Castroville, Texas

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Castroville, Texas
settlement_type = City
nickname = The Little Alsace of Texas
motto =

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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Castroville, Texas

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map_caption1 =

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Texas
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Medina

government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
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unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =

area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 6.6
area_land_km2 = 6.6
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 2.6
area_land_sq_mi = 2.5
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 2664
population_density_km2 = 403.6
population_density_sq_mi = 1045.4

timezone = Central (CST)
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 231
elevation_ft = 758
latd = 29 |latm = 21 |lats = 18 |latNS = N
longd = 98 |longm = 52 |longs = 50 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP codes
postal_code = 78009, 78056
area_code = 830
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 48-13312GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1353948GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Castroville is a city in Medina County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,664 at the 2000 census. It served as the first county seat for Medina County.

History

Castroville was established in 1844 by Henri Castro, an empresario of the Republic of Texas, who brought several dozen European families to the area from Alsace and adjoining Baden to populate his land grant along the Medina River 20 miles west of San Antonio. After a few hard years, the town and surrounding farms flourished, although for generations, the residents remained insular. In Castroville's first century, a visitor would be more likely to hear Alsatian — a soft, French-flecked dialect of German — than English spoken in the town's homes, stores and taverns.

Today, though, native speakers of Alsatian are dying out, and fewer of town's residents can trace their ancestry back to the original Castro colonists. The suburbs of nearby San Antonio are encroaching, and much of the town has been made a national historic district to preserve the unique, sloped-roof architecture of dozens of original Alsatian homes and shops.

Geography

Castroville is located at coor dms|29|21|18|N|98|52|50|W|city (29.354954, -98.880656)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.6 km²), of which, 2.5 square miles (6.6 km²) of it is land and 0.39% is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 2,664 people, 941 households, and 719 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,045.4 people per square mile (403.4/km²). There were 1,025 housing units at an average density of 402.2/sq mi (155.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.00% White, 0.0% African American, 0.00% Native American, 0.0% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.0% from other races, and 0.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 36.00% of the population.

The gov. census page is at http://censtats.census.gov/data/TX/1604813312.pdf, for verification.

There were 941 households out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,308, and the median income for a family was $51,007. Males had a median income of $35,625 versus $27,228 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,615. About 5.4% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Castroville is served by the Medina Valley Independent School District and by the Saint Louis Catholic School (grades Pre K through 5th).

References

External links

* [http://www.castrovilletx.us/index.html Castroville, Texas official Page]
* [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/hjc5.html Handbook of Texas Online: Castroville, Texas]