Alice, Texas | |
|---|---|
 The water tower in Alice onHwy 44 | |
 Seal | |
| Nickname: The Hub City of South Texas | |
 Show Alice Show Jim Wells County Show Texas Show the United States | |
| Coordinates:27°45′2″N98°4′14″W / 27.75056°N 98.07056°W /27.75056; -98.07056 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Texas |
| County | Jim Wells |
| Established | 1888 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-Manager |
| • City Council | Mayor Cynthia Carasco Robert Molina Pete Beltran Mauricio Garza Sandra Bowen |
| • City Manager | Michael Esparza |
| Area | |
• Total | 12.58 sq mi (32.58 km2) |
| • Land | 11.99 sq mi (31.06 km2) |
| • Water | 0.59 sq mi (1.52 km2) |
| Elevation | 202 ft (62 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 17,891 |
• Estimate (2022) | 17,697 |
| • Density | 1,490/sq mi (576/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes | 78332, 78333 |
| Area code | 361 |
| FIPS code | 48-01852[3] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1329361[4] |
| Website | www |
Alice is a city in and thecounty seat ofJim Wells County,Texas, United States,[5] in theSouth Texas region of the state. The population was 19,104 at the2010 census.[6] Alice was established in 1888. The city was originally named "Bandana", then "Kleberg", and finally "Alice" after Alice Gertrudis King Kleberg, the daughter ofRichard King, who established theKing Ranch.
Alice originated from the defunct community of Collins, 3 miles (5 km) to the east. c. 1880, theSan Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway attempted to build a line through Collins, which then had approximately 2,000 inhabitants. The townspeople were not amenable to selling their land to the railroad company; consequently, the railroad site was moved 3 miles west, and in 1883, a depot called "Bandana" was established at its junction with the Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande Railway. Bandana soon became a thriving cattle-shipping point, and an application for apost office was made under the name "Kleberg" in honor ofRobert Justus Kleberg, a veteran of theBattle of San Jacinto. The petition was denied because a town named Kleberg already appeared on the post office list, so residents then chose the name "Alice", in honor of Alice Gertrudis King Kleberg, Robert Justus Kleberg Jr.’s wife and the daughter of Richard andHenrietta King. The Alice post office opened for business in 1888. Within a few years, the remaining residents of Collins moved to Alice, which was by then a thriving community.
Alice was known for its large cattle industry until the discovery ofpetroleum beneath and around the town in the 1940s, which caused a slight population boom.
In the1948 United States Senate election in Texas, an incident (Box 13 scandal) involvingLyndon B. Johnson's bid for theU.S. Senate took place at Alice's Precinct 13, where 202 ballots were cast in alphabetical order and all just at the close of polling in favor of Johnson. Johnson won the election againstCoke Stevenson by 87 votes.[7]
Alice has long been recognized as the "Birthplace ofTejano Music",[8] dating back to the mid-1940s, when Armando Marroquin Sr., of Alice and partnerPaco Betancourt ofSan Benito launched what was to be the first home-based recording company to recordTejano artists exclusively. Ideal Records, which was based in Alice,[9] under the direction of Marroquin became the perfect vehicle for Tejano groups and artists to get their music to the public. Marroquin, who also owned and operated ajukebox company, ensured that Ideal recordings would be distributed throughout South Texas. The songs recorded, which were contributed by Tejano and Mexican composers, became very popular through jukeboxes placed in restaurants, cantinas, or other establishments that would have them, and the then-scarce Spanish-language radio programs. In addition to Ideal, Alice was the home of Freddie Records and Hacienda Records, which were dominant players in Tejano music in the 1970s and 1980s.[10]
Alice is the birthplace of two Nobel Prize winners.Robert F. Curl Jr. was honored with a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1996, andJames P. Allison won a Nobel for his work in medicine in 2018.
Alice is located in central Jim Wells County at27°45′02″N98°04′14″W / 27.750652°N 98.070460°W /27.750652; -98.070460 (27.750652, –98.070460).[11] According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.6 square miles (32.6 km2), of which 12.0 square miles (31.1 km2) are land and 0.58 square miles (1.5 km2), or 4.66%, are covered by water. Alice falls within the boundaries of South Texas and theTexas Coastal Bend region.
U.S. Route 281 passes just west of the city limits on a bypass. The highway leads north 41 miles (66 km) toGeorge West and south 37 miles (60 km) toFalfurrias.Texas State Highway 44 passes through the center of town as Front Street and leads east 26 miles (42 km) toRobstown and west 35 miles (56 km) toFreer.Texas State Highway 359 joins SH 44 through the center of Alice, but leads northeast 30 miles (48 km) toMathis and southwest 53 miles (85 km) toHebbronville.
The nearest metropolitan areas areCorpus Christi, 45 miles (72 km) to the east, andLaredo, 98 miles (158 km) to the west.
