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| Webb County, Texas | ||
 The Webb County Courthouse in Laredo
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 Location in the state of Texas | ||
 Texas's location in the U.S. | ||
| Founded | 1848 | |
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| Seat | Laredo | |
| Largest city | Laredo | |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
3,375 sq mi (8,741 km²) 3,361 sq mi (8,705 km²) 14 sq mi (36 km²), 0.4% | |
| Population - (2020) - Density |
267,114 74/sq mi (29/km²) | |
| Congressional district | 28th | |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) : / | |
| Website | webbcounty.com | |
The Texas tourism travel station is located at the intersection of Interstate 35 and U.S. Route 83 north of Laredo.
Typical Webb County ranch road north of Texas State Highway 359 (2012)
Webb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 267,114.[1] Its county seat is Laredo.[2] The county was named after James Webb,[3] who served as Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of State, and Attorney General of the Republic of Texas, and later judge of the United States District Court following the admission of Texas to statehood. By area, Webb County is the largest county in South Texas and the sixth largest in the state.
Webb County includes the Laredo metropolitan area.
History[]
Webb County was split in 1856. Encinal County was established on February 1, 1856, and was to have consisted of the eastern portion of Webb County. However, Encinal County was never organized and was finally dissolved on March 12, 1899, with its territory returned as part of Webb County.
Much of Webb County history is based on the prevalence of ranching in the 19th century and continuing thereafter. The Webb County Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit organization that seeks to preserve documents and artifacts of the past to guarantee that the regional history is not lost to upcoming generations. In 2015, the foundation, headed by President James E. Moore, presented Heritage Awards to such local notables as the artist Janet Krueger, the journalist Maria Eugenia Guerra, and the Laredo Community College art instructor Martha F. Fenstermaker (1943-2014).[4]
Geography[]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,376 square miles (8,740 km2), of which 3,361 square miles (8,700 km2) is land and 14 square miles (36 km2) (0.4%) is covered by water.[5]
Major highways[]
The Webb County - City of Laredo Regional Mobility Authority has responsibility for a comprehensive transport system in the region.
I-35- I-35 Bus.
- I-69W
- US 59
- US 59 Bus.
- US 83
- SH 12
- SH 20
- SH 44
- [[Template:Infobox road/TX/link Toll|Template:Infobox road/TX/abbrev Toll]]
- SH 359
Adjacent counties and municipalities[]
- Dimmit County (north)
- La Salle County (north)
- Duval County (east)
- Jim Hogg County (southeast)
- Zapata County (south)
- Maverick County (northwest)
- McMullen County, Texas (northeast)
- Guerrero, Coahuila, Mexico (west)
- Hidalgo, Coahuila, Mexico (west)
- Anáhuac, Nuevo León, Mexico (west)
- Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico (southwest)
- Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Mexico (southwest)
Demographics[]
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 1,397 | ||
| 1870 | 2,615 | 87.2% | |
| 1880 | 5,273 | 101.6% | |
| 1890 | 14,842 | 181.5% | |
| 1900 | 21,851 | 47.2% | |
| 1910 | 22,503 | 3.0% | |
| 1920 | 29,152 | 29.5% | |
| 1930 | 42,128 | 44.5% | |
| 1940 | 45,916 | 9.0% | |
| 1950 | 56,141 | 22.3% | |
| 1960 | 64,791 | 15.4% | |
| 1970 | 72,859 | 12.5% | |
| 1980 | 99,258 | 36.2% | |
| 1990 | 133,239 | 34.2% | |
| 2000 | 193,117 | 44.9% | |
| 2010 | 250,304 | 29.6% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1850–2010[7] 2010–2020[1] | |||
2015 Texas Population Estimate Program[]
As of the 2015 Texas Population Estimate Program, the population of the county was 273,536, non-Hispanic whites 8,699 (3.2%). Black Americans 552 (0.2%). Other non-Hispanic 2,134 (0.8%). Hispanics and Latinos (of any race) 262,151 (95.8%).[8]
2000 Census[]
As of the census[9] of 2000, 193,117 people, 50,740 households, and 43,433 families resided in the county. The county gained 57,000 additional residents between 2000 and 2010. The population density was 58 people per square mile (22/km²). The 55,206 housing units averaged 16 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 82.16% White, 0.37% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 14.00% from other races, and 2.54% from two or more races. About 94% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 50,740 households, 53.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.60% were married couples living together, 18.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.40% were not families; 12.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.75 and the average family size was 4.10.
