Floresville is a city in Wilson County, Texas, United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, its population was at 7,203 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Wilson County. The city is also part of the San Antonio metropolitan statistical area.

Geography

Floresville has a total area of , all land.

The city is approximately southeast of downtown San Antonio.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification, Floresville has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps.

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History

Historic dwellers of the area were Lipan Apache tribes. After the Spanish discovery of the Americas, Western settlement came in the form of Christian missions. Thus, in the mid-18th century, Mision de las Cabras, "the goat ranch", was established near Floresville as a mission ranching operation for Mission Espada. Indian and Spanish vaqueros lived and worshiped here, while caring for the herds of animals. This was the precursor of the Texas ranching industry.

The land and name for this town would be given to honor the Flores de Abrego family, who were descendants of the former Canary Islanders. Don Francisco Flores de Abrego was an early settler of this area, his ranch was six miles (10&nbsp;km) northwest of the site of present Floresville. Four of his sons, Salvador, Manuel N., Nepomuceno, and Jose Maria served Texas in the 1835–1836 Revolution.

Don Erasmo Seguin (born 1782, in San Antonio) also settled in this area in late 1824, purchasing a ranch, and with his wife raised a family here. His ranch, "Casa Blanca", began as a tract near present Floresville. The Erasmo Seguin family had previously lived in San Antonio de Bexar, and also owned a ranch further south (in present Karnes County), but now chose to build and live in Floresville.

Juan Seguín (born 1806, in San Antonio), one of Erasmo Seguin's sons, was also a prominent Texas military and political figure. He returned with his family to again reside on his father's Floresville ranch from 1848 to 1852. Juan then built a home in 1852 on a property adjacent to his father's, 3 miles northwest of Floresville's center, living there until about 1883. He had come back from a necessary self-imposed exile in Mexico, from 1842 to 1848.

As a Texian Army colonel, Juan Seguin, a true Texas Revolution (1835–1836) hero, had later been blamed by some Anglo Texans for the loss of San Antonio (then part of the Republic of Texas), from attacks by Gra. Rafael Vásquez under Gra. Santa Anna's command in 1842, and his life was threatened. Santa Anna was trying to restore Texas to Mexican control. Though Col. Seguin had beat Gra. Vásquez's forces back across the Rio Grande, he was disparaged as having Mexican sympathies and loyalties. In exile (from 1842), once in Mexico, he then agreed to serve under Santa Anna in the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848. Gra. Santa Anna had attempted to regain Texas from the United States in 1846, after Texas was willingly annexed by the US in 1845. After that war, Juan Seguin then left Mexico behind in 1848 and returned to the now US state of Texas, to his father's Floresville ranch.

2015 tornado

In the early hours of October 30, an EF2 tornado touched down south of downtown. The tornado strengthened at a slow rate until it got to the city limits. The tornado threw a trailer on top of the Holiday Inn building. Floresville High School was severely damaged to the point where it almost collapsed. A store was pummeled by debris before the storm left the city limits. The tornado tracked into the oil fields toward Sutherland Springs. It lifted up before reaching Sutherland Springs.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Floresville had a population of 7,203, 2,498 households, and 1,891 families residing in the city. The median age was 37.5 years, 25.7% of residents were under the age of 18, and 18.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.6 males age 18 and over.

87.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 12.7% lived in rural areas.

There were 2,498 households in Floresville, of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.1% were married-couple households, 16.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

|-

| White || 4,125 || 57.3%

|-

| Black or African American || 123 || 1.7%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 80 || 1.1%

|-

| Asian || 53 || 0.7%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 5 || 0.1%

|-

| Some other race || 970 || 13.5%

|-

| Two or more races || 1,847 || 25.6%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 4,530 || 62.9%

|}

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, 5,868 people, 1,908 households, and 1,457 families resided in the city.

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Image:Wilson County, Texas, Courthouse IMG_2661.JPG|At the center of downtown Floresville, the Wilson County Courthouse is decorated at Christmas time, 2009.

Image:Floresville, TX, City Hall IMG_2677.JPG|Floresville City Hall is near the Wilson County Courthouse

Image: Floresville, TX, veterans monument IMG_2682.JPG|The veterans' monument in Floresville was dedicated on November 11, 2004.

Image: Floresville, TX, Tourist and Visitor Center IMG_2712.JPG|Floresville Tourist and Visitor Center on U.S. Highway 181 loop

Image:Connally Memorial Medical Center sign IMG_2711.JPG|Connally Memorial Medical Center on Highway 181 is named for three brothers, John, Wayne, and Merrill Connally.

Image:Cattle across from Connally Medical Center IMG_2709.JPG|Cattle graze adjacent to the Connally Memorial Medical Center.

Image:Roy G. Sanchez Pavilion in Floresville, TX IMG_2647.JPG|The Roy G. Sanchez Pavilion at Floresville River Park commemorates the career of the first Mexican American mayor of Floresville. He served from 1984 to 1992.

Image:Arcadia Theater in Floresville, TX IMG_2671.JPG|The still-operating Arcadia Theater in Floresville is directly across the street from the Wilson County Courthouse.

Image:Wells Fargo Bank in Floresville, TX IMG_2696.JPG|Wells Fargo Bank in Floresville is across the street from the First Baptist Church.

Image:First Baptist Church of Floresville, TX IMG_2692.JPG|First Baptist Church of Floresville

Image:First United Methodist Church in Floresville, TX IMG_2694.JPG|In Floresville, the First United Methodist Church is located across the street from the First Baptist Church.

Image:Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Floresville, TX IMG_2698.JPG|Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Floresville also operates an adjacent parochial school.

</gallery>

Notable people

  • John Connally, Governor of Texas; U.S. Secretary of the Navy in the Kennedy Administration; Secretary of the Treasury under President Richard Nixon; for a time he was considered a serious contender for the U.S. presidency.
  • Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, former member of the United States House of Representatives
  • Erasmo Seguín, politician

<!--already cited * Juan Seguín, politician and military figure of the Texas Revolution -->

  • Beatrice Valdez Ximénez, sculptor
  • Vicente T. Ximenes, a former member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a civil rights activist

References

  • City of Floresville
  • Floresville Economic Development Corporation
  • Wilson County News