Alice has very little seismic activity, with only two small earthquakes happening in recent history—a 3.8-magnitude quake on March 24, 1997, and a 4.0-magnitude quake on April 24, 2010.[12]
| Climate data forAlice International Airport, Texas, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1948–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 95 (35) | 98 (37) | 104 (40) | 108 (42) | 106 (41) | 109 (43) | 110 (43) | 109 (43) | 111 (44) | 101 (38) | 96 (36) | 93 (34) | 111 (44) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 86.1 (30.1) | 90.1 (32.3) | 93.0 (33.9) | 98.3 (36.8) | 99.5 (37.5) | 101.9 (38.8) | 102.8 (39.3) | 104.2 (40.1) | 100.7 (38.2) | 96.0 (35.6) | 90.8 (32.7) | 86.1 (30.1) | 105.7 (40.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 68.8 (20.4) | 73.6 (23.1) | 79.2 (26.2) | 85.4 (29.7) | 90.2 (32.3) | 95.0 (35.0) | 97.1 (36.2) | 98.4 (36.9) | 92.5 (33.6) | 86.9 (30.5) | 77.5 (25.3) | 70.4 (21.3) | 84.6 (29.2) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 57.0 (13.9) | 61.3 (16.3) | 67.3 (19.6) | 73.5 (23.1) | 79.4 (26.3) | 84.0 (28.9) | 85.4 (29.7) | 86.0 (30.0) | 81.5 (27.5) | 74.3 (23.5) | 65.3 (18.5) | 58.8 (14.9) | 72.8 (22.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 45.3 (7.4) | 49.1 (9.5) | 55.5 (13.1) | 61.6 (16.4) | 68.6 (20.3) | 72.9 (22.7) | 73.7 (23.2) | 73.7 (23.2) | 70.5 (21.4) | 61.6 (16.4) | 53.2 (11.8) | 47.2 (8.4) | 61.1 (16.2) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 30.4 (−0.9) | 32.8 (0.4) | 37.9 (3.3) | 45.7 (7.6) | 55.6 (13.1) | 67.6 (19.8) | 69.5 (20.8) | 69.9 (21.1) | 61.3 (16.3) | 45.9 (7.7) | 36.2 (2.3) | 30.7 (−0.7) | 27.8 (−2.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 16 (−9) | 15 (−9) | 24 (−4) | 37 (3) | 44 (7) | 61 (16) | 63 (17) | 61 (16) | 50 (10) | 37 (3) | 29 (−2) | 22 (−6) | 15 (−9) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 1.19 (30) | 1.33 (34) | 2.17 (55) | 1.46 (37) | 4.13 (105) | 3.66 (93) | 2.61 (66) | 2.91 (74) | 4.51 (115) | 1.72 (44) | 1.58 (40) | 1.86 (47) | 29.13 (740) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 8.0 | 6.9 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 7.6 | 5.4 | 10.2 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 81.4 |
| Source 1: NOAA[13] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[14] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 2,136 | — | |
| 1920 | 1,880 | −12.0% | |
| 1930 | 4,239 | 125.5% | |
| 1940 | 7,792 | 83.8% | |
| 1950 | 16,449 | 111.1% | |
| 1960 | 20,861 | 26.8% | |
| 1970 | 20,121 | −3.5% | |
| 1980 | 20,961 | 4.2% | |
| 1990 | 19,788 | −5.6% | |
| 2000 | 19,010 | −3.9% | |
| 2010 | 19,104 | 0.5% | |
| 2020 | 17,891 | −6.3% | |
| 2022 (est.) | 17,697 | −1.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[15] | |||
Alice city annexed the unincorporated community of Alice Southwest prior to the1980 United States census.
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 14,922 | 46.64% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 146 | 0.46% |
| Native American orAlaska Native (NH) | 218 | 0.68% |
| Asian (NH) | 129 | 0.40% |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 80 | 0.25% |
| Some Other Race (NH) | 716 | 2.24% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 15,780 | 49.33% |
| Total | 31,991 |
According to the 2022 United States census estimates, there were 17,697 people, 5,955 households, and 4,535 families residing in the city.
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[19] | Pop 2010[20] | Pop 2020[21] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 3,824 | 2,545 | 2,120 | 20.12% | 13.32% | 11.85% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 131 | 111 | 106 | 0.69% | 0.58% | 0.59% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 16 | 36 | 10 | 0.08% | 0.19% | 0.06% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 141 | 102 | 110 | 0.74% | 0.53% | 0.61% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | 6 | 1 | 7 | 0.03% | 0.01% | 0.04% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 7 | 16 | 40 | 0.04% | 0.08% | 0.22% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 48 | 34 | 146 | 0.25% | 0.18% | 0.82% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 14,837 | 16,259 | 15,352 | 78.05% | 85.11% | 85.81% |
| Total | 19,010 | 19,104 | 17,891 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 17,891 people, 6,129 households, and 4,362 families residing in the city.
At the 2000census,[3] 19,010 people, 6,400 households and 4,915 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,597.4 inhabitants per square mile (616.8/km2). The 6,998 housing units averaged 588.0 per square mile (227.1/km2). Theracial makeup of the city was 77.44% White, 0.86% African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 18.07% from other races, and 2.41% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 78.05% of the population.
Of the 6,400 households, 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples living together, 17.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were not families. About 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.39.
Age distribution was 30.3% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.
The median household income was $30,365, and the median family income was $34,276. Males had a median income of $32,409 versus $17,101 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $13,118. About 17.9% of families and 21.9% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 28.4% of those under age 18 and 20.2% of those age 65 or over.
Today, Alice's economy is centered on the oil industry, with more than 100 differentoil field companies located around the Alice area. Alice is called the "Hub City" due to its geographical location between Corpus Christi,McAllen, Laredo, andSan Antonio. Its location between these cities makes it an ideal center for distribution.
As of 2009[update], Alice has anunemployment rate of 6.30% when the U.S. average was 8.50%.
U.S. Highway 281
Interstate 69C – I-69C will be concurrent with U.S. Highway 281.
State Highway 44
State Highway 359
FM 665The city is served by theAlice Independent School District.
Alice and its surrounding areas have an abundance of wildlife, so hunting, fishing, and bird watching are favorite activities, and wild game hunting leases are available throughTexas Parks and Wildlife. Golfers have two courses from which to choose in the Hub City, with the Alice Municipal Golf Course being the larger with 18 holes, long fairways, and water hazards. The other is the nine-hole Alice Country Club golf course, east of town.
The Hub City of South Texas | ||
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Municipalities and communities ofJim Wells County, Texas,United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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