

1. ^ . National Association of Counties. . Retrieved 2008-01-31.
2. ^ Handbook of Texas, Real 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. ^ Handbook of Texas, Theophilus Watkins [7]
9. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

External links

• funrivers.com website with photos of the Leakey July Jubilee and info and links to the Real Co., Leakey and Frio River area
• Real County government’s website
• Real County from the Handbook of Texas Online

Coordinates: 29°50′N 99°49′W / 29.84°N 99.81°W

Categories: Texas counties | Real County, Texas