Beeville, Texas

Last updated

Beeville, Texas
Downtown Beeville IMG 0983.JPG
Historic downtown Beeville showing the Rialto Theater
Bee Beeville.svg
Location of Beeville, Texas
Coordinates: 28°24′20″N97°45′3″W / 28.40556°N 97.75083°W / 28.40556; -97.75083
Country Flag of the United States.svg  United States
State Flag of Texas.svg  Texas
County Bee
Settled1859
Incorporated1890
Government
   Mayor Brian Watson
   Mayor Pro Tem Michael Willow II
Area
[1]
  Total6.38 sq mi (16.52 km2)
  Land6.38 sq mi (16.52 km2)
  Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
[2]
210 ft (60 m)
Population
 (2020) [3]
  Total13,669
  Estimate 
(2021) [4]
13,641
  Density2,006.12/sq mi (774.58/km2)
   Demonym
Beevillian
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
78102, 78104
Area code 361
FIPS code 48-07192 [5]
GNIS feature ID1330346 [2]
Website http://www.beevilletx.org/

Beeville is a city in Bee County, Texas, United States. Its population of 13,543 at the 2020 census makes it the 207th-largest city in Texas. [6] It is the county seat of Bee County [7] and home to the main campus of Coastal Bend College. The area around the city contains three prisons operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Contents

Many of the stately homes, commercial buildings, and schools in the area, including the Bee County Courthouse, were designed by architect William Charles Stephenson, who came to Beeville in 1908 from Buffalo, New York. Beeville is a national Main Street city. Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore, and his son Lincoln, lived in the city during the time Rushmore was being sculpted. [8]

History and culture

The original and official site on the Poesta River was first settled by the Burke, Carroll, and Heffernan families in the 1830s. Present-day Beeville was established on 150 acres (61 ha) of land donated by Ann Burke in May 1859, after the Republic of Texas was annexed by the United States. It was first named "Maryville" for pioneer Mary Heffernan. [9]

It was renamed Beeville after Barnard E. Bee, Sr., who had served as secretary of state and secretary of war for the Republic of Texas. It was called Beeville-on-the-Poesta, with a nearby community called Beeville-on-the-Medio 7 mi (11 km) to the west. The first post office opened in 1859.

In 1886, the first railroad was constructed through Beeville, stimulating the growth of the economy and population. The Southern Pacific Transportation Company operated these railroads until the early 1970s. [10]

A contemporary newspaper article reporting on the Alfred Irving case (October 2nd, 1942 - The Brownsville Herald) Beeville couple arraigned on charge of holding Negro in slavery on farm (1942) The Brownsville Herald.jpg
A contemporary newspaper article reporting on the Alfred Irving case (October 2nd, 1942 - The Brownsville Herald )

In September 1942, Alfred Irving, who is believed to be one of the final chattel slaves in the United States, was freed at a farm near Beeville. Alex L. Skrobarcek and his daughter, Susie, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Laredo, Texas on November 9, 1942. [11] [12] [13] [14] The pair were found guilty in Federal court in Corpus Christi, Texas on Thursday, March 18th, 1943. Alex L. Skrobarcek was sentenced to only four years in prison, while his daughter, Susie Skrobarcek, received two years. [15]

The United States Navy operated the Beeville Naval Air Station, which trained Navy airplane pilots during World War II from 1943 through 1946. The base was reopened in 1952 as Naval Air Station Chase Field, continuing in operation until 1992.

Beeville was served by Trans-Texas Airways during the 1950s; it operated scheduled passenger flights with Douglas DC-3 propeller airliners from Chase Field with service to Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Harlingen, Houston, San Antonio, and other destinations in Texas. [16]

In 1967, the town was inundated by 30 inches (760 mm) of rain during Hurricane Beulah.

Geography

The city's terrain ranges from flat to gently rolling slopes, set in the South Texas Brush Country.

Beeville is located between San Antonio and Corpus Christi. Travel time to Corpus Christi is approximately one hour, and to San Antonio is about 112 hours by car. [17]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.1 square miles (16 km2), all land.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. The temperature is influenced by the warm waters of the nearby Gulf of Mexico. Prevailing southerly winds of 8 to 10 miles per hour (13 to 16 km/h) come off the gulf. Annual rainfall is about 30 inches (76 cm), fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. [18] According to the Köppen climate classification, Beeville has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps. [19]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1880 208
1890 1,311530.3%
1910 3,269
1920 3,063−6.3%
1930 4,80656.9%
1940 6,78941.3%
1950 9,34837.7%
1960 13,81147.7%
1970 13,506−2.2%
1980 14,5747.9%
1990 13,547−7.0%
2000 13,129−3.1%
2010 12,863−2.0%
2020 13,6696.3%
U.S. Decennial Census [20]

2020 census

Beeville racial composition [21]
(NH = Non-Hispanic) [lower-alpha 1]
RaceNumberPercentage
White (NH)2,85120.86%
Black or African American (NH)4203.07%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH)160.12%
Asian (NH)1350.99%
Pacific Islander (NH)20.01%
Some other race (NH)300.22%
Mixed/multiracial (NH)2151.57%
Hispanic or Latino 10,00073.16%
Total13,669

As of the 2020 United States census, 13,669 people, 4,890 households, and 3,164 families were residing in the city.

