DeWitt County, Texas

Archeological digs{{Cite web | title=Native Peoples of the South Texas Plains During Early Historic Times | publisher=Texas Beyond History| url=http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/st-plains/peoples/index.html | access-date=May 10, 2010}} UT Texas at Austin{{Cite web | title=Artistic Expression | publisher=Texas Beyond History| url=http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/coast/artistic/index.html| access-date=May 10, 2010}} UT Texas at Austin indicate early habitation from the Paleo-Indians hunter-gatherers period. Later, Tonkawa, Aranamas, Tamiques, Karankawa, Tawakoni, Lipan Apache, and Comanche lived and hunted in the county.

The first European visitors to the county are thought to have been{{cite book | last =Cabeza de Vaca | first =Alvar Núnez| title =Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition | publisher =Penguin Classics | year =2002 | isbn = 978-0-14-243707-0}} Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, and his slave Estevanico of the ill-fated 1528 Narváez expedition. French explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle{{Handbook of Texas | name=René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle | id=fla04|author=Weddle, Robert S | retrieved=May 10, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association{{cite book | last =Joutel | first =Henri| title =The La Salle Expedition to Texas: The Journal of Henri Joutel, 1684-1687 | publisher = Texas State Historical Assn | year =1998 | isbn = 978-0-87611-165-9}} is believed to have crossed the county on his way westward from Victoria County; and while La Bahia{{Handbook of Texas | name=La Bahía | id=exl01| retrieved=May 10, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association was a common route, no evidence of any settlements exist before the Anglo homesteaders.

In 1825, empresario Green DeWitt{{Handbook of Texas | name=DeWitt, Green | id=fde55|author=Lukes, Edward D | retrieved=May 10, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association received a grant from the Coahuila y Tejas legislature to settle 400 families.{{Cite web | title=El Nacimiento de la Colonia DeWitt 1825-1828 | publisher=Texas A&M University | url=http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/birthcon.htm | access-date=May 10, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614213414/http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/birthcon.htm | archive-date=June 14, 2010 }} Texas A&M University{{cite web| title=Empresario Contracts in the Colonization of Texas 1825-1834| publisher=Texas A & M UNiversity| url=http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/empresarios.htm| access-date=May 10, 2010| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615055417/http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/empresarios.htm| archive-date=June 15, 2010}} Wallace L. McKeehan, Between 1826 and 1831{{Handbook of Texas | name=DeWitt's Colony | id=ued02|author=Roell, Craig H | retrieved=May 10, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association settlers arrived from Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and other Southern states.

A temporary county government was set up in 1846, with the county seat being Daniel Boone Friar's store at the junction of the La Bahía Road and the Gonzales-Victoria road.{{cite book | last =Dewitt County | first =Historical Commission| title =The History of Dewitt County, Texas | publisher =Curtis Media | year =1991 | isbn = 978-0-88107-175-7}} On November 28, 1850, Clinton became the county seat until Cuero became county seat in 1876.

Dewitt County voted in favor of secession from the Union, and sent several military units{{Cite web | title=Texas Frontier Regiment of Mounted Volunteers | publisher=Texas State Archives | url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txdewitt/Muster.htm | access-date=May 10, 2010}}Texas State Archives to serve. During Reconstruction, the county was occupied by the Fourth Corps, based at Victoria.

From April 1866 until December 1868, a sub-assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau{{cite book | last1 =Miller | first1 =Randall|last2=Cimbala | first2=Paul | title =The Freedmen's Bureau and Reconstruction | publisher =Fordham University Press | year =1999 | isbn = 978-0-8232-1935-3}}{{Handbook of Texas | name=Freedman's Bureau | id=ncf01| |author=Harper Jr., Cecil | retrieved=May 10, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association served at Clinton. The community of Hopkinsville was established in 1872 by Henry Hopkins,{{Cite web|title=Hopkinsville Community |publisher=Texas Historical Markers |url=http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5123002560 |access-date=May 10, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314204910/http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5123002560 |archive-date=March 14, 2012 }} freedman former slave of Judge Henry Clay Pleasants,{{Handbook of Texas | name=Henry Clay Pleasants | id=fpl3| |author=Roell, Craig H | retrieved=May 10, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association the judge credited for ending the Sutton-Taylor Feud. Residents began a school that was active until 1956, and established the Antioch Baptist Church.

The notorious Sutton–Taylor feud{{cite web | title=The Sutton-Taylor Feud of DeWitt County| author=Weiser, Kathy | publisher=Legends of America |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/tx-suttontaylor.html | access-date=May 10, 2010}} Legends of America{{cite book | last =Parsons | first =Chuck | title =The Sutton-Taylor Feud: The Deadliest Blood Feud in Texas | publisher =University of North Texas Press | year =2009 | isbn = 978-1-57441-257-4}} began as a Reconstruction-era county law enforcement issue between the Taylor family and lawman William E. Sutton. It eventually involved both the Taylor and Sutton families, the Texas State Police, the Texas Rangers, and John Wesley Hardin. The feud, which lasted a decade and cost 35 lives, has been called the longest and bloodiest in Texas history.

