Wilson County, Texas

County in Texas, United States

Not to be confused with Wilson, Texas.

County in Texas

Wilson County

County

The Wilson County Courthouse in Floresville. The courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 5, 1978.

Location within the U.S. state of Texas

Texas's location within the U.S.

Coordinates: 29°10′N 98°05′W﻿ / ﻿29.17°N 98.09°W﻿ / 29.17; -98.09
Country|  United States
State|  Texas
Founded| 1860
Named after| James Charles Wilson
Seat| Floresville
Largest city| Floresville
Area

• Total

| 808 sq mi (2,090 km2)
• Land| 804 sq mi (2,080 km2)
• Water| 4.7 sq mi (12 km2)  0.6%
Population

(2020)

• Total

| 49,753
• Density| 62/sq mi (24/km2)
Time zone| UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district| 15th
Website| www.co.wilson.tx.us

Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 49,753.[1] Its county seat is Floresville.[2] The county is named after James Charles Wilson. Wilson County is part of the San Antonio–New Braunfels, Texas, metropolitan statistical area.

## History

[edit]

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|

### Native Americans

[edit]

Archeological evidence in the Wilson County area reveals early habitation from the paleo-Indians hunter-gatherers period.[3][4] Later, the area was a hunting range for Tonkawa, Karankawa. Tawakoni, Lipan Apache, and Comanche who lived in the area.[citation needed]

### Explorations and county established

[edit]

In September 1718 Martín de Alarcón crossed the area on his way to explore the bay of Espíritu Santo. Pedro de Rivera y Villalón crossed the county in 1727 as part of an expedition to inspect the frontier defenses of New Spain.[5] In 1766–67 the Marqués de Rubí included the area in his inspection of the Spanish frontier,[6] and the 1798 explorations of the coast by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado[7] skirted the area.

The first two land grants in the area were to Luis Menchaca and Andrés Hernández,[8] who established ranches circa 1832–1833.

Anglos began arriving in the 1840s,[6] and Southern planters in 1850 and 1860, followed by German and Polish immigrants from other counties.

Wilson County was formed in 1860 from Bexar County and Karnes County. Sutherland Springs[9] was designated the county seat.

Wilson County voted in favor of secession[6] from the Union, and sent several military units to serve. Wartime hardships were compounded by a three-year drought.

Following the civil war, the county seat[10] was moved to Floresville. The 1872 courthouse was destroyed by fire and replaced in 1884 with a new building[11] designed by Alfred Giles.

Fence Cutting Wars in Texas lasted for approximately five years, 1883–1888. The 40,000-acre (160 km2) ranch of Houston and Dilworth became the focal point in Wilson County. As farmers and ranchers began to compete for precious land and water, cattlemen found it more difficult to feed their herds, prompting cowboys to cut through fences. Texas Governor John Ireland[12] prodded a special assembly to order the fence cutters to cease. In response, the legislature made fence-cutting and pasture-burning crimes punishable with prison time, while at the same time regulating fencing. The practice abated with sporadic incidents of related violence 1888.

The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway[13] reached Floresville in 1886. In 1898 the San Antonio and Gulf Railroad[14] was extended to Stockdale.

## Geography

[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 808 square miles (2,090 km2), of which 804 square miles (2,080 km2) are land and 4.7 square miles (12 km2) (0.6%) are covered by water.[15]

### Major highways

[edit]

* U.S. Highway 87
* U.S. Highway 181
* State Highway 97

### Adjacent counties

[edit]

* Guadalupe County (north)
* Gonzales County (northeast)
* Karnes County (southeast)
* Atascosa County (southwest)
* Bexar County (northwest)

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

1870| 2,556| | —
1880| 7,118| | 178.5%
1890| 10,655| | 49.7%
1900| 13,961| | 31.0%
1910| 17,066| | 22.2%
1920| 17,289| | 1.3%
1930| 17,606| | 1.8%
1940| 17,066| | −3.1%
1950| 14,672| | −14.0%
1960| 13,267| | −9.6%
1970| 13,041| | −1.7%
1980| 16,756| | 28.5%
1990| 22,650| | 35.2%
2000| 32,408| | 43.1%
2010| 42,918| | 32.4%
2020| 49,753| | 15.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[16]
1850–2010[17] 2010[18] 2020[19]
Wilson County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[20] | Pop 2010[18] | Pop 2020[19] | % 2000  | % 2010  | % 2020

|
|
|
|
|
|

White alone (NH)  | 19,728  | 25,186  | 27,877  | 60.87%  | 58.68%  | 56.03%
Black or African American alone (NH)  | 361  | 644  | 693  | 1.11%  | 1.50%  | 1.39%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)  | 101  | 125  | 148  | 0.31%  | 0.29%  | 0.30%
Asian alone (NH)  | 93  | 143  | 229  | 0.29%  | 0.33%  | 0.46%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)  | 12  | 9  | 24  | 0.04%  | 0.02%  | 0.05%
Other Race alone (NH)  | 22  | 25  | 187  | 0.07%  | 0.06%  | 0.38%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)  | 257  | 374  | 1,363  | 0.79%  | 0.87%  | 2.74%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)  | 11,834  | 16,412  | 19,232  | 36.52%  | 38.24%  | 38.65%
Total | 32,408 | 42,918 | 49,753 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00%