In the county, the population was distributed as 36.20% under the age of 18, 11.40% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 15.60% from 45 to 64, and 7.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $28,100, and for a family was $29,394. Males had a median income of $23,618 versus $19,018 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,759. About 26.70% of families and 31.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.40% of those under age 18 and 26.90% of those age 65 or over.
Politics[]
Like most of heavily Hispanic South Texas, Webb County is overwhelmingly Democratic and has voted for that party's electors since 1916 (the last Republican being incumbent President William Howard Taft in 1912). Although Texas as a whole voted for Republican nominee John McCain in the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama won 33,435 votes (71%) of the ballots in Webb County. McCain was a distant second in Webb County with 13,111 votes (28%). Obama fared better than Democrat John Kerry had done in 2004. Latinos in Texas gave Obama 63% of their ballots, whereas Kerry had polled 50% among that group in Texas. In Webb County, Kerry received 23,654 (57%) to George W. Bush's 17,753 (42%). Nearly 57,000 registered voters in Webb County did not cast ballots in the 2008 presidential election. In 2012, despite the continuing statewide Republican trend, Webb County rebuffed Mitt Romney and cast an even larger percentage of its vote for President Obama than it had done in 2008. In 2016 Hillary Clinton actually got more votes than Obama had done 4 years earlier, but in percentage terms she lost a little ground to third parties. However, in the 2020 election, the county swung 15.4% in favor of Republican candidate Donald Trump, resulting in the strongest performance for a Republican presidential candidate (as well as the weakest for a Democratic candidate) in the county since 2004. It also resulted in Trump obtaining by far the highest number of raw votes in the county's history for a Republican candidate, and with just 4 votes above double that of what he obtained in the previous 2016 election, whereas Democratic candidate Joe Biden lost 487 votes in comparison to Hillary Clinton in the previous election.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2020 | 25,898 | 37.80% | 41,820 | 61.05% | 788 | 1.15% |
| 2016 | 12,947 | 22.48% | 42,307 | 73.47% | 2,331 | 4.05% |
| 2012 | 11,078 | 22.52% | 37,597 | 76.42% | 521 | 1.06% |
| 2008 | 13,119 | 28.02% | 33,452 | 71.45% | 250 | 0.53% |
| 2004 | 17,753 | 42.72% | 23,654 | 56.92% | 149 | 0.36% |
| 2000 | 13,076 | 41.42% | 18,120 | 57.39% | 375 | 1.19% |
| 1996 | 4,712 | 19.02% | 18,997 | 76.67% | 1,068 | 4.31% |
| 1992 | 7,789 | 31.32% | 14,509 | 58.35% | 2,568 | 10.33% |
| 1988 | 7,528 | 31.59% | 16,227 | 68.09% | 77 | 0.32% |
| 1984 | 8,582 | 40.99% | 12,308 | 58.79% | 46 | 0.22% |
| 1980 | 5,421 | 30.81% | 11,856 | 67.39% | 316 | 1.80% |
| 1976 | 4,222 | 28.72% | 10,362 | 70.50% | 114 | 0.78% |
| 1972 | 6,011 | 41.58% | 8,435 | 58.34% | 12 | 0.08% |
| 1968 | 2,103 | 17.78% | 9,419 | 79.65% | 304 | 2.57% |
| 1964 | 1,094 | 9.78% | 10,073 | 90.08% | 15 | 0.13% |
| 1960 | 1,802 | 15.19% | 10,059 | 84.78% | 4 | 0.03% |
| 1956 | 2,744 | 31.96% | 5,827 | 67.86% | 16 | 0.19% |
| 1952 | 2,784 | 30.95% | 6,208 | 69.01% | 4 | 0.04% |
| 1948 | 1,004 | 17.63% | 4,595 | 80.68% | 96 | 1.69% |
| 1944 | 776 | 13.93% | 4,742 | 85.12% | 53 | 0.95% |
| 1940 | 775 | 15.73% | 4,147 | 84.19% | 4 | 0.08% |
| 1936 | 696 | 16.22% | 3,594 | 83.78% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 657 | 13.22% | 4,299 | 86.52% | 13 | 0.26% |
| 1928 | 767 | 32.16% | 1,615 | 67.71% | 3 | 0.13% |
| 1924 | 429 | 23.91% | 1,313 | 73.19% | 52 | 2.90% |
| 1920 | 468 | 41.90% | 633 | 56.67% | 16 | 1.43% |
| 1916 | 472 | 41.11% | 676 | 58.89% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1912 | 888 | 56.31% | 654 | 41.47% | 35 | 2.22% |
Education[]
Three school districts serve Webb County:
