The story
History
Gonzales is one of the earliest Anglo-American settlements in Texas, the first west of the Colorado River. It was established by Green DeWitt as the capital of his colony in August 1825. DeWitt named the community for Rafael Gonzáles, governor of Coahuila y Tejas. Informally, the community was known as the DeWitt Colony.
The original settlement (located where Highway 90-A crosses Kerr Creek) was abandoned in 1826 after two Indian attacks. It was rebuilt nearby in 1827. The town remains today as it was originally surveyed.
Gonzales is referred to as the "Lexington of Texas" because it was the site of the first skirmish of the Texas Revolution. In 1831, the Mexican government had granted Green DeWitt's request for a small cannon for protection against Indian attacks. At the outbreak of disputes between the Anglo settlers and the Mexican authorities in 1835, a contingent of more than 100 Mexican soldiers was sent from San Antonio to retrieve the cannon.
When the soldiers arrived, only 18 men were in Gonzales, but they refused to return the cannon, and men from the surrounding area soon joined them. Texians under the command of John Henry Moore confronted them. Sarah DeWitt and her daughter sewed a flag bearing the likeness of the cannon and the words "Come and Take It", which was flown when the first shots of Texian independence were fired on October 2, 1835. The Texians successfully resisted the Mexican troops in what became known as the Battle of Gonzales.
Gonzales later contributed 32 men from the Gonzales Ranging Company to the defense of the Alamo. It was the only city to send aid to the Alamo, and all 32 men lost their lives defending the site. Susanna Dickinson, widow of one of the Alamo defenders, and Joe, the slave of William B. Travis, fled to Gonzales with news of the Alamo massacre. General Sam Houston was there organizing the Texas forces. He anticipated the town would be the next target of General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican army. Gathering the Texians at Peach Creek east of town, under the Sam Houston Oak, Houston ordered Gonzales burned, to deny it to the enemy. He began a retreat toward the U.S. border. The widows and orphans of Gonzales and their neighbors were forced to flee, thus precipitating the Runaway Scrape.
The town was derelict immediately after the Texas Revolution, but was eventually rebuilt on the original site in the early 1840s. By 1850, the town had a population of 300. The population rose to 1,703 by time of the 1860 census, 2,900 by the mid-1880s, and 4,297 in 1900. Part of the growth of the late 19th century can be attributed to the arrival of various immigrants, among them Jews, many of whom became peddlers and merchants.
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Gonzales had a population of 7,165, 2,602 households, and 1,834 families residing in the city. The median age was 37.2 years, with 26.9% of residents under the age of 18 and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.1 males.
97.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.0% lived in rural areas.
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There were 2,602 households in Gonzales, of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.4% were married-couple households, 18.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 2,986 housing units, of which 12.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.5%.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 7,237 people and 2,243 households in the city. The population density was 1,412.8 inhabitants per square mile (545.5/km2). There were 2,869 housing units at an average density of 562.8 per square mile (217.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 71.5% White, 7.40% African American, 1.00% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 21.15% from other races, and 2.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 47.2% of the population.
There were 2,571 households, out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 15.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.35.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.7% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,226, and the median income for a family was $34,663. Males had a median income of $22,804 versus $18,217 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,866. About 14.8% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.5% of those under age 18 and 23.0% of those age 65 or over.
From Wikipedia’s article on Gonzales, Texas, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4