April 1, 1866, marked the first cattle drive on the Chisholm Trail,{{cite web |title=The Beginning of the Chisholm Trail |publisher=Chisholm Trail Heritage Center |url=http://www.onthechisholmtrail.com/trail-info/ |access-date=May 10, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413103436/http://www.onthechisholmtrail.com/trail-info |archive-date=April 13, 2010 }} Chisholm Trail Heritage Center which originated at Cardwell's Flat, near the present Cuero. The coming of the railroads eliminated the need for the Chisholm Trail. Dewitt's first rail line, the Gulf, Western Texas and Pacific,{{Handbook of Texas | name=Gulf, Western Texas and Pacific Railway | id=eqg28| |author=Roell, Craig H | retrieved=May 10, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association extended to San Antonio. The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway,{{cite web| title=San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway| url=http://saap.tnorr.com/| access-date=May 10, 2010| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060912172901/http://saap.tnorr.com/| archive-date=September 12, 2006}} was the second line in the county. In 1907 the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway{{Handbook of Texas | name=Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway | id=eqg06| |author=Werner, George C | retrieved=May 10, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association came through Dewitt. In 1925, the three lines came under the control of the Southern Pacific lines and operated as the Texas and New Orleans Railroad.{{Handbook of Texas | name=Texas and New Orleans Railroad | id=eqt06| |author=Williams, Howard C | retrieved=May 10, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association Passenger service continued until November 1950.

The United States Army Air Corps opened Cuero Field,{{Handbook of Texas | name=Cuero Field| id=qcc43| |author=Roell, Craig H | retrieved=May 10, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association serving 290 cadets, at Cuero Municipal Airport as a pilot flight school in 1941. The school was deactivated in 1944.

Cuero and its large turkey-growing industry bills itself as the "Turkey Capital of the World". The turkey industry in Cuero began large-scale operations in 1908. Much like ranchers had cattle drives, Cuero poultry growers drove their turkeys down Main Street to the local packing plant.{{cite web|title=Turkeyfest |publisher=Cuero Turkeyfest Association, Inc. |url=http://www.turkeyfest.org/history.shtml |access-date=May 10, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204031207/http://www.turkeyfest.org/history.shtml |archive-date=February 4, 2010 }} Cuero Turkeyfest Association, Inc. Each year, the crowds grew to watch the sight and sound of upwards of 20,000 turkeys going through town.{{cite web | title=Turkey Trot Parade | publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. | url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasAnimals/Cuero-Texas-Turkey-Trot.htm | access-date=May 10, 2010}} Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. The first annual Cuero Turkey Trot{{Handbook of Texas | name=Turkey Trot at Cuero, Texas| id=lkt05| |author=Kleiner, Diana J | retrieved=May 10, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association celebration began in 1912, complete with the "Turkey Trot" dance music of the era. By the 1970s,{{cite book | last =Kuralt | first =Charles | title =On the Road with Charles Kuralt| publisher =Fawcett |page=347 | year =1995 | isbn = 978-0-449-00740-2}} the event had become a 3-day typical Texas celebration with parades, live entertainment, food booths, and street dances.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|910|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|909|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|1.5|sqmi}} (0.2%) is water.{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 22, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}

• 20px U.S. Highway 87
• 20px
  20px 25px U.S. Highway 77 Alternate/U.S. Highway 183
• 20px State Highway 72
• 20px State Highway 119

• Lavaca County (northeast)
• Victoria County (southeast)
• Goliad County (south)
• Karnes County (southwest)
• Gonzales County (northwest)

{{US Census population

|1850= 1716

|1860= 5108

|1870= 6443

|1880= 10082

|1890= 14307

|1900= 21311

|1910= 23501

|1920= 27971

|1930= 27441

|1940= 24935

|1950= 22973

|1960= 20683

|1970= 18660

|1980= 18903

|1990= 18840

|2000= 20013

|2010= 20097

|2020= 19824

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=}}
1850–2010{{cite web|url=http://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010|publisher=Texas Almanac|access-date=April 22, 2015}} 2020

}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+DeWitt County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
{{nobold|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{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – DeWitt County, Texas|url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=0500000US48123&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|website=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }}

!Pop 2010{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – DeWitt County, Texas|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US48123&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}}

!{{partial|Pop 2020}}{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – DeWitt County, Texas|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US48123&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}}

