Columbus, Texas

Columbus, Texas
—  City  —
Location of Columbus, Texas
Coordinates: 29°42′21″N 96°32′46″W / 29.70583°N 96.54611°W / 29.70583; -96.54611Coordinates: 29°42′21″N 96°32′46″W / 29.70583°N 96.54611°W / 29.70583; -96.54611
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Colorado
Government
- Mayor	Dwain Dungen
Area
- Total	2.8 sq mi (7.3 km2)
- Land	2.8 sq mi (7.3 km2)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	203 ft (62 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	3,916
- Density	1,387.5/sq mi (535.7/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	78934
Area code(s)	979
FIPS code	48-16168[1]
GNIS feature ID	1333156[2]

Columbus is a city in Colorado County, Texas, United States, 74 miles (119 km) west of Houston along Interstate 10, on the Colorado River. In 1890, 2,199 people lived in Columbus, Texas; in 1900, there were 1,824 residents. The population was 3,916 as of the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Colorado County^[3]. The town's motto is "City of Live Oaks and Live Folks."

Geography

Columbus is located at 29°42′21″N 96°32′46″W / 29.70583°N 96.54611°W / 29.70583; -96.54611 (29.705822, -96.546223)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10 km²), all land.

History

Columbus was established in 1821, on the legendary site of Montezuma's Indian village by members of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred. By late December, colonist's Robert H. Kuykendall with his brother Joseph, and Daniel Gilleland had arrived in the area of Columbus. In 1822, settler Benjamin Beason began operating a ferry across the Colorado River known as Beason's Ferry.

Columbus would become part of Austin's colony in 1822, when the colony was divided into two districts by Mexican governor José F. Trespalacios. The Mexican government granted the rights to establish a town and locals elected town officials. John J. Tumlinson, Sr. was elected alcalde, with Robert Kuykendall captain and Moses Morrison lieutenant. Later in 1834, after the Tumlinson children inherited the estate, they would sell land to William Dewee, where upon it became known as DeWees crossing. In 1835 it was officially renamed Columbus, in honor of residents from Columbus, Ohio.

By 1836, Columbus was home to over twenty-five families. William D. Lacey, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, hailed from Columbus. During the Runaway Scrape, Sam Houston camped at Columbus and burned the town, as he departed for San Jacinto. After the return of the population to Columbus, the Dewees would give land for a new school and courthouse. By 1837, the town had been reestablished with two public houses, two stores, and half a dozen small dwellings.^[5]

Demographics

Colorado County Courthouse in Columbus

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 3,916 people, 1,497 households, and 946 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,387.5 inhabitants per square mile (535.7 /km²). There were 1,750 housing units at an average density of 620.1 per square mile (239.4 /km²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.55% White, 19.94% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 10.52% from other races, and 2.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.62% of the population.

There were 1,497 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 24.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,175, and the median income for a family was $40,197. Males had a median income of $30,104 versus $19,077 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,822. About 15.5% of families and 20.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.7% of those under age 18 and 16.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable People from Columbus

• Tanya McQueen - Interior designer for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition^[6]
• Doug Rau - Former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers
• Aaron Schobel - NFL Defensive End with the Buffalo Bills
• Bo Schobel - Defensive End with the Arizona Cardinals
• Matt Schobel - Tight End with the Philadelphia Eagles

(All three Schobels were standout football players at TCU)

• Hal Smith - Former Major League catcher and third baseman during 1955-1964^[7]
• James Truchard - Cofounder of National Instruments^[8]

Education

The City of Columbus is served by the Columbus Independent School District. The district includes:

• Columbus High School (9-12).^[9]
• Columbus Junior High (6-8)
• Columbus Elementary (PK-5)

Also in Columbus are Saint Anthony School, a Catholic school serving students in grades pre-kindergarten through eight^[9], and Texas Bible Institute, a branch of Burchfield Ministries International.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
5. ^ Don Allon Hinton, "COLUMBUS, TX," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hgc12), accessed May 31, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
6. ^ "TanyaMcQueen.com". http://www.tanyamcqueen.com/tanya.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-06. 
7. ^ Baseball Almanac. "Hal Smith Baseball Stats". http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=smithha08. Retrieved 2007-01-06. 
8. ^ National Instruments Corporation. "Dr. James Truchard". http://www.ni.com/company/truchard.htm. 
9. ^ ^{a b} city-data.com. "Columbus, Texas (TX) Detailed Profile". http://www.city-data.com/city/Columbus-Texas.html. Retrieved 2007-01-06. 

External links

Texas portal

• City of Columbus
• Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Columbus Independent School District
• Saint Anthony School
• Texas Bible Institute