Government and infrastructure

The Beeville City Council consists of Mayor Brian Watson, Mayor Pro-tempore Michael Willow Jr., Councilman Benny Puente, Councilman Alexis Bledsoe, and Councilman Darryl Martin. [23]

The city has nine parks scattered among the neighborhoods, with a swimming pool at Martin Luther King-City Pool Park. [24]

Prisons

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Correctional Institutions Division Region IV Office on the grounds of the Chase Field Industrial Complex, the former Naval Air Station Chase Field, in Beeville. [25] In addition, Garza East Unit and Garza West Unit transfer facilities are co-located on the grounds of the naval air station; [26] [27] and the McConnell Unit lies about 1 mile (1.6 km) outside the city limits. [28] The Beeville Distribution Center is on the grounds of the air station. [29]

Joseph T. Hallinan, the author of the 2001 book Going Up the River: Travels in a Prison Nation, described Beeville as a prison town. At the time, Beeville was trying to attract more prison business since the employment is stable. Hallinan wrote that Beeville was attempting to be "a prison hub, becoming roughly what Pittsburgh is to steel or Detroit is to cars". [17]

Education

Beeville is served by the Beeville Independent School District, which has about 3,500 students in six schools.

A. C. Jones High School contains a turfed football stadium and a softball and baseball complex. Sports include golf, basketball, baseball, softball, powerlifting, soccer, tennis, track, wrestling, and cheerleading. The teams are the Trojans and Lady Trojans, and their colors are orange and white. Other extracurricular programs include the Dazzlers Dance Team, band, choir, and theater arts.

The main campus of Coastal Bend College in Beeville opened in 1967 with 790 students. [30] Today it has over 3,700 students, more than 1,200 of them full-time. Dormitories and apartments on campus provide affordable housing. The community college offers an associate's degree in 26 different fields. [31] (Other campuses are in Alice, Kingsville and Pleasanton.)

Library

The Joe Barnhart Bee County Library is located in downtown Beeville, directly across the street from the Bee County Courthouse. [32]

Art museum

The Beeville Art Museum is a teaching museum, relying on traveling exhibitions. It is housed in the Esther Barnhart House. The house was built in 1910 by the R.L. Hodges family and occupied by their descendants until 1975. In 1981, the Hodges House and adjacent acreage were purchased by Dr. Joe Barnhart of Houston. He named the house the Esther Barnhart House in honor of his mother. He then developed the land into a park for the community. He named the park the Joe Barnhart Park in honor of his father. [33]

Notable people

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Patricio County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

San Patricio County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 68,755. Its county seat is Sinton. San Patricio County is part of the Corpus Christi metropolitan statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kleberg County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Kleberg County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 31,040. The county seat is Kingsville. The county was organized in 1913 and is named for Robert J. Kleberg, an early settler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coryell County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Coryell County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 83,093. The county seat is Gatesville. The county is named for James Coryell, a frontiersman and Texas Ranger who was killed by Caddo Indians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bee County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Bee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is Beeville. As of the 2020 census, its population was 31,047. The Beeville, TX micropolitan statistical area includes all of Bee County. The county was founded December 8, 1857, and organized the next year. It is named for Barnard E. Bee, Sr., a secretary of state of the Republic of Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pleasanton, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Pleasanton is a city in Atascosa County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,934 at the 2010 census. Pleasanton's official motto is "The City of Live Oaks and Friendly Folks." It is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lovelady, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Lovelady is a town in Houston County, Texas, United States. The population was 570 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Alice is a city in, and the county seat of, Jim Wells County, Texas, United States, in the South Texas region of the state. The population was 19,104 at the 2010 census. Alice was established in 1888. First it was called "Bandana", then "Kleberg", and finally "Alice" after Alice Gertrudis King Kleberg, the daughter of Richard King, who established the King Ranch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange Grove, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Orange Grove is a city in Jim Wells County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,318 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenedy, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Kenedy is a city in Karnes County, Texas, United States, named for Mifflin Kenedy, who bought 400,000 acres (1,600 km2) and wanted to develop a new town that would carry his name. The population was 3,473 at the 2020 census, up from 3,296 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingsville, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Kingsville is a city in the southern region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Kleberg County. Located on the U.S. Route 77 corridor between Corpus Christi and Harlingen, Kingsville is the principal city of the Kingsville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Corpus Christi-Kingsville Combined Statistical Area. The population was 25,402 at the 2020 census, and in 2022 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population at 24,833.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aransas Pass, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Aransas Pass is a city in Aransas, Nueces, and San Patricio Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 8,011 at the 2021 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corpus Christi, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County. Portions of the city also extend into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. It is 130 miles (210 km) southeast of San Antonio and 208 miles (335 km) southwest of Houston. Its political boundaries encompass Nueces Bay and Corpus Christi Bay. Its zoned boundaries include small land parcels or water inlets of three neighboring counties.

