Rio Grande City
| Rio Grande City | |
|---|---|
 Street row in downtown Rio Grande City |
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| Location in Texas | |
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| Basic data | |
| Foundation : | 1848 |
| State : | United States |
| State : | Texas |
| County : | Starr County |
| Coordinates : | 26 ° 23 ′ N , 98 ° 59 ′ W |
| Time zone : | Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 ) |
| Residents : | 14,242 (as of 2016) |
| Population density : | 474.7 inhabitants per km 2 |
| Area : | 30.0 km 2 (approx. 12 mi 2 ) of which 30.0 km 2 (approx. 12 mi 2 ) are land |
| Height : | 53 m |
| Postal code : | 78582 |
| Area code : | +1 956 |
| FIPS : | 48-62168 |
| GNIS ID : | 1388199 |
| Website : | www.cityofrgc.com |
| Mayor : | Joel Villarreal |
Rio Grande City is a town in Starr County in the southern tip of the State of Texas and the County -Hauptstadt ( county seat ) of the district. Its origins date back to the 18th century landscaped hacienda . The city was officially founded in 1849. In the same year, Rio Grande City became the district capital. Both the history of the city and the economic situation were accompanied by varying degrees of turbulence. The Rio Grande-Ciudad Camargo International Bridge connects Rio Grande City to the neighboring Mexican community of Camargo, Tamaulipas . According to the US census, Rio Grande City had a population of 14,242 in 2016.
geography
Rio Grande City is in close proximity to the Rio Grande . Politically and culturally, it is part of the Rio Grande Valley - a sub-region to which the four districts of Cameron , Willacy , Hidalgo and Starr are commonly assigned . In terms of landscape, it lies in the transition zone between the Lower Rio Grande Valley ecoregion and the southern Rio Grande Plains . Just like the Roma Los Saenz to the west, Starr County's second largest city, it is cut directly by US Highway 83 - the main access road in the Rio Grande Valley. In addition, Rio Grande City endpoint one of Brownsville outgoing railway line .
The landscape is flat to slightly hilly. The vegetation is of short-growing grasses , thorny Chaparall -Büschen, cactus and mesquite and North American oaks dominated. The straight line distance to the two regional centers Laredo in the northwest and Brownsville in the east is each about 140 kilometers, that to the southern Texas metropolis of San Antonio 337 kilometers. The climate is subtropical to (temperate) continental . To put it simply , the weather differs from that in the areas of the Rio Grande Valley near the Gulf Coast in that it is hotter summers , cooler winters and slightly less rainfall . The temperatures in summer are between 22 ° C and 37 ° C, those in winter between just under 8 ° C and 21 ° C. Though inland and over 150 kilometers from the Gulf Coast, the city was hit twice by hurricanes in 1919 and 1967 .
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Monthly average temperatures and rainfall for Rio Grande City, Texas
Source: US climate data
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history
| growth of population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Residents | ± in% | |
| 1860 | 490 | - | |
| 1890 | 1968 | - | |
| 1930 | 2283 | - | |
| 1950 | 3992 | - | |
| 1960 | 5835 | 46.2% | |
| 1970 | 5676 | -2.7% | |
| 1980 | 8930 | 57.3% | |
| 1990 | 10,725 | 20.1% | |
| 2000 | 11,923 | 11.2% | |
| 2010 | 13,834 | 16% | |
The founding of the city can be traced back to a ranch , which was founded in 1762 by José Antonio de la Garza Falcón. Established in the course of the settlement of the lower Rio Grande Valley, which was increasingly being tackled at that time , it later became the property of an American and was also named Davis Landing or Rancho Davis . The first founding activities began with the end of the American-Mexican War in 1848. The US Army built near the city - later to Fort -developed - Camp Fort Ringgold. In 1849 the city received river port moorings, a post office and its current name. Economically, Rio Grande City consolidated itself as the center of the local livestock trade and as a trading hub for business with Mexico. In 1884 the city had a doctor, a chemist, two churches , a district school and a number of craft and commercial shops.
Regardless of the economic stabilization, the city was affected for long periods by internal insecurity, power struggles, ethnic conflicts and the activities of local gangs. In 1860/1861 the city was affected by the so-called Cortina War - a survey carried out by Hispanic landowners, which aimed to recognize old land rights from the Spanish- Mexican period. In 1888 a local uprising took place, in the course of which the majority Hispanic population turned against the local, white-controlled sheriff's office . In the course of the incidents that became known as Fort Ringgold Riots eleven years later, members of the 9th Cavalry Regiment, which consisted primarily of African -Americans, who had been relocated from the Spanish-American War , occupied the facility and fired volleys of machine guns towards the city during this mutiny . The incident, the background of which was racially motivated restrictions within the army, led to an investigation, in the course of which the 9th Cavalry Regiment was withdrawn from the fort. As the county seat of Starr County, Rio Grande City was the scene of political power struggles from the 1880s onwards between a network of the Democratic Party in South Texas, characterized by nepotism and patronage , which relied primarily on the local elites and their clientele and their opponents - newcomers as well as marginal groups in the power hierarchy.
