Hallettsville, Texas

Hallettsville, Texas
City
Location of Hallettsville, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Lavaca
Area
• Total	2.2 sq mi (5.8 km2)
• Land	2.2 sq mi (5.8 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	233 ft (71 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	2,345
• Density	1,051.0/sq mi (405.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	77964
Area code	361
FIPS code	48-31868Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1337258Template:GR

Hallettsville is a city in Lavaca County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,345 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lavaca County.Template:GR The town is home to the Texas Championship Domino Hall of Fame and also hosts a dominoes tournament every year in January. It also hosts its annual Kolache Fest and Fiddler's Frolic events every September and April.

Hallettsville is the birthplace of the late philanthropist and businessman Adolph R. Hanslik of Lubbock, a Czech-American sometimes called the dean of Texas cotton exporters.

It is also the only place called Hallettsville in the world. Ripley's Believe It or Not once called it the city of thirteen. There are also rumours of a tree that has a chest of gold buried under it.

Geography

Hallettsville is located at 29°26′43″N 96°56′27″W (29.445398, -96.940734).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.8 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 2,345 people, 1,019 households, and 627 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,051.0 people per square mile (406.0/km²). There were 1,223 housing units at an average density of 548.1/sq mi (211.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.10% White, 16.46% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 4.48% from other races, and 1.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.17% of the population.

There were 1,019 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,089, and the median income for a family was $38,080. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $20,365 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,811. About 16.4% of families and 17.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.0% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

Public Library

The Friench Simpson Memorial Library has served the residents of Hallettsville as well as Lavaca County for over 70 years. The modern library houses over 20,000 volumes and is a major source of Local History and Genealogy research for the area. Public access computers with Internet connections are available for use at the library. For more information on the library visit the website at www.hallettsvillelibrary.org. [1]

Also known for the home of Big John a local music hero.

Education

Public education in the city of Hallettsville is provided by the Hallettsville Independent School District. Sacred Heart Catholic School, a private Pre-K–12 campus, is also located in the city.

Film References

Although the actual town involved in the real story of the "Chicken Ranch" is located a few miles north of Hallettsville on Highway 77, film makers chose the town's historic Lavaca County Courthouse square to serve as backdrop for the city scenes in "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," the 1982 musical starring Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton.

Hallettsville is also the featured location in the 2009 horror film titled "Hallettsville", which stars Gary Busey and Derek Lee Nixon.