As of the census[21] of 2000, there were 32,408 people, 11,038 households, and 8,830 families residing in the county. The population density was 40 people per square mile (15 people/km2). There were 12,110 housing units at an average density of 15 units per square mile (5.8 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 81.19% White, 1.21% Black or African American, 0.58% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 14.25% from other races, and 2.43% from two or more races. 36.52% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 11,038 households, out of which 40.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.50% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.00% were non-families. 17.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.20% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 11.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,006, and the median income for a family was $45,681. Males had a median income of $31,716 versus $23,582 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,253. About 9.20% of families and 11.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.40% of those under age 18 and 15.80% of those age 65 or over.

## Communities

[edit]

### Cities

[edit]

* Elmendorf (mostly in Bexar County)
* Floresville (county seat)
* La Vernia
* Nixon (mostly in Gonzales County)
* Stockdale

### Towns

[edit]

* Poth

### Unincorporated communities

[edit]

* Calaveras
* Carpenter
* Kicaster
* Kosciusko
* Pandora
* Saspamco
* Sutherland Springs
* Union

### Ghost towns

[edit]

* Dewees
* Doseido Colony
* Grass Pond Colony
* Sandy Hills

## Education

[edit]

School districts include:[22]

* Falls City Independent School District
* Floresville Independent School District
* La Vernia Independent School District
* Nixon-Smiley Consolidated Independent School District
* Poth Independent School District
* Stockdale Independent School District

All of the county is in the service area of Alamo Community College District.[23]

## Notable people

[edit]

* John Connally, governor of Texas and U.S. Secretary of the Navy and Treasury
* Merrill Connally, an actor and a county judge
* Wayne Connally, a member of both houses of the Texas State Legislature
* Frank Hamer, Texas Ranger
* Stephen Willeford, civilian who intervened during the Sutherland Springs church shooting

## Gallery

[edit]

* The "Peanut Marker" at the Wilson County Courthouse lawn commemorates the life of Joe T. Sheehy (1886–1967), who introduced peanut farming to the area in 1916.

* The Wilson County Public Library near the courthouse.

* The Wilson County Hardware store in Floresville.

## Politics

[edit]

Wilson County is a strongly Republican county in presidential elections. It last voted for a Democrat in 1976, when it supported Georgia's Jimmy Carter. More recently, in 2020, it gave a quarter of its vote to Democratic candidate Joe Biden. The last time a Democratic candidate won 35% or more of Wilson County's vote was in 1996.

United States presidential election results for Wilson County, Texas[24] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies)

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2024 | 20,894  | 76.48% | 6,247  | 22.87%  | 179  | 0.66%
2020 | 18,463  | 73.76% | 6,350  | 25.37%  | 219  | 0.87%
2016 | 13,998  | 72.17% | 4,790  | 24.70%  | 607  | 3.13%
2012 | 12,218  | 71.01% | 4,821  | 28.02%  | 166  | 0.96%
2008 | 10,904  | 66.63% | 5,362  | 32.76%  | 100  | 0.61%
2004 | 10,400  | 69.87% | 4,409  | 29.62%  | 76  | 0.51%
2000 | 7,509  | 64.19% | 3,997  | 34.17%  | 192  | 1.64%
1996 | 4,530  | 49.96% | 3,713  | 40.95%  | 824  | 9.09%
1992 | 3,766  | 39.13% | 3,711  | 38.56%  | 2,148  | 22.32%
1988 | 4,436  | 52.65% | 3,953  | 46.92%  | 36  | 0.43%
1984 | 4,588  | 61.72% | 2,829  | 38.05%  | 17  | 0.23%
1980 | 3,443  | 51.91% | 3,097  | 46.70%  | 92  | 1.39%
1976 | 1,926  | 32.63%  | 3,973  | 67.32% | 3  | 0.05%
1972 | 2,953  | 58.68% | 2,072  | 41.18%  | 7  | 0.14%
1968 | 1,321  | 31.46%  | 2,336  | 55.63% | 542  | 12.91%
1964 | 718  | 17.12%  | 3,472  | 82.77% | 5  | 0.12%
1960 | 1,248  | 30.02%  | 2,905  | 69.88% | 4  | 0.10%
1956 | 1,519  | 41.30%  | 2,149  | 58.43% | 10  | 0.27%
1952 | 1,823  | 45.40%  | 2,187  | 54.47% | 5  | 0.12%
1948 | 593  | 19.64%  | 2,313  | 76.59% | 114  | 3.77%
1944 | 676  | 19.13%  | 2,666  | 75.46% | 191  | 5.41%
1940 | 605  | 18.01%  | 2,750  | 81.87% | 4  | 0.12%
1936 | 286  | 9.99%  | 2,573  | 89.84% | 5  | 0.17%
1932 | 174  | 6.66%  | 2,435  | 93.22% | 3  | 0.11%
1928 | 622  | 29.33%  | 1,499  | 70.67% | 0  | 0.00%
1924 | 495  | 20.17%  | 1,633  | 66.54% | 326  | 13.28%
1920 | 820  | 46.09% | 753  | 42.33%  | 206  | 11.58%
1916 | 346  | 27.64%  | 869  | 69.41% | 37  | 2.96%
1912 | 95  | 9.18%  | 778  | 75.17% | 162  | 15.65%
United States Senate election results for Wilson County, Texas1[25] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies)

