Gonzales, Texas

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Gonzales, Texas
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =


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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Gonzales, Texas

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mapsize1 = 250px
map_caption1 =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Texas
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Gonzales
government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title =
established_date =
unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 13.2
area_land_km2 = 13.2
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 5.1
area_land_sq_mi = 5.1
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0
population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 7202
population_density_km2 = 545.5
population_density_sq_mi = 1412.8
timezone = Central (CST)
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 87
elevation_ft = 285
latd = 29 |latm = 30 |lats = 32 |latNS = N
longd = 97 |longm = 26 |longs = 52 |longEW = W
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 78629
area_code = 830
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 48-30116GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1336672GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Gonzales is a city in Gonzales County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,202 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Gonzales County.GR|6

Geography

Gonzales is located at coor dms|29|30|32|N|97|26|52|W|city (29.508801, -97.447709).GR|1 It is located near the confluence of the San Marcos and Guadalupe rivers.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.1 square miles (13.2 km²), all of it land.

History

Gonzales is one of the earliest Anglo-American settlements in Texas. It was the first such settlement west of the Colorado River. It was established by Empresario Green DeWitt as the capital of his colony in August 1825 and named for Rafael Gonzales, governor of Coahuila y Tejas, and was known as the Dewitt Colony.

The original settlement was abandoned in 1826 after two Indian attacks and rebuilt nearby in 1827. The town remains today as it was originally surveyed.

Gonzales is most famous as the "Lexington of Texas" because it was the site of the first skirmish of the Texas Revolution. This term is an allusion to the Battle of Lexington, the first battle of the American Revolution. In 1831, the Mexican government gave the settlers a small cannon (believed to actually have been a swivel gun) for protection against Indian attacks. At the outbreak of hostilities, a contingent of Mexican soldiers was sent from San Antonio to retrieve the cannon. On 2 October 1835, they were met by Texans under the command of John H. Moore. The Texans had fashioned a flag with the words "Come and take it". The Texans successfully resisted the federal troops in what became known as the Battle of Gonzales.

Gonzales later contributed thirty-two men to the ill-fated defense of the Alamo. It was to Gonzales that Susanna Dickinson, widow of one of the Alamo defenders, and Joe, the slave of William B. Travis, fled with news of the Alamo massacre. General Sam Houston was there organizing the Texas army and anticipated the town would be the next target of General Antonio López de Santa Anna and the Mexican army. He had the town burned and ordered a retreat, thus precipitating the Runaway Scrape.

In 1839, Phil Coe was born in Gonzales, later to become a well known saloon owner and Old West gambler, and eventually the last known gunfight victim to "Wild Bill" Hickok. The town was derelict immediately after the Texas Revolution, but was eventually rebuilt on the original site throughout the early 1840s. By 1850, it had a population of 300. The "Gonzales Inquirer" was established in 1853 and is one of the six oldest county newspapers still operating in Texas. The population rose to 1,703 in the 1860 census, 2,900 by the mid-1880s, and 4,297 in 1900.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 7,202 people, 2,571 households, and 1,763 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,412.8 people per square mile (545.2/km²). There were 2,869 housing units at an average density of 562.8/sq mi (217.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 62.95% White, 12.40% African American, 0.74% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 21.15% from other races, and 2.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 46.13% of the population.

There were 2,571 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 15.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,226, and the median income for a family was $34,663. Males had a median income of $22,804 versus $18,217 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,866. About 14.8% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.5% of those under age 18 and 23.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Gonzales is served by the Gonzales Independent School District.

Broadcasting system

As from 2000 onwards radio station KCTI serves the city and county.

Notable residents

Crispin Sanchez (1925-2008), a South Texas pioneer in Mexican-American education and sports, was the first Hispanic to play American football at Gonzales High School. He also excelled in baseball and was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, but he instead entered college, having ultimately received his Ph.D. in education. The Crispin "Doc" Sanchez Baseball Field at Laredo Community College in Laredo, where he was an administrator for twenty-three years, is named in his honor. Sanchez also played semiprofessional baseball for a time in Gonzales.

References

External links

* [http://texashistory.unt.edu/widgets/pager.php?object_id=meta-pth-6725&recno=19&path=/data/UNT/Books/meta-pth-6725.tkl Account of the 1826 Indian attack] from [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-6725 Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas] by John Henry Brown published 1880(?), hosted by [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ The Portal to Texas History]