In 1824, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Jesús Victoria (the future city ofVictoria) was established byMartín De León, who started his colony with 5,000 branded cattle and established the county's claim as the "Cradle of the Texas Cattle Industry." It was the only primarily Mexican colony in Texas.[8]
In 1835, Victoria's settlers supported the revolution againstAntonio López de Santa Anna, but were ostracized by new incoming Americans, many of whom were adventurous soldiers or fortune hunters, who wrongly profiled them as Mexican sympathizers and forced them to flee after the revolution in 1836.[9] Anglo-Americans resettled the area.[10]
In 1836, Victory County was formed by the Republic of Texas. It is named afterGuadalupe Victoria, the firstPresident of Mexico.[3] About 3000 troops of the Texas Army encamped near Spring Creek, Victoria County, under the command ofGen. Thomas J. Rusk, as the main defense against a threatened attack by Mexican GeneralJosé de Urrea.[11]
In 1842, Rafael Vásquez andAdrián Woll led Mexican forces in an invasion into the county.[12]
In 1850, Coletoville was established by German immigrant Carl Steiner.[13] The next year, Victoria County's first toll bridge was erected across the river, built by Richard Owens and Sylvester Sutton.[14]
As of 1860, 1,413 slaves were in the county.[3] In 1861m county residents voted 318–88 in favor ofsecession from the Union. Victoria County sent 300 men to fight for theConfederate States Army.[3]Confederate General John B. Magruder destroyed the railroad from Port Lavaca to Victoria in 1863 to keep it out of Union hands. He also sank trees and boats into the Guadalupe River.[3]
From 1867-1869, the county was occupied by federal troops.Mob violence by those same troops resulted in the axing death and corpse mutilation of local official Benjamin F. Hill, who at the time was incarcerated for an alleged self-defense killing of a discharged Union soldier.[15]
The Gulf, Western Texas and Pacific Railway connect Victoria withCuero and the coast in 1873.[3] The New York, Texas and Mexican Railway provided the first cross-country route to Rosenberg Junction inFort Bend County in 1882.[3]
That next year, the Texas Continental Meat Company was erected in the county and was the largest meat packing plant in Texas.[3] Bray's Ferry was established in 1886 at the San Antonio River by G. B. Amery and John Bray.[3] Twenty years later, the Guadalupe River Navigation Company was established.[3]
By 1930, when oil was discovered at the McFaddin Oil Field, Victoria County held more cattle than any other county in Texas.[3]Foster Air Force Base was established as Victoria Army Air Field as a training air field in 1941.[16]The Victoria Barge Canal was completed in 1967, connecting Victoria County with theIntracoastal Waterway.[3]
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 91,319, 34,451 households, and 22,172 families residing in the county.[20]
The median age was 37.7 years, with 24.7% of residents under the age of 18 and 17.3% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.0 males.[20]
72.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 27.7% lived in rural areas.[22]
There were 34,451 households in the county, of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.9% were married-couple households, 18.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[20]
There were 38,958 housing units, of which 11.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.5% were owner-occupied and 35.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.9%.[20]
Victoria 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 the2000 census[26], 84,088 people, 30,071 households, and 22,192 families lived in the county. Thepopulation density was 95 people per square mile (37 people/km2). The 32,945 housing units had an average density of 37 units per square mile (14 units/km2). Theracial makeup of the county was 74.22% White, 6.30% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 15.92% from other races, and 2.22% from two or more races. About 39.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race; 16.2% were ofGerman, 6.2%American, and 5.6%English ancestry according toCensus 2000, and 73.3% spokeEnglish and 25.5%Spanish as their first language.
Of the 30,071 households, 37.2% had children under 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were not families. Around 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the county, the age distribution was 29.1% under 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $38,732, and for a family was $44,443. Males had a median income of $35,484 versus $21,231 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $18,379. About 10.50% of families and 12.90% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 17.20% of those under 18 and 11.70% of those 65 or over.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 889 square miles (2,300 km2), of which 6.7 square miles (17 km2) (0.8%) are covered by water.[27]
^"Find a County". National Association of Counties.Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. RetrievedJune 7, 2011.
^abcdefghijklRoell, Craig H."Victoria County, Texas".Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. RetrievedNovember 30, 2010.
^Harrigan, Stephen (January 1979). "In Search of La Salle".Texas Monthly:88–90, 138,141–147.
^Walter, Tamra Lynn (2007).Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga: A Frontier Mission in South Texas. University of Texas Press. p. 12.ISBN978-0-292-71478-6.
^Craig H. Roell, "DE LEON, MARTIN," Handbook of Texas Online[1]Archived March 17, 2017, at theWayback Machine, accessed September 11, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
^Craig H. Roell, "DE LEON'S COLONY," Handbook of Texas Online[2]Archived August 1, 2017, at theWayback Machine, accessed September 11, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
^Room, Adrian (2005).Placenames Of The World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features and Historic Sites. McFarland & Company. p. 395.ISBN978-0-7864-2248-7.
^De La Teja, Jesus F (2010).Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas. TAMU Press. p. 116.ISBN978-1-60344-166-7.
^Fowler, Will (2007).Santa Anna of Mexico. University of Nebraska Press. p. 226.ISBN978-0-8032-1120-9.
^"Coletoville, Texas".Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC.Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. RetrievedNovember 30, 2010.
^Blackburn, Edward A (2005).Wanted: Historic County Jails of Texas. TAMU Press. p. 339.ISBN978-1-58544-308-6.
^Roell, Craig H; Harsdoff-Lee, Linda."Benjamin F Hill".Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. RetrievedNovember 30, 2010.
^"Victoria, Texas-Air Forces".Life. June 1942. pp. 56–59 61.