Garza East Unit was a correctional transfer unit on the grounds of Chase Field Industrial Complex in unincorporated Bee County, Texas, near Beeville. It was co-located with the Garza West Unit. The facility closed in 2020.

Chase Field Industrial Complex, formerly Naval Air Station Chase Field, is a former naval air station located in unincorporated Bee County, Texas, near Beeville, Texas. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates a group of facilities collectively referred to as the Chase Field Criminal Justice Center on the grounds of the former air station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Correctional Institution, Three Rivers</span>

The Federal Correctional Institution, Three Rivers is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in unincorporated Live Oak County, Texas. It is operated by Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has an adjacent satellite prison camp which houses minimum-security male offenders.

The Gulf States League was a Class A level American minor baseball league that existed for one season — 1976 — and was based in the American states of Texas and Louisiana.

Garza West Unit is a correctional transfer unit on the grounds of Chase Field Industrial Complex in unincorporated Bee County, Texas, near the city of Beeville. It is co-located with the Garza East Unit.

William G. McConnell Unit (ML) is a Texas state prison located in unincorporated Bee County, Texas, along Texas State Highway 181, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the city limits of Beeville. It is a part of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ).

The Beeville Orange Growers was the initial moniker of the minor league baseball teams that were based in Beeville, Texas between 1910 and 1977. The Beeville Orange Growers played exclusively as members of the Southwest Texas League in 1910 and 1911, winning the 1911 league championship. The Beeville "Bees" played in the 1926 Gulf Coast League, with the name revived for the 1976 Gulf States League team. The Beeville "Blaze" played as members of the 1977 Lone Star League.

The Seguin Toros were a minor league baseball team based in Seguin, Texas. In 1976, the Toros played in the only season of the 1976 Class A level Gulf States League, advancing to the league finals in their only season of play. Seguin hosted minor league home games at the Fairgrounds Ball Park, now named Smokey Joe Williams Field in honor of Smokey Joe Williams.

References

  1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  2. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Beeville, Texas
  3. "Quick Fackts: Beeville city, Texas". United States Census Bureau. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  4. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  5. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  6. "Beeville, Texas Population 2023".
  7. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 4, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  8. "About". City of Beeville Mainstreet.
  9. Tarpley, Fred (July 5, 2010). 1001 Texas Place Names. University of Texas Press. p. 22. ISBN   978-0-292-78693-6.
  10. "The Railroad in Beeville and Skidmore". Txtransportationmuseum.org.
  11. "The Untold History of Post-Civil War 'Neoslavery'". NPR.org.
  12. "Skrobarczyks Plead Not Guilty to Violation of Anti-Peonage Laws". The New York Age. December 5, 1942. p. 9 via newspapers.com.
  13. "Alfred Irving held in slavery". The Brownsville Herald. October 2, 1942. p. 9 via newspapers.com.
  14. Blackmon, Douglas A. (March 29, 2008). "The World War II Effect". Wall Street Journal.
  15. "Prison Terms For Couple In Slavery Case: Aged Farmer May Serve Four Years, His Daughter Two". The Bee-Picayune. March 25, 1943. p. 1.
  16. "Trans-Texas Airways Jan. 1, 1952 system timetable" (JPG). Timetableimages.com.
  17. 1 2 Hallinan, Joseph T. "Chapter One" (Archive). Going Up the River: Travels in a Prison Nation. 2001. Retrieved on September 27, 2015.
  18. "About CBC". Coastalbend.edu.
  19. "Beeville, Texas Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase.com.
  20. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  21. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  22. "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin". www.census.gov. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  23. "Welcome to City of Beeville, Texas". Beevilletx.org.
  24. "City Parks". Beevilletx.org.
  25. Correctional Institutions Division Region IV Director's Office Archived 2008-01-21 at the Wayback Machine Texas Department of Criminal Justice, retrieved on May 21, 2010.
  26. Garza East Unit Archived 2008-01-18 at the Wayback Machine , Texas Department of Criminal Justice, retrieved on May 21, 2010.
  27. Garza West Unit Archived 2010-07-25 at the Wayback Machine , Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 21, 2010.
  28. "Unit Directory". Tdcj.state.tx.us.
  29. "Beeville Distribution Center Archived 2010-07-12 at the Wayback Machine , Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 22, 2010.
  30. "About CBC". Coastalbend.edu.
  31. "Coastal Bend College". Usnews.com. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  32. Cook, Charles Weldon. "Joe Barnhart Bee County Library". Bclib.org. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  33. "Beeville Art Museum". Archived from the original on January 27, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  34. "Oral History Interviews". American Institute of Physics. September 24, 2021.
  35. "Marianne Rafferty Biography". FoxNews.com. January 13, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  1. 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 can be of any race. [22]

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Beeville, Texas at Wikimedia Commons