According to the census, all areas county-wide had $188,099,000 in total annual payroll (2016), $550,118,900 (±39,442,212; 2018) in aggregate annual income, and $238,574,000 in total annual retail sales (2012). In 2018, the census valued all real estate in the county at an aggregate $795,242,300 (±74,643,103); with an aggregate $29,058,000 of real estate being listed for sale and $173,100 listed for rent. In the same year, approximately, the top 5% of households made an average of $361,318; the top 20% averaged at $188,699; the fourth quintile at $79,601; the third quintile (median income) at $53,317; the second quintile at $31,238; and the lowest at $13,339.[6] TheTexas Almanac rated all categories of land in the county at an aggregate value of $5.6-billion.[7]
Between 1519 and 1685,Hernando Cortez andAlonso Álvarez de Pineda claimed Texas forSpain. Beginning in 1685,France planted its flag on Texas soil, but departed after only five years,[9] and Spain regained the territory.Mexico, including Texas, won its independence from Spain in 1821. Citizens of the United States began to settle in Texas and were granted land and Mexican citizenship.
In 1825,Green DeWitt's petition for a land grant to establish a colony in Texas was approved by the Mexican government.Gonzales was established, named for Rafael Gonzales, governor ofCoahuila y Tejas.WhenJean Louis Berlandier visited in 1828, he found settler cabins, a fort-like barricade, crop agriculture, and livestock, as well as nearby villages of Tonkawa and Karankawa. The Coahuila y Tejas government sent a six-pound cannon to Gonzales in 1831 for settlers' protection against Indian raids.
In 1835, the colony sent delegates to conventions (1832–1835) to discuss disagreements with Mexico. The Mexican government viewed the conventions as treason, so troops were sent to Gonzales in September 1832 to retrieve the cannon. On October 2, theBattle of Gonzales became the first shots fired in theTexas Revolution. The colonists put up armed resistance, with the cannon pointed at the Mexican troops, and above it a banner proclaimed, "Come and Take It". Commemoration of the event became the annual "Come and Take It Festival".[10][11] From October 13 – December 9, theSiege of Bexar became the first major campaign of the Texas Revolution.
Gonzales County was established in 1836.
February 23 – Alamo messenger Launcelot Smithers carried to the people of Gonzales, theColonel William Barret Travis letter stating the enemy is in sight and requesting men and provisions.
February 24 – Captain Albert Martin delivered to Smithers in Gonzales the infamous "Victory or Death" Travis letter addressed "To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World" stating the direness of the situation. Smithers then took the letter to San Felipe,[12] site of the provisional Texas government.
March 13–14 –Susanna Dickinson, the widow of the Alamo defenderAlmaron Dickinson, arrived in Gonzales with her daughter Angelina and Colonel Travis' slave Joe. Upon hearing the news of the Alamo,Sam Houston ordered the town of Gonzales torched to the ground, and established his headquarters under an oak tree in the county.[14][15]
In 1838, Gonzales men founded the town ofWalnut Springs (later Seguin) in the northwest section of the county.Two years later, Gonzales men joined theBattle of Plum Creek againstBuffalo Hump and his Comanches.
Gonzales College was founded in 1850 by slave-owning planters, and was the first institution in Texas to confer bachelor of arts degrees on women. TheGonzales Inquirer begins publication in 1853.[16] By 1860, the county's population had grown to 8,059, including 3,168 slaves.
John Wesley Hardin is released from prison in 1894, and returned to Gonzales, where he passed the bar examination and started practicing law.
In 1898, 23 county men served, with two casualties, during theSpanish–American War. Three served with theRough Riders.DuringWorld War I, 1,106 men from the county served. forWorld War II, about 3,000 men from Gonzales County served, with 79 casualties.
In 1935, GovernorJames V. Allred dedicated a monument in the community ofCost, commemorating the first shot of the Texas Revolution. The sculptor wasWaldine A. Tauch.[20][21]
Palmetto State Park opened to the public in 1936.[22] The Gonzales Warm Springs Foundation opened for the treatment of polio in 1939.[23]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,070 square miles (2,800 km2), of which 3.2 sq mi (8.3 km2) (0.3%) are covered by water.[24]
The majority of the county'sarterial roads have had their names removed and replaced by "County Road" numbered designations.[26] Very few major roads remain properly named on record for Gonzales County, especially outsideincorporated areas, including:
Gonzales County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition 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.
As of thecensus[34] of 2000, there were 18,628 people, 6,782 households, and 4,876 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 17 people per square mile (6.6 people/km2). There were 8,194 housing units at an average density of 8 units per square mile (3.1/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 72.25%White, 8.39%Black orAfrican American, 0.53%Native American, 0.26%Asian, 0.09%Pacific Islander, 16.48% fromother races, and 2.01% from two or more races. 39.62% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 6,782 households, out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.00% weremarried couples living together, 12.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.00% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 25.70% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 16.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $28,368, and the median income for a family was $35,218. Males had a median income of $23,439 versus $17,027 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $14,269. About 13.80% of families and 18.60% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 23.60% of those under age 18 and 19.40% of those age 65 or over.
