Bexar County, Texas

Bexar County, Texas
The Bexar County Courthouse in San Antonio.
Location in the state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	December 20, 1836
Seat	San Antonio
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,257 sq mi (3,256 km²) 1,247 sq mi (3,230 km²) 10 sq mi (26 km²), 0.78%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	1,714,773 1,375/sq mi (531/km²)
Website	www.bexar.org

Bexar County ( /ˈbɛər/) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population is 1,714,773, making it the 19th most populous county in the nation. Its county seat is San Antonio. In old Spanish, "Béxar" is pronounced [ˈbexar].

Bexar County is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area. Despite being situated in the reliably Republican state of Texas, Bexar County is a major bellwether in presidential elections. The county has a perfect record of voting for the winning candidate in every presidential election since 1972.

History

Bexar County was created on December 20, 1836, and encompassed almost the entire western portion of the Republic of Texas, including the disputed areas of western New Mexico northward to Wyoming. After statehood, 128 counties were carved out of its area.

The county gets its name from San Antonio de Béxar, one of the twenty-three municipalities (administrative divisions) of Texas at the time of its independence. San Antonio de Béxar—originally Villa of San Fernando de Béxar—was the first civil government established in the Spanish province of Texas. Specifically, the municipality was created in 1731 when fifty-five Canary Islanders settled near the system of missions that had been established around the source of the San Antonio River. The new settlement was named after the Presidio San Antonio de Béjar, the Spanish military outpost that protected the missions. The presidio, located at the San Pedro Springs, was founded in 1718 and named for Viceroy Balthasar Manuel de Zúñiga y Guzmán Sotomayor y Sarmiento, second son of the Duke of Béxar (a town in Spain).

Geography

Bexar County is in south-central Texas, about 190 miles (305 km) west of Houston and 140 miles (225 km) inland from the Gulf of Mexico.

The Balcones Escarpment bisects the county from west to northeast; to the north of the escarpment are the rocky hills, springs and canyons of the Texas Hill Country. South of the escarpment are Blackland Prairie and the South Texas plains. The San Antonio River rises from springs north of downtown San Antonio, and flows southward and southeastward through the county.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,257 square miles (3,255.6 km²), of which 1,247 square miles (3,229.7 km²) is land and 10 square miles (25.9 km²) (0.78%) is water.

Major Highways

• Interstate 10
• Interstate 35
• Interstate 37
• Interstate 410
• U.S. Highway 87
• U.S. Highway 90
• U.S. Highway 181
• U.S. Highway 281
• State Highway 16

Adjacent counties

• Kendall County (north)
• Comal County (north)
• Guadalupe County (northeast)
• Wilson County (southeast)
• Atascosa County (south)
• Medina County (west)
• Bandera County (northwest)

National protected area

• San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	6,052		—
1860	14,454		138.8%
1870	16,043		11.0%
1880	30,470		89.9%
1890	49,266		61.7%
1900	69,422		40.9%
1910	119,676		72.4%
1920	202,096		68.9%
1930	292,533		44.7%
1940	338,176		15.6%
1950	500,460		48.0%
1960	687,151		37.3%
1970	830,460		20.9%
1980	988,800		19.1%
1990	1,185,394		19.9%
2000	1,392,931		17.5%
2010	1,714,773		23.1%
U.S. Decennial Census Texas Almanac: 1850-2010

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,392,931 people, 488,942 households, and 345,681 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,117 people per square mile (431/km²). There were 521,359 housing units at an average density of 418 per square mile (161/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.86% White, 7.18% Black or African American, 0.80% Native American, 1.61% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 17.80% from other races, and 3.64% from two or more races. 54.35% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 488,942 households out of which 36.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.50% were married couples living together, 15.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the county, the population was spread out with 28.50% under the age of 18, 10.70% from 18 to 24, 30.60% from 25 to 44, 19.90% from 45 to 64, and 10.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 94.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,328, and the median income for a family was $43,724. Males had a median income of $30,756 versus $24,920 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,363. About 12.70% of families and 15.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.40% of those under age 18 and 12.20% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Presidential Election Results 1960-2008

Year	Democrat	Republican
2008	52.23% 275,527	46.69% 246,275
2004	44.39% 210,976	54.85% 260,698
2000	44.86% 185,158	52.24% 215,613
1996	49.74% 180,308	44.59% 161,619
1992	41.54% 172,513	40.65% 168,816
1988	47.07% 174,036	52.25% 193,192
1984	40.18% 136,947	59.65% 203,319
1980	44.65% 137,729	51.73% 159,578
1976	54.00% 146,581	44.64% 121,176
1972	39.82% 91,662	59.76% 137,572
1968	51.56% 95,325	39.46% 72,951
1964	66.86% 108,658	32.90% 53,469
1960	53.74% 75,373	45.59% 63,934

Bexar County is a major bellwether in presidential elections. Since the 1972 presidential election, the winner of Bexar County has gone on to win the general election. In the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama carried Bexar County with 52.23% of the vote. This was very similar to his national figure of 52.92%.