- Laredo Independent School District
- United Independent School District
- Webb Consolidated Independent School District
Prior to 1994, Webb CISD served only Bruni and Oilton. Mirando City Independent School District served the community of Mirando City from 1923 to 2005. Prior to 1994, all Mirando City children attended Mirando City ISD schools. After the spring of 1994, Mirando City High School closed.[11] Therefore, from the fall of 1994 to July 1, 2005, WCISD served high schoolers from Mirando City, while Mirando Elementary School in the Mirando City ISD served pupils from kindergarten through eighth grade. On May 9, 2005, the Texas Education Agency ordered the closure of Mirando City ISD. The district closed on July 1, 2005, and all students were rezoned to Webb CISD schools.[12]
The private Holding Institute is a former United Methodist boarding school operating as a downtown Laredo community center.
Communities[]
Cities[]
- El Cenizo
- Laredo (county seat)
- Rio Bravo
Census-designated places[]
- Aguilares
- Bonanza Hills
- Botines
- Bruni
- Colorado Acres
- Four Points
- Hillside Acres
- La Coma
- La Presa
- Laredo Ranchettes
- Laredo Ranchettes West
- Las Haciendas
- Las Pilas
- Los Altos
- Los Arcos
- Los Centenarios
- Los Corralitos
- Los Fresnos
- Los Huisaches
- Los Minerales
- Los Nopalitos
- Los Veteranos I
- Los Veteranos II
- Mirando City
- Oilton
- Pueblo East
- Pueblo Nuevo
- Ranchitos East
- Ranchitos Las Lomas
- Ranchos Penitas West
- San Carlos I
- San Carlos II
- Sunset Acres
- Tanquecitos South Acres
- Tanquecitos South Acres II
- Valle Verde
Other unincorporated communities[]
- Cactus
- Callaghan
- D-5 Acres Colonia
- Darwin
- East Gate Acres Colonia
- La Moca Ranch Colonia
- Las Tiendas
- Minera
- Old Milwaukee East
- Old Milwaukee West
- Palafox
- Ranchitos los Mesquites Colonia
- Ranchitos los Veteranos Colonia
- San Pablo
- San Ramon
- Village East Colonia
- Webb
Ghost towns[]
- Islitas
- Los Ojuelos
- Pescadito
- Santo Tomas
Gallery[]
See also[]
- List of museums in South Texas
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Webb County, Texas
- Webb County Courthouse
References[]
- ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/48479.html. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- ^ Find A Grave, James Webb
- ^ Gabriel A. Trevino, "Preservation of history", Laredo Morning Times, May 24, 2015, pp. 1, 17A
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_48.txt. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010". Texas Almanac. http://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ^ Estimates of the Population by Age, Sex, and Race/Ethnicity for July 1, 2015 for State of Texas, July 15, 2015, http://demographics.texas.gov/Resources/TPEPP/Estimates/2015/2015_ASRE_Estimate_alldata.pdf, retrieved June 8, 2017
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS.
- ^ Mirando City, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
- ^ Bogan, Jesse. "A school district counts its final days." San Antonio Express-News. May 9, 2005. 01A. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
Further reading[]
- Lambert, R.B. (2004). Hydrogeology of Webb County, Texas [Scientific Investigations Report 2004-5022]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
External links[]
- Webb County government's website
- Webb County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas
- Webb County Heritage Foundation
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Maverick County | Dimmit County and La Salle County |
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| Anáhuac, Nuevo León, Mexico; Hidalgo, Coahuila, Mexico; and Guerrero, Coahuila, Mexico | 
|
Duval County | ||
   Webb County, Texas | ||||
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| Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Mexico and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico | Zapata County | Jim Hogg County |
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