Brazoria County, Texas



































































Brazoria County, Texas

Angleton TX Brazoria county courthouse DSC 6280 ad.JPG
The Brazoria County Courthouse in Angleton


Map of Texas highlighting Brazoria County
Location within the U.S. state of Texas

Map of the United States highlighting Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Founded 1836
Named for Brazos River
Seat Angleton
Largest city Pearland
Area
 • Total 1,609 sq mi (4,167 km2)
 • Land 1,358 sq mi (3,517 km2)
 • Water 251 sq mi (650 km2), 16%
Population (est.)
 • (2017) 362,457[1]
 • Density 267/sq mi (103/km2)
Congressional districts
14th, 22nd
Time zone
Central: UTC−6/−5
Website brazoriacountytx.gov

Brazoria County (/brəˈzɔːriə/ brə-ZOR-ee-ə) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population of the county was 313,166.[2] The county seat is Angleton.[3]


Brazoria County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located in the Gulf Coast region of Texas.


Regionally, parts of the county are within the extreme southernmost fringe of the regions locally known as Southeast Texas. Brazoria County is among a number of counties that are part of the region known as the Texas Coastal Bend. Its county seat is Angleton, and its largest city is Pearland. Brazoria County, like nearby Brazos County, takes its name from the Brazos River. The county also includes what was once Velasco, Texas, which was the first capital of the Republic of Texas. It served as the first settlement area for Anglo-Texas, when the Old Three Hundred emigrated from the United States in 1821.




Contents






  • 1 History


  • 2 Geography


    • 2.1 Adjacent counties


    • 2.2 National protected areas




  • 3 Demographics


  • 4 Government and politics


    • 4.1 County representation


    • 4.2 State representation


    • 4.3 Elected officials


      • 4.3.1 United States Congress




    • 4.4 Texas Legislature


      • 4.4.1 Texas Senate


      • 4.4.2 Texas House of Representatives






  • 5 Education


  • 6 Transportation


    • 6.1 Major highways


    • 6.2 Airports


    • 6.3 Toll roads


      • 6.3.1 History


      • 6.3.2 Roadway system






  • 7 Communities


    • 7.1 Cities


    • 7.2 Towns


    • 7.3 Villages


    • 7.4 Census-designated places


    • 7.5 Unincorporated communities




  • 8 See also


  • 9 References


  • 10 External links





History


Brazoria County, like Brazos County, takes its name from the Brazos River, which flows through it. Anglo-Texas began in Brazoria County when the first of Stephen F. Austin's authorized 300 American settlers arrived at the mouth of the Brazos River in 1821. Many of the events leading to the Texas Revolution developed in Brazoria County. In 1832, Brazoria was organized as a separate municipal district by the Mexican government, and so became one of Texas original counties at independence in 1836.


An early resident of Brazoria County, Joel Walter Robison, fought in the Texas Revolution and later represented Fayette County in the Texas House of Representatives.[4]


Stephen F. Austin's original burial place is located at a church cemetery, Gulf Prairie Cemetery, in the town of Jones Creek, on what was his brother-in-law's "Peach Point Plantation". His remains were exhumed in 1910 and brought to be reinterred at the state capital in Austin. The town of West Columbia served as the first capital of Texas, dating back to pre-revolutionary days.




Group of men at work in Brazoria County, 1939


Temple Lea Houston, youngest son of Sam Houston, was c. 1880 the county attorney of Brazoria County. His life story is reflected in the 1963 film The Man from Galveston and the 26-episode 1963-1964 NBC western television series, Temple Houston.[5]


Lake Jackson is a community developed beginning in the early 1940s to provide housing to workers at a new Dow Chemical Company plant in nearby Freeport. The county has elements of both rural and suburban communities, as it is part of the Greater Houston.




Back view of agricultural trucks, 1939


On June 2, 2016, the flooding of the Brazos River required evacuations for portions of Brazoria County.[6]



Geography


According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,609 square miles (4,170 km2), of which 1,358 square miles (3,520 km2) is land and 251 square miles (650 km2) (16%) is water.[7]



Adjacent counties




  • Harris County (north)


  • Galveston County (northeast)


  • Matagorda County (southwest)


  • Wharton County (west)


  • Fort Bend County (northwest)



National protected areas



  • Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge


  • San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge (part)



Demographics























































































































Historical population
Census Pop.

