Calvert, Texas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Calvert is a city in Robertson County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,426 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Education
4 Media
5 History
6 Sports
7 Famous people
8 External links

[edit] Geography

Calvert is located at 30°58′42″N, 96°40′22″W (30.978215, -96.672767)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.1 km² (3.9 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

The city of Calvert, founded in 1868, was named in honor of Robert Calvert, a descendant of Lord Baltimore. Robert Calvert was a large plantation owner and was instrumental in directing the railroad through Robertson County.

In the same manner that the railroad brought prosperity to Calvert, cotton planters (many of whom arrived in the area following the Civil War) established huge plantations with an ambience of prosperity and Southern hospitality.

Later, many of these families moved into town from their plantations located in the Brazos River Bottoms. They built a number of large and beautiful Victorian mansions, many of which are standing today.

The Historical District within Calvert encompasses 37 complete and 9 partial blocks.

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,426 people, 574 households, and 374 families residing in the city. The population density was 141.5/km² (366.6/mi²). There were 726 housing units at an average density of 72.1/km² (186.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 36.89% White, 52.38% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 8.77% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.87% of the population.

There were 574 households out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.7% were married couples living together, 25.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 85.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $18,105, and the median income for a family was $23,214. Males had a median income of $24,722 versus $17,885 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,165. About 30.3% of families and 36.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 53.4% of those under age 18 and 32.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

The City of Calvert is served by the Calvert Independent School District.

[edit] Media

Calvert is served by the Calvert Tribune Newspaper

[edit] History

Calvert is at the intersection of State Highway 6 and Farm roads 1644 and 979, on the Southern Pacific line nine miles north of Hearne in west central Robertson County. The earliest white settler in the area was Joseph Harlan, whose 1837 land grant lay five miles south of what is now the site of Calvert. In 1850 Robert Calvert, for whom the town was named, established a plantation west of the townsite.

Calvert and other area farmers urged the Houston and Texas Central Railway to build through the area; the railroad arrived in 1868. A group of investors purchased land at the townsite and platted the community in January of that year, and by February merchants from nearby communities such as Sterling and Owensville were moving to the new town. A post office also opened at the community in 1868. The first trains arrived there in 1869. Calvert incorporated with an aldermanic form of government in 1870. In 1870, as part of the Reconstructionqv political maneuvering in Robertson County, Calvert replaced Owensville as county seat. Early that year the town was briefly occupied by federal troops; that year also the first school was founded in the community.

The Republican partyqv in the county drew much of its strength from black voters on the plantations in the Calvert area, and for a number of years the party was able to elect blacks from Calvert to county and state office. As a rail center and as county seat, Calvert prospered, and in 1871 the town claimed to have the largest cotton gin in the world. In 1873 a severe yellow fever epidemic killed many in the community. A county jail built in 1875 was still a local landmark more than a century later.

In 1878 Calvert was a thriving community with some fifty-two businesses. The next year the town of Morgan became county seat, but Calvert continued to prosper as a commercial center. By 1884 Calvert had an estimated 3,000 inhabitants, with Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopal, and Catholic churches, public schools, two banks, an opera house, and the weekly Courier. Around 1900 the community was a major cotton center, with a number of gins, cotton compresses, and cottonseed oil mills . In 1899 the town was damaged by floods, and two years later a fire destroyed much of its business district. Calvert's population was reported as 3,322 in 1900, but thereafter it began to decline. The community had 2,579 residents in 1910, 2,099 in the mid-1920s, 2,366 in 1940, 2,561 in 1950, 2,073 in 1960, and 1,950 in the mid-1960s. In 1968 many former residents of the town visited to help its citizens celebrate Calvert's centennial. The population was 1,714 in 1980, 1,536 in 1990, and 1,426 in 2000.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. W. Baker, History of Robertson County, Texas (Franklin, Texas: Robertson County Historical Survey Committee, 1970).