Four congressional districts are located either entirely or partly within Bexar County. There are 2 Republicans and 2 Democrats.

Representative		Party	Home Town/City	District
	Charlie Gonzalez	D	San Antonio	20
	Lamar S. Smith	R	San Antonio	21
	Quico Canseco	R	San Antonio	23
	Henry Cuellar	D	Laredo	28

Four Texas Senate districts are located either entirely or partly within Bexar County. There are 3 Democrats and 1 Republican.

Senator		Party	Home Town/City	District
	Carlos I. Uresti	D	San Antonio	19
	Judith Zaffirini	D	Laredo	21
	Jeff Wentworth	R	San Antonio	25
	Leticia R. Van de Putte	D	San Antonio	26

Ten Texas House of Representatives districts are located within Bexar County. There are 7 Democrats and 3 Republicans, including the current Speaker of the House Joe Straus

Representative		Party	Home Town/City	District
	Trey Martinez Fischer	D	San Antonio	116
	John Garza	R	San Antonio	117
	Joe Farias	D	San Antonio	118
	Roland Gutierrez	D	San Antonio	119
	Ruth McClendon	D	San Antonio	120
	Joe Straus	R	San Antonio	121
	Lyle Larson	R	San Antonio	122
	Mike Villarreal	D	San Antonio	123
	Jose Menendez	D	San Antonio	124
	Joaquin Castro	D	San Antonio	125

Notable people from Bexar County

• Al Freeman, Jr., actor, ABC soap opera One Life to Live, Malcolm X, Carol Burnett and Joan Crawford
• Cyndi Taylor Krier, first woman and first Republican to serve in the Texas Senate from Bexar County (1985-1993) and first woman and first Republican to serve as Bexar County administrative judge (1993 to 2001)
• Michelle Rodriguez Of James Cameron's Avatar
• Alan Schoolcraft, former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives
• Percy Sutton, former Manhattan Borough President, civil rights attorney with such high profile clients as Malcolm X, owner of Apollo Theater in Harlem and several radio stations
• Carlos I. Uresti, Member of the Texas Senate from the 19th district
• Ciro D. Rodriguez, Member of Congress, previously 28th District, Texas, now 23rd District, Texas
• Robert Rodríguez, Director of Spy Kids, Desperado, and Sin City.

Further information: Notables of San Antonio, Texas

Cities and towns

Alamo Heights Balcones Heights Castle Hills Cibolo* China Grove Converse Cross Mountain Elmendorf Fair Oaks Ranch** Grey Forest Helotes

Hill Country Village Hollywood Park Kirby Leon Springs Leon Valley Live Oak Lytle**** Olmos Park San Antonio Schertz*** Scenic Oaks

Selma*** Shavano Park Somerset St. Hedwig Terrell Hills Timberwood Park Universal City Von Ormy Windcrest

* Only a very small portion of Cibolo is in Bexar County.
** Fair Oaks Ranch has territory in Bexar County, Comal County and Kendall County.
*** Selma and Schertz each have territory in Bexar County, Comal County and Guadalupe County.
**** Lytle has territory in Atascosa County, Bexar County and Medina County.

Military Installations

• Lackland Air Force Base
• Kelly Air Force Base
• Randolph Air Force Base
• Fort Sam Houston
• Brooke Army Medical Center
• Brooks City-Base

Corrections

The Bexar County jail facilities are at 200 North Comal in Downtown San Antonio.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Dominguez Unit, a state jail for men, in an unincorporated section of Bexar County.

See also

• List of museums in Central Texas
• List of museums in San Antonio, Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Bexar County, Texas

References

• Stephens, A. Ray, and William M. Holmes, Historical Atlas of Texas. University of Oklahoma Press, 1989. ISBN 0-8061-2307-9

External links

• Bexar County government's website
• Bexar County from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Bexar County Texas Almanac Page
• Bexar County Jail Information
• Historic Bexar County materials, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.

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