1850 4,841
1860 7,143 47.6%
1870 7,527 5.4%
1880 9,774 29.9%
1890 11,506 17.7%
1900 14,861 29.2%
1910 13,299 −10.5%
1920 20,614 55.0%
1930 23,054 11.8%
1940 27,069 17.4%
1950 46,549 72.0%
1960 76,204 63.7%
1970 108,312 42.1%
1980 169,587 56.6%
1990 191,707 13.0%
2000 241,767 26.1%
2010 313,166 29.5%
Est. 2017 362,457 [8] 15.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]
1850–2010[10] 2010–2014[2]

As of the census[11] of 2000, 241,767 people, 81,954 households, and 63,104 families resided in the county. The population density was 174 people per square mile (67/km²). There were 90,628 housing units at an average density of 65 per square mile (25/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.09% White, 8.50% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 2.00% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 9.63% from other races, and 2.22% from two or more races. About 22.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. About 12.1% were of German, 11.2% American and 7.2% English ancestry according to Census 2000. About 79.0% spoke only English at home, while 18.1% spoke Spanish.


Of the 81,955 households, 40.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.20% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.00% were not families. About 19.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82, and the average family size was 3.23.


In the county, the population was distributed as 28.60% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 32.40% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 8.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 107 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.4 males.


The median income for a household in the county was $48,632, and for a family was $55,282. Males had a median income of $42,193 versus $27,728 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,021. About 8.1% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.6% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.


As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 313,166 people residing in the county. 70.1% were White, 12.1% Black or African American, 5.5% Asian, 0.6% Native American, 9.2% of some other race and 2.6% of more than one race. 27.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).



Government and politics



County representation


The Brazoria County Jail is located at 3602 County Road 45 in unincorporated central Brazoria County, north of Angleton.[12]



State representation





Clemens Unit, one of several prisons in Brazoria County


The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates six state prisons for men and its Region III office in unincorporated Brazoria County.[13] As of 2007,1,495 full-time correctional job positions were in the county.[14] In 1995, of the counties in Texas, Brazoria had the second-highest number of state prisons and jails, after Walker County.[15] In 2003, a total of 2,572 employees were employed at the six TDCJ facilities.[16] The TDCJ units are:




  • Clemens Unit,[17] near Brazoria[18]


  • Darrington Unit, near Rosharon - The Windham School District Region III office is within the unit.[19]


  • Wayne Scott Unit, near Angleton.[16][20]


(The following 3 are co-located in Otey,[21] near Rosharon.[18])




  • Ramsey Unit - The unit is co-located with Stringfellow and Terrell. The TDCJ Region III Maintenance Headquarters is within this unit.[22]


  • Stringfellow Unit, near Rosharon - The unit is co-located with Ramsey and Terrell.[23] The unit was originally named Ramsey II Prison Unit.[24]


  • C. T. Terrell Unit - The unit is co-located with Ramsey and Stringfellow.[25] It was originally known as the Ramsey III Unit.[26]


In 2007, TDCJ officials said discussions to move the Central Unit from Sugar Land to Brazoria County were preliminary.[14]



Elected officials



United States Congress


















































Senators

Name

Party

First Elected

Level
 
Senate Class 1

John Cornyn

Republican
2002
Senior Senator
 
Senate Class 2

Ted Cruz

Republican
2012
Junior Senator

Representatives

Name

Party

First Elected

Area(s) of Brazoria County Represented
 
District 14

Randy Weber

Republican
2012
Central and southern areas (Alvin), Lake Jackson, Angleton, Freeport), also part of (Galveston County)
 
District 22

Pete Olson

Republican
2008
Northern areas (Pearland), Northwest areas (Manvel), also parts of (Harris and Galveston counties


Texas Legislature



Texas Senate



























District

Name

Party

First Elected

Area(s) of Brazoria County Represented
 
11

Larry Taylor

Republican
1999
Northern and central areas
 
17

Joan Huffman

Republican
2008
Southern areas, Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula (Galveston County)


Texas House of Representatives



























District

Name

Party

First Elected

Area(s) of Brazoria County Represented
 
25

Dennis Bonnen

Republican
1996
Lake Jackson, Angleton, Freeport
 
29

Ed Thompson

Republican
2008
Pearland, Alvin, Manvel

Pearland native Kyle Kacal, a Republican from College Station, holds the District 12 state House seat based in Brazos and four neighboring counties.[27]



