Victoria County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 91,319. Its county seat is also named Victoria. Victoria County is included in the Victoria metropolitan statistical area, and comprises the entirety of the Victoria media market in Texas.

History

Through colonial times

Paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers, and later Tonkawa, Aranamas, Tamiques, and Karankawa, inhabited the area before the time of European contact. Tawakoni, Lipan Apache, and Comanche were later inhabitants of modern-day Victoria County.

In 1685, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle established Fort St. Louis.

In 1689, Alonso de Leon named the Guadalupe River in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

In 1722, Nuestra Señora de Loreto Presidio and Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga became the first Spanish settlement in Victoria County.

In 1824, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Jesús Victoria (the future city of Victoria) was established by Martín De León, who started his colony with 5,000 branded cattle and established the county's claim as the "Cradle of the Texas Cattle Industry." It was the only primarily Mexican colony in Texas.

In 1835, Victoria's settlers supported the revolution against Antonio López de Santa Anna, but were ostracized by new incoming Americans, many of whom were adventurous soldiers or fortune hunters, who wrongly profiled them as Mexican sympathizers and forced them to flee after the revolution in 1836. Anglo-Americans resettled the area.

In 1836, Victory County was formed by the Republic of Texas. It is named after Guadalupe Victoria, the first President of Mexico.

In 1842, Rafael Vásquez and Adrián Woll led Mexican forces in an invasion into the county.

After the Revolution through the Civil War

In 1850, Coletoville was established by German immigrant Carl Steiner. The next year, Victoria County's first toll bridge was erected across the river, built by Richard Owens and Sylvester Sutton.

As of 1860, 1,413 slaves were in the county.

The Gulf, Western Texas and Pacific Railway connect Victoria with Cuero and the coast in 1873.

The Victoria Barge Canal was completed in 1967, connecting Victoria County with the Intracoastal Waterway.<br />1850–2010 2010–2014

|2020=91319

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|estimate=92656

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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 91,319, 34,451 households, and 22,172 families residing in the county.

The median age was 37.7 years, with 24.7% of residents under the age of 18 and 17.3% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.0 males.

72.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 27.7% lived in rural areas.

There were 34,451 households in the county, of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.9% were married-couple households, 18.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|-

|White alone (NH)

|42,815

|43,835

|44,490

|41,564

|style='background: #ffffe6; |39,330

|62.22%

|58.95%

|52.91%

|47.89%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |43.07%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|4,619

|4,638

|5,137

|5,190

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,230

|6.71%

|6.24%

|6.11%

|5.98%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.73%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|137

|141

|197

|199

|style='background: #ffffe6; |214

|0.20%

|0.19%

|0.23%

|0.23%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.23%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|176

|225

|635

|860

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,391

|0.26%

|0.30%

|0.76%

|0.99%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.52%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|x

|x

|9

|16

|style='background: #ffffe6; |35

|x

|x

|0.01%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.04%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|116

|150

|39

|109

|style='background: #ffffe6; |232

|0.17%

|0.20%

|0.05%

|0.13%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.25%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|x

|x

|622

|742

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,956

|x

|x

|0.74%

|0.85%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.14%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|20,944

|25,372

|32,959

|38,113

|style='background: #ffffe6; |42,931

|30.44%

|34.12%

|39.20%

|43.91%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |47.01%

|-

|Total

|68,807

|74,361

|84,088

|86,793

|style='background: #ffffe6; |91,319

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, 84,088 people, 30,071 households, and 22,192 families lived in the county. The population density was . The 32,945 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 74.22% White, 6.30% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 15.92% from other races, and 2.22% from two or more races. About 39.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race; 16.2% were of German, 6.2% American, and 5.6% English ancestry according to Census 2000, and 73.3% spoke English and 25.5% Spanish as their first language.

Of the 30,071 households, 37.2% had children under 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were not families. Around 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the county, the age distribution was 29.1% under 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,732, and for a family was $44,443. Males had a median income of $35,484 versus $21,231 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,379. About 10.50% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.20% of those under 18 and 11.70% of those 65 or over.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (0.8%) are covered by water.

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

  • Lavaca County (north)
  • Jackson County (northeast)
  • Calhoun County (southeast)
  • Refugio County (south)
  • Goliad County (southwest)
  • DeWitt County (northwest)

Politics

County government

Victoria County elected officials

{| class=wikitable

|-

! colspan="2" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Position

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Name

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom;"| Party

|-

| style="background:red;"|&nbsp;

| County Judge

| Ben Zeller

| Republican

|-

| style="background:blue;"|&nbsp;

| Commissioner, Precinct 1

| Danny Garcia

| Democratic

|-

| style="background:red;"|&nbsp;

| Commissioner, Precinct 2

| Kevin M. Janak

| Republican

|-

| style="background:red;"|&nbsp;

| Commissioner, Precinct 3

| Gary Burns

| Republican

|-

| style="background:red;"|&nbsp;

| Commissioner, Precinct 4

| Clint Ives

| Republican

|}

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Communities

City

  • Victoria (county seat)

Census-designated places

  • Bloomington
  • Inez
  • Placedo
  • Quail Creek

Unincorporated communities

  • McFaddin
  • Moursund
  • Nursery
  • Telferner
  • Wood Hi

Education

School districts include:

  • Bloomington Independent School District
  • Industrial Independent School District
  • Meyersville Independent School District
  • Nursery Independent School District
  • Refugio Independent School District
  • Victoria Independent School District

All of the county is in the service area of Victoria College.

Texas A&M University–Victoria is in Victoria.

See also

  • Kentucky Mutt Creek
  • List of museums in the Texas Gulf Coast
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Victoria County, Texas
  • Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Victoria County

References

  • Victoria Economic Development Corporation economic development
  • "Victoria County Profile" from the Texas Association of Counties
  • Texas Beyond History, Morhiss Mound