Richmond, Texas

City of Richmond
City
Richmond Police Department, formerly a jail
Location of Richmond, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Fort Bend
incorporated	1837
Government
• Type	Commission-manager
• Mayor	Hilmar Moore
Area
• Total	3.9 sq mi (10.2 km2)
• Land	3.7 sq mi (9.6 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2)
Elevation	92 ft (28 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	11,081
• Density	2,975.4/sq mi (1,148.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	77406, 77407, 77469
Area code	281 832
FIPS code	48-61892Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1345187Template:GR
Website	ci.richmond.tx.us

The city of Richmond is the county seat of Fort Bend CountyTemplate:GR in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 11,081. Richmond city boundaries are joined on one hand with Sugar Land, Texas and with the city of Rosenberg on the other hand.

Even though it is the county seat, thus containing most of the local government offices, it actually is one of the smaller cities in the area. Adjacent Sugar Land is the largest city in the county.

History

In 1822, a group of Austin's colonists went up the Brazos River, stopping near present day Richmond where they built a fort called Fort Bend. Named after Richmond, England, the town was among the 19 cities first incorporated by the short-lived Republic of Texas, in 1837. Early residents of the city include many prominent figures in Texas lore such as Jane Long, Deaf Smith (who is buried in Richmond), and Mirabeau Lamar. On August 16, 1889, the town was the site of the Battle of Richmond, an armed fight culminating the Jaybird-Woodpecker War, a violent feud over post-Reconstruction political control of Fort Bend County. The Mayor since 1949 has been Hilmar Moore.

Geography

Map of Richmond

Richmond is located at 29°34′51″N 95°45′47″W (29.580921, -95.763000).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10.2 km²), of which, 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (5.58%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 11,081 people, 3,413 households, and 2,628 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,975.4 people per square mile (1,150.1/km²). There were 3,595 housing units at an average density of 965.3/sq mi (373.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 51.20% White, 10.55% African American, 0.63% Native American, 3.53% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 31.00% from other races, and 3.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 58.71% of the population.

There were 3,413 households out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.0% were non-families. 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.16 and the average family size was 3.60.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,888, and the median income for a family was $45,801. Males had a median income of $37,457 versus $32,723 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,195.

Government and infrastructure

The United States Postal Service Richmond Post Office is located at 5560 Farm to Market Road 1640.

The city is governed by a mayor and two commissioners elected at large for 2 year terms. The commission sets policy and the day to day management is done by a city manager hired by the commission..

Current mayor Hilmar G. Moore has served as mayor since 1949, and is believed to be the longest-serving current mayor in the United States.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Richmond is served by Lamar Consolidated Independent School District.

Seven elementary schools—Austin, Long, McNeill, Pink, Seguin, Smith, and Velasquez—are located in and serve Richmond.

Wessendorff Middle School, Lamar Junior High School, and Lamar Consolidated High School serve Richmond. The three schools are in Rosenberg.

Various schools operated by LCISD and neighboring Fort Bend Independent School District bear Richmond addresses, but do not serve the city of Richmond. Foster High School and Briscoe Junior High in LCISD and Travis High School and Bush High School in the FBISD bear "Richmond, Texas" addressed but do not serve the city of Richmond and are not located in or near the city of Richmond.

YES Southwest, a charter 6-8 middle school, is located within the City of Richmond.

Public libraries

Fort Bend County Libraries operates the George Memorial Library (the main campus of the library system) and the Fort Bend County Law Library—both are in city. Alpine Woodpecker-Jaybird

External links

• City of Richmond
• Richmond, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Fort Bend County, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Jaybird-Woodpecker War from the Handbook of Texas Online