!% 2000

!% 2010

!{{partial|% 2020}}

|-

|White alone (NH)

|12,168

|11,482

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,854

|60.80%

|57.13%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |54.75%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|2,158

|1,781

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,557

|10.78%

|8.86%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7.85%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|63

|43

|style='background: #ffffe6; |32

|0.31%

|0.21%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.16%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|34

|44

|style='background: #ffffe6; |70

|0.17%

|0.22%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.35%

|-

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|5

|0

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2

|0.02%

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.01%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|7

|96

|style='background: #ffffe6; |35

|0.03%

|0.48%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.18%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|126

|149

|style='background: #ffffe6; |384

|0.63%

|0.74%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.94%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|5,432

|6,502

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,890

|27.24%

|32.35%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |34.76%

|-

|Total

|20,013

|20,097

|style='background: #ffffe6; |19,824

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

As of the census{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=May 14, 2011 |title=U.S. Census website }} of 2000, 20,013 people, 7,207 households, and 5,131 families were residing in the county. The population density was {{convert|22|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people|people|abbr=on}}. The 8,756 housing units had an average density of {{convert|10|/mi2|/km2}}. The racial makeup of the county was 76.4% White, 11.0% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 10.0% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. About 27.2% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race; 28.0% were of German and 6.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000, and 77.2% spoke English, 20.5% Spanish, and 1.6% German as their first language.

Of the 7,207 households, 31.0% had children under 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were not families. Around 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.53, and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county, the age distribution was 23.8% under 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 105.2 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,714, and for a family was $33,513. Males had a median income of $27,134 versus $18,370 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,780. About 15.3% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.5% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.

Dewitt County is served by:{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st48_tx/schooldistrict_maps/c48123_dewitt/DC20SD_C48123.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: DeWitt County, TX|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=2024-11-29}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st48_tx/schooldistrict_maps/c48123_dewitt/DC20SD_C48123_SD2MS.txt Text list]

• Cuero Independent School District
• Meyersville Independent School District
• Nordheim Independent School District
• Westhoff Independent School District
• Yoakum Independent School District
• Yorktown Independent School District

Of the six school districts, four have high schools. Meyersville ISD and Westhoff ISD students transfer to one of the other high schools in the county. Those high schools are:

• Cuero High School
• Yorktown High School (Texas)
• Nordheim High School

All of the county is in the service area of Victoria College.[https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.130.htm Texas Education Code Sec. 130.208. THE VICTORIA COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.]

• Cuero (county seat)
• Nordheim
• Yoakum (partly in Lavaca County)
• Yorktown

{{div col}}

• Arneckeville
• Concrete
• Hochheim
• Lindenau
• Meyersville
• Pearl City
• Thomaston
• Westhoff

{{div col end}}

• Clinton

{{PresHead|place=DeWitt County, Texas|source={{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=April 11, 2018}}}}

{{PresRow|2024|Republican|6,515|1,270|40|Texas}}

{{PresRow|2020|Republican|6,567|1,494|57|Texas}}

{{PresRow|2016|Republican|5,519|1,163|162|Texas}}

{{PresRow|2012|Republican|5,122|1,467|49|Texas}}

{{PresRow|2008|Republican|4,888|1,716|22|Texas}}

{{PresRow|2004|Republican|5,100|1,610|22|Texas}}

{{PresRow|2000|Republican|4,541|1,570|72|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1996|Republican|3,577|2,074|513|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1992|Republican|3,238|2,127|1,365|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1988|Republican|3,628|2,579|48|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1984|Republican|4,401|1,882|9|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1980|Republican|3,450|2,044|86|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1976|Republican|2,754|2,540|33|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1972|Republican|3,755|1,357|35|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1968|Republican|2,589|1,871|784|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|2,283|3,286|4|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1960|Republican|2,763|2,253|13|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1956|Republican|3,401|1,435|13|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1952|Republican|4,075|1,934|9|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|1,612|1,808|227|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|1,879|1,884|424|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|1,735|2,056|0|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|616|1,977|9|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|309|3,206|6|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|1,142|1,594|5|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|868|2,131|792|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1920|Republican|1,277|971|1,061|Texas}}

{{PresRow|1916|Republican|1,068|1,056|23|Texas}}

{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|219|1,081|164|Texas}}

• James Dahlman, eight-term Omaha mayor from 1906 to 1930, was born in DeWitt County.
• Harlon Block, one of the Marines pictured in Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, was born in Yorktown.
• Roy Benavidez, Medal of Honor recipient of the Studies and Observations Group of the United States Army, was born in Lindenau.

{{Portal|Texas}}

• List of museums in South Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in DeWitt County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in DeWitt County

{{Reflist|2}}

• [http://www.co.dewitt.tx.us/ DeWitt County government's website]
• [https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcd07 DeWitt County in Handbook of Texas Online] at the University of Texas

{{Geographic location

|Centre = DeWitt County, Texas

|North =

|Northeast = Lavaca County

|East =

|Southeast = Victoria County

|South = Goliad County

|Southwest = Karnes County

|West =

|Northwest = Gonzales County

}}

{{DeWitt County, Texas}}

{{Texas counties}}

{{Texas}}

{{Authority control}}

{{coord|29.08|-97.36|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990}}

Category:1846 establishments in Texas

Category:Populated places established in 1846