In 1925, 3,000 people lived in the city; by 1931 this was reduced to a total of 2283. The establishment as an Incorporated City , which had taken place in 1926, was revoked in the course of a public vote in 1933. The reason: considerable debts , which the city had accumulated since it was granted city rights. Between 1940 and 1980 the population ranged between 2,500 and over 5,000. A significant increase in population began with the Mexican- Central American migration wave from the early 1980s. In the meantime, the city has been able to profit economically from the prosperous oil and natural gas reserves which have been discovered in the Starr County area since the 1930s. Rio Grande City has received increasing media attention since the 1970s and 1980s due to cross-border drug trafficking in the region.
In a 1993 vote, Rio Grande City was reconstituted as an Incorporated City. As in all of Starr County, the population is growing rapidly. At the same time, the - predominantly inhabited by people of Hispanic descent - district is one of the poorest in the United States. Regardless, Rio Grande City has a fair amount of Historic Places and Historic Landmarks - including the former Fort Ringgold and parts of the old city center that are designated as the Downtown Historic District . Despite the rich architectural heritage, many buildings in the old downtown area have been abandoned, run down, or crumbling. It is true that there are a large number of small shops and businesses. However, the new shopping centers outside the old city center are now the commercial center of city life .
- Historic Places
Fort Ringgold County Park
Garmon Theater
LaBorde House
Silverio De La Pena Drugstore and Post Office
Old Starr County Courthouse
Jose Ramirez House
Henry Clay Davis House
Old graveyard
Demographics
The population of Rio Grande City increased immensely, especially in the second half of the 20th century . The main jump - from 5,676 to 8,930 inhabitants - took place in the decade from 1970 to 1980. In 2016, according to data from the United States Census Bureau , it amounted to 10,093 people. The city passed the 10,000 threshold in 1990. According to the US census , the city had 14,310 residents in 2017. 7,289 of these were male , 7,021 female , 9,960 residents were 18 years of age or older, 4,350 were children or adolescents and 1,695 were older than 65 years. The median age was 30.5 years. 14,183 inhabitants or 99.1% described themselves as Hispanic or Latino , 103 as white (0.7%). Afro-Americans, Asians and North American Indians were virtually absent at sixteen, three and no relatives. The number of people belonging to two or more ethnic groups was five. Compared to the county's demographics, the Hispanic population in Rio Grande City is almost the same (almost 99.2% to 99.1%). The median age, however, is slightly higher than that in the district (30.5 to 28.8).
According to Quickfacts information on census.gov , the median income per household was 35,812 US dollars (USD). The determined median value is well below that of the state of Texas (USD 54,700) and that of the USA as a whole (USD 55,300). When compared to the median Starr County's household income ($ 27,133), households in Rio Grande City had on average more money. In addition, the median income was well above that of Roma, the county's second largest city; there the value was only USD 20,291. The census showed 27.8% of people living in poverty and 29.8% of people without health insurance.
education
Rio Grande City is covered by the Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District (Rio Grande City CISD for short). As one of the three United School Districts in Starr County, it also covers the neighboring communities to the east and north of the city. At school forms of CISD offers, besides the obligatory stages Elementary School , Middle School and High School , alternative forms of education.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Starr County . Alicia A. Garza, Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), June 15, 2010; Upgrade: May 1, 2017 (Engl.)
- ↑ a b c d e f Rio Grande City, TX . Garna L. Christian, Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) June 15, 2010; Upgrade: May 1, 2017 (Engl.)
- ↑ a b Texas Almanac: City Population History from 1850-2000 . texasalmanac.com, accessed on January 2, 2019 (PDF).
- ↑ Fort Ringgold . Garna L. Christian, Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), June 12, 2010; Upgrade: August 28, 2017 (Engl.)
- ^ All Roads Lead From Roma . Kaye Northcott, Texas Monthly, April 1977 (Engl.)
- ↑ Rio Grande City, Texas . ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates, 2017, American FactFinder, accessed January 2, 2019.
- ↑ Starr County, Texas . ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates, 2017, American FactFinder, accessed January 2, 2019.
- ↑ a b Rio Grande City, Texas , brief overview on the website of the United States Census Bureau, accessed January 2, 2019.
- ^ Household Income in Rio Grande City, Texas . Household income overview on statisticalatlas.com, accessed January 2, 2019.
- ↑ Starr County, Texas , summary on the United States Census Bureau website, accessed January 2, 2019.
- ↑ Roma, Texas , brief overview on the website of the United States Census Bureau, accessed January 2, 2019.
- ↑ Overview of Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District, Texas (Unified School District) , statisticalatlas.com, accessed January 2, 2019 (Engl.)
- ^ Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District . Web presence of the Rio Grande City CISD, accessed on January 2, 2019 (Engl.)
