San Ignacio, Texas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

San Ignacio, sometimes spelled San Ygnacio, is a town in Zapata County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 853. It is named for the prominent Spanish saint, Ignatius of Loyola.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Education
5 Trivia
6 Bibliography
7 External links

[edit] History

San Ignacio, originally a Mexican pueblo, was founded in 1830 by settlers from nearby Guerrero, Tamaulipas on the outskirts of the recently established Uribeno Ranch. Frequent Comanche attacks in the early days of San Ignacio necessitated the use of defensive stone architecture which has endowed the present area with uncharacteristically enduring historical sites from that period.

San Ignacio is also historically notable for its involvement in the short-lived revolution of the Rio Grande Republic, which was established at meetings which were convened in the town in 1839.

Although many of San Ignacio's neighboring municipalities were evacuated and consolidated in the deliberate 1953 flooding of the region which created Falcon Lake and "New" Zapata, San Ignacio's residents petitioned for the right to remain on their land, which was high enough to escape substantial damage.

[edit] Geography

San Ignacio is located at 27°2′38″N, 99°26′23″W (27.043938, -99.439726)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.0 km² (1.5 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 853 people, 253 households, and 198 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 215.3/km² (556.7/mi²). There were 355 housing units at an average density of 89.6/km² (231.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 79.13% White, 1.17% African American, 0.35% Native American, 17.35% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 92.97% of the population.

There were 253 households out of which 44.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples living together, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.7% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.37 and the average family size was 3.97.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 33.6% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 107.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $16,563, and the median income for a family was $19,375. Males had a median income of $17,344 versus $12,188 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $6,968. About 48.2% of families and 54.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 61.1% of those under age 18 and 25.4% of those age 65 or over.