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2024 | 19,783  | 72.91% | 6,802  | 25.07%  | 548  | 2.02%

## See also

[edit]

* List of museums in South Texas
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilson County, Texas
* Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Wilson County
* Wilson County Courthouse and Jail

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Wilson County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. ^ "Native Peoples of the South Texas Plains During Early Historic Times". Texas Beyond History. Retrieved May 13, 2010. UT Texas at Austin
4. ^ "Artistic Expression". Texas Beyond History. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
5. ^ Blake, Robert Bruce: Pedro de Rivera y Villalón from the Handbook of Texas Online.  Retrieved May 13, 2010. Texas State Historical Association
6. ^ a b c Long, Christopher: Wilson County from the Handbook of Texas Online.  Retrieved May 13, 2010. Texas State Historical Association
7. ^ Flint, Richard; Flint, Shirley Cushing (2004). The Coronado Expedition to Tierra Nueva: The 1540–1542 Route Across the Southwest. University Press of Colorado. ISBN 978-0-87081-766-3.
8. ^ "Menchaca-Hernández Compromise" (PDF). Texas General Land Office. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2010.[permanent dead link] Texas General Land Office
9. ^ "Sutherland Springs, Texas". Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved May 13, 2010. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC.
10. ^ "Floresville, Texas". Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved May 13, 2010. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC.
11. ^ "Wilson County Courthouse". Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved May 13, 2010. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC.
12. ^ "Fence Cutting Wars, Texas Adjutant General R.N. Steagal Letter To John Ireland March 31, 1884". Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Retrieved May 13, 2010. Texas State Library and Archives Commission
13. ^ "San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway". Archived from the original on September 12, 2006. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
14. ^ Williams, Howard C: Texas and New Orleans Railroad from the Handbook of Texas Online.  Retrieved May 13, 2010. Texas State Historical Association
15. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
16. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
17. ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 19, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
18. ^ a b "P2 HP2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Wilson County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
19. ^ a b "P2 P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Wilson County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
20. ^ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Wilson County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
21. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
22. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Wilson County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022. \- Text list
23. ^ Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.162. ALAMO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA..
24. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
25. ^ "2024 Senate Election (Official Returns)". Commonwealth of Texas by county. November 5, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wilson County, Texas.

* Wilson County from the Handbook of Texas Online
* Historic Wilson County materials, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
* Wilson County Historical Society
* Wilson County government's website

Places adjacent to Wilson County, Texas

| Bexar County | Guadalupe County | Gonzales County

|
|

|  |

Wilson County, Texas

|  |
Atascosa County |  | Karnes County

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Wilson County, Texas, United States

County seat: Floresville

Cities|

* Elmendorf‡
* Floresville
* La Vernia
* Nixon‡
* Stockdale

Wilson County map

Town|

* Poth

Unincorporated
communities|

* Calaveras
* Carpenter
* Kicaster
* Kosciusko
* Pandora
* Saspamco
* Sutherland Springs
* Three Oaks

Ghost towns|

* Alum
* Cañada Verde
* Doseido Colony
* Grass Pond Colony
* Sandy Hills

Footnotes|

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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29°10′N 98°05′W﻿ / ﻿29.17°N 98.09°W﻿ / 29.17; -98.09
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