Wilson County, Texas

Wilson County
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
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1860
Named for	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

Native Americans

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

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

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

Adjacent counties

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

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
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 - Demographic Profile**
(*NH = Non-Hispanic*)
Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010^[18]	Pop 2020^[19]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	25,186	27,877	58.68%	56.03%
Black or African American alone (NH)	644	693	1.50%	1.39%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	125	148	0.29%	0.30%
Asian alone (NH)	143	229	0.33%	0.46%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	9	24	0.02%	0.05%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	25	187	0.06%	0.38%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	374	1,363	0.87%	2.74%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	16,412	19,232	38.24%	38.65%
Total	42,918	49,753	100.00%	100.00%

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 can be of any race.

As of the census^[20] 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

Cities

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

Towns

Poth

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Education

School districts include:^[21]

All of the county is in the service area of Alamo Community College District.^[22]

Notable people

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

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

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^[23]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
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%