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Gonzales, Texas
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GEOGRAPHY


Gonzales is located at 29°30'32" North, 97°26'52" West (29.508801, -97.447709). It is located near the confluence of the San Marcos and Guadalupe rivers.

According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 13.2 Km&2 (5.1 Mi&2 ). 13.2 km&2 (5.1 mi&2) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.


HISTORY


Gonzales is one of the earliest Anglo-American settlements in Texas. It was the first such settlement west of the Colorado River . It was established by Empresario Green DeWitt as the capital of his colony in August 1825 and named for Rafael Gonzales, governor of Coahuila Y Tejas .

The original settlement was abandoned in 1826 after two Indian attacks and rebuilt nearby in 1827. The town remains today as it was originally surveyed.

Gonzales is most famous as the "Lexington of Texas" because it was the site of the first skirmish of the Texas Revolution . This term is an allusion to the Battle Of Lexington , the first battle of the American Revolution . In 1831, the Mexican government gave the settlers a small cannon (believed to actually have been a Swivel Gun ) for protection against Indian attacks. At the outbreak of hostilities, a contingent of Mexican soldiers was sent from San Antonio to retrieve the cannon. On 2 October 1835 , they were met by Texans under the command of John H. Moore. The Texans has fashioned a flag with the words " Come And Take It ". The Texans successfully resisted the federal troops in what became known as the Battle Of Gonzales .

Gonzales later contributed thirty-two men to the ill-fated defense of the Alamo . It was to Gonzales that Susanna W. Dickinson, widow of one of the Alamo defenders, and Joe, the slave of William B. Travis , fled with news of the Alamo massacre. General Sam Houston was there organizing the Texas army and anticipated the town would be the next target of General Antonio López De Santa Anna and the Mexican army. He had the town burned and ordered a retreat, thus precipitating the Runaway Scrape .

The town was derelict immediately after the Revolution, but was eventually rebuilt on the original site throughout the early 1840 s. By 1850, it had a population of 300. The ''Gonzales Inquirer'' was established in 1853 and is one of the six oldest county newspapers still operating in Texas. The population rose to 1,703 in the 1860 Census , 2,900 by the mid-1880s, and 4,297 in 1900.


DEMOGRAPHICS

As of the Census of 2000, there were 7,202 people, 2,571 households, and 1,763 families residing in the city. The Population Density was 545.2/km&2 (1,412.8/mi&2). There were 2,869 housing units at an average density of 217.2/km&2 (562.8/mi&2). The racial makeup of the city was 62.95% White , 12.40% African American , 0.74% Native American , 0.50% Asian , 0.10% Pacific Islander , 21.15% from Other Races , and 2.17% from two or more races. 46.13% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,571 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were Married Couples living together, 15.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,226, and the median income for a family was $34,663. Males had a median income of $22,804 versus $18,217 for females. The Per Capita Income for the city was $12,866. 20.9% of the population and 14.8% of families were below the Poverty Line . 25.5% of those under the age of 18 and 23.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.


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