Presidential elections results















































































































































































Presidential elections results[28]
Year

Republican

Democratic

Third parties

2016

60.1% 72,791
35.7% 43,200
4.3% 5,190

2012

66.4% 70,862
32.3% 34,421
1.4% 1,456

2008

64.3% 67,515
34.8% 36,480
0.9% 945

2004

68.3% 63,662
31.0% 28,904
0.7% 682

2000

66.8% 53,445
31.1% 24,883
2.1% 1,691

1996

55.4% 36,392
35.0% 22,959
9.6% 6,287

1992

42.5% 30,384
30.6% 21,861
26.9% 19,222

1988

57.6% 34,028
39.7% 23,436
2.7% 1,617

1984

67.5% 39,166
32.1% 18,609
0.4% 234

1980

58.1% 27,614
38.4% 18,253
3.5% 1,677

1976
46.7% 19,475

52.0% 21,711
1.3% 558

1972

64.9% 21,045
35.0% 11,350
0.1% 37

1968
35.3% 10,631

38.0% 11,439
26.7% 8,033

1964
34.6% 8,477

65.0% 15,917
0.4% 103

1960

50.1% 10,880
48.7% 10,561
1.2% 264

1956

56.5% 9,536
42.3% 7,137
1.2% 208

1952
49.9% 8,360

50.0% 8,386
0.1% 15

1948
25.5% 2,133

57.2% 4,783
17.3% 1,447

1944
11.1% 850

72.1% 5,543
16.9% 1,298

1940
17.4% 799

82.5% 3,781
0.1% 5

1936
16.6% 462

82.0% 2,284
1.4% 39

1932
17.3% 617

82.4% 2,948
0.3% 11

1928

59.4% 1,588
40.6% 1,086


1924
37.2% 1,114

58.8% 1,761
4.0% 119

1920

47.4% 1,235
45.5% 1,184
7.1% 186

1916
33.6% 581

59.8% 1,033
6.6% 114

1912
19.0% 263

53.9% 746
27.0% 374




Education


A variety of school districts serve Brazoria County students. They include:



  • Alvin ISD

  • Angleton ISD

  • Brazosport ISD

  • Columbia-Brazoria ISD

  • Danbury ISD


  • Damon ISD (K-8)

  • Pearland ISD

  • Sweeny ISD


Alvin Community College and Brazosport College serve as higher education facilities.


The Brazoria County Library System has branches in Alvin, Angleton, Brazoria, Clute, Danbury, Freeport, Lake Jackson, Manvel, Pearland, Sweeny and West Columbia, and runs the Brazoria County Historical Museum.



Transportation



Major highways




  • Texas 6.svg State Highway 6


  • Texas 35.svg State Highway 35


  • Texas 36.svg State Highway 36


  • Texas 288.svg State Highway 288



Airports


The Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport, in central unincorporated Brazoria County, is the county's sole publicly owned airport.


The following airports, located in the county, are privately owned and for public use:




  • Flyin' B Airport in western unincorporated Brazoria County


  • Skyway Manor Airport in Pearland


  • Pearland Regional Airport in eastern unincorporated Brazoria County south of the Pearland city limits


The closest airport with regularly scheduled commercial service is Houston's William P. Hobby Airport, located in southern Houston in adjacent Harris County. The Houston Airport System has stated that Brazoria County is within the primary service area of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, an international airport in Houston in Harris County.[29]



Toll roads



















Brazoria County Toll Road Authority
Authority overview
Formed December 2003 (2003-12)[30]
Jurisdiction Brazoria County, Texas
Headquarters Brazoria Commissioners Court

The Brazoria County Toll Road Authority does not currently operate any roads, but will operate the new toll lanes on TX 288 inside Brazoria County after completion.



History


BCTRA came into existence in December, 2003 [30] when it saw that the Houston area needed more roadways and wanted to have a say so about any roads that come into Brazoria County



Roadway system


The BCTRA has no toll roads in operation at this time.



