Richmond is a suburb of Houston and the county seat of Fort Bend County, Texas, United States.
History
In 1822, a group of Austin's colonists went up the Brazos River, stopping near present-day Richmond where they built a fort called "Fort Bend". Named after Richmond, England, the town was among the 19 cities first incorporated by the short-lived Republic of Texas, in 1837. Early residents of the city include many prominent figures in Texas lore such as Jane Long, Deaf Smith, and Mirabeau Lamar, who are all buried in Richmond, as is Walter Moses Burton, the nation's first Black elected sheriff. On August 16, 1889, the town was the site of the "Battle of Richmond", an armed fight culminating the Jaybird–Woodpecker War, a violent feud over post-Reconstruction political control of Fort Bend County. The mayor from 1949 until his death in 2012 was Hilmar Moore.
Historically Richmond had government agencies and nonprofit organizations, while most of the area private businesses were located in Rosenberg.
Geography
Richmond is located near the center of Fort Bend County. Most of the city is situated on the southwest side of the Brazos River, with a small portion (Richmond Landing) on the northeast side, connected by US Highway 90A. Richmond is bordered to the southwest by the city of Rosenberg. US 90A leads east to Sugar Land and west through Rosenberg to East Bernard. Downtown Houston is to the northeast.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Richmond has a total area of , of which are land and , or 8.22%, is covered by water.
In 2003, Jeannie Kever of the Houston Chronicle said, "Some of the old buildings have been reincarnated as shops or law offices. But in other ways, life in Richmond isn't so different from that in the big city, with its Walmart and fast-food joints, check-cashing businesses and strip-center sprawl."
Communities
The wealthiest neighborhood, as of 2003, in Richmond is Hillcrest. Winston Terrace, another neighborhood, had its first houses built in 1940. Construction increased around the end of World War II. Most of the houses were built between 1940 and 1965. Jeannie Kever of the Houston Chronicle said that Winston Terrace is "a swath of mid-20th-century America, with sweeping oak trees and colorful brick or wood bungalows, named for the descendants of one of the region's most illustrious pioneers." As of 1993 many police raids for drugs occurred in "Mud Alley". "Mud Alley" was known by several other nicknames, including "Little Boomtown". Historically, the area had a lot of recreational drugs.
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Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Richmond city, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!
!% 2000
!% 2010
!
|-
|White alone (NH)
|2,964
|2,951
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,625
|26.75%
|25.27%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |22.58%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|1,482
|2,023
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,949
|13.37%
|17.32%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |16.76%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|11
|34
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8
|0.10%
|0.29%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.07%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|59
|121
|style='background: #ffffe6; |213
|0.53%
|1.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.83%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|3
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3
|0.03%
|0.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|4
|9
|style='background: #ffffe6; |27
|0.04%
|0.08%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.23%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|52
|68
|style='background: #ffffe6; |165
|0.47%
|0.58%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.42%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|6,506
|6,472
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,637
|58.71%
|55.42%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |57.08%
|-
|Total
|11,081
|11,679
|style='background: #ffffe6; |11,627
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Richmond had a population of 11,627 and a median age of 36.5 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 104.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 103.3 males age 18 and over.
98.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.2% lived in rural areas.
There were 3,943 households in Richmond, of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 41.4% were married-couple households, 19.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. Of those households, 2,668 were families.
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 4,153 || 35.7%
|-
| Black or African American || 2,047 || 17.6%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 130 || 1.1%
|-
| Asian || 221 || 1.9%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 9 || 0.1%
|-
| Some other race || 3,254 || 28.0%
|-
| Two or more races || 1,813 || 15.6%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 6,637 || 57.1%
|}
2000 census
As of the census
Arts and culture
thumb|right|George Memorial Library
Public libraries
Fort Bend County Libraries operates the George Memorial Library, the central library and the site of the administrative offices of the library system, located along Farm to Market Road 762. Richmond also has the Fort Bend County Law Library.
The Main Library moved from Rosenberg to its current location in Richmond in 1986. The George Foundation funded the library facility, designed by Ronald Wedemeyer Associates and built on of land. When the library opened, it had unfinished areas to facilitate future expansion.
The city is governed by a mayor and four commissioners elected at large for two-year terms. The commission sets policy and the day-to-day management is done by a city manager hired by the commission.
Hilmar G. Moore served as mayor from 1949 until his death on December 4, 2012 and was believed to be the longest-serving mayor in the United States. Rebecca "Becky" Haas is currently the mayor.
Elementary schools within the Richmond city limits include Jane Long, Pink, and Smith.
Wessendorff Middle School, Lamar Junior High School, and Lamar Consolidated High School serve students living within the Richmond city limits. The three schools are in Rosenberg.
Various schools operated by LCISD and neighboring Fort Bend Independent School District bear Richmond addresses, but do not serve the city limits of Richmond. George Ranch High School, Foster High School, Reading Junior High School, and Briscoe Junior High in LCISD and Travis High School and Bush High School in the Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD) bear "Richmond, Texas" addresses.
The designated community college for LCISD is Wharton County Junior College.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Fort Bend County Public Transportation provides local bus service in Richmond.
Notable people
- Troy Nehls – U.S. representative, former Sheriff of Fort Bend County
- Hilmar G. Moore - Longest serving mayor in the United States.
See also
- John M. and Lottie D. Moore House