  • Texas 288.svg TX 288 (Brazoria County Expressway) is scheduled to begin construction in June 2017. [31]


Communities



Cities




  • Alvin


  • Angleton (county seat)

  • Brazoria

  • Brookside Village

  • Clute

  • Danbury

  • Freeport

  • Lake Jackson

  • Liverpool

  • Manvel

  • Oyster Creek


  • Pearland (small parts in Harris and Fort Bend counties)

  • Richwood

  • Sandy Point

  • Surfside Beach

  • Sweeny

  • West Columbia




Towns



  • Holiday Lakes

  • Quintana



Villages



  • Bailey's Prairie

  • Bonney

  • Hillcrest

  • Iowa Colony

  • Jones Creek



Census-designated places



  • Damon

  • Rosharon

  • Wild Peach Village



Unincorporated communities




  • Amsterdam

  • Anchor

  • Chenango

  • China Grove

  • Chocolate Bayou

  • Danciger

  • East Columbia

  • English

  • Lochridge

  • McBeth

  • Old Ocean

  • Otey

  • Ryan Acres

  • Silverlake

  • Snipe

  • Turtle Cove




See also




  • List of museums in the Texas Gulf Coast

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Brazoria County, Texas

  • Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Brazoria County



References







  1. ^ https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/brazoriacountytexas/PST045217


  2. ^ ab "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 8, 2013..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2011-06-07.


  4. ^ "Robison, Joel Walter". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved August 2, 2015.


  5. ^ Billy Hathorn, "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967", West Texas Historical Review, Vol. 89 (2013), pp. 106-109


  6. ^ "Mandatory evacuations ordered in Brazoria County". Houston Chronicle. 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2018-07-19.


  7. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2015.


  8. ^ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.


  9. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.


  10. ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Retrieved April 19, 2015.


  11. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2011-05-14.


  12. ^ "Sheriff's Office Archived September 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine." Brazoria County. Accessed September 13, 2008.


  13. ^ "Region III Director's Office Archived January 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on January 8, 2010.


  14. ^ ab Lowman, John. "Talk of prison move preliminary." Brazosport Facts. Wednesday June 6, 2007. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.


  15. ^ Horswell, Cindy. "For hard-hit economy of Liberty County, crime officially pays." Houston Chronicle. Thursday June 29, 1995. A30. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.


  16. ^ ab Isensee, Bridie. "TDCJ makes overtime changes", Brazosport Facts, 13 August 2003, Retrieved 2010-05-09.


  17. ^ "CLEMENS (CN) Archived 2010-07-25 at the Wayback Machine." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 12, 2008.


  18. ^ ab Staff and Wire Reports. "Parts of Houston join evacuation," Houston Chronicle, 21 September 2005, Retrieved on May 10, 2010.


  19. ^ "DARRINGTON (DA) Archived 2010-07-25 at the Wayback Machine." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 12, 2008.


  20. ^ "SCOTT (RV) Archived 2008-09-24 at the Wayback Machine." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 12, 2008.


  21. ^ "Table of Contents and Excerpt, Trulson and Marquart, First Available Cell." University of Texas Press. Retrieved on July 16, 2010.


  22. ^ "RAMSEY (R1) Archived August 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 12, 2008.


  23. ^ "STRINGFELLOW (R2) Archived 2008-08-21 at the Wayback Machine." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 12, 2008.


  24. ^ Tompkins, John. "Ramsey unit renamed." Brazosport Facts. November 10, 2006. Retrieved on December 7, 2009.


  25. ^ "C. T. TERRELL (R3) Archived 2010-07-25 at the Wayback Machine." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 12, 2008.


  26. ^ Timms, Ed. "Uneasy about death row, Terrell wants name off unit Prison expected to be renamed." The Dallas Morning News. July 14, 2001. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. "Another prison the Ramsey III unit in Brazoria County probably will be renamed for Mr Terrell".


  27. ^ "Kyle Kacal's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved February 23, 2014.


  28. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-07-19.


  29. ^ "Master Plan Executive Summary Archived July 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine." George Bush Intercontinental Airport Master Plan. Houston Airport System. December 2006. 2-1 (23/130). Retrieved on December 14, 2010.


  30. ^ ab http://countyprogress.zacpubs.com/brazoria-county-creates-toll-authority/


  31. ^ "Brazoria County Expressway". Retrieved May 28, 2017.




External links







  • Brazoria County government

  • Brazoria County Day website

  • Brazoria County FireFighters Association

  • Brazoria County Museum

  • Brazoria County Parks Department


  • Brazoria County, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online


  • Brazoria County from the Texas Almanac


  • Brazoria County from the TXGenWeb Project


  • Historic materials about Brazoria County, hosted by the Portal to Texas History







Coordinates: 29°10′N 95°26′W / 29.17°N 95.44°W / 29.17; -95.44







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