| Brackettville, Texas | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Location of Brackettville, Texas | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Kinney |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.2 sq mi (8.2 km2) |
| • Land | 3.2 sq mi (8.2 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,106 ft (337 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 1,876 |
| • Density | 591.8/sq mi (228.5/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 78832 |
| Area code(s) | 830 |
| FIPS code | 48-09868[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1352804[2] |
Brackettville is a city in Kinney County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,876 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kinney County[3]. Brackettville calls itself the drive-in movie capital of Texas.
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Founded in 1852 as Las Moras (the name of a nearby spring and the creek it feeds), the town initially was a supply stop on the old San Antonio-El Paso road and a supply depot for the U.S. Army's Fort Clark (the fort was established the same year). Later the town was named Brackett after Oscar B. Brackett, the owner of the first dry goods store in the area, and in 1873 when a post office was awarded "ville" was appended to the name to differentiate from another town.
The town grew quickly through the 19th century as Fort Clark grew, but the town's existence remained very strongly tied to Fort Clark's fortunes. Fort Clark was for many years home to the famous Buffalo Soldiers--and, demographically, Brackettville had a larger proportion of Black Seminoles (people of mixed African American and Seminole ancestry) than the rest of West Texas. Their language, Afro-Seminole Creole, is still spoken by some in Brackettville.
After the Buffalo Soldiers moved out of Fort Clark, the fort remained a cavalry post, and virtually every cavalry unit in the U.S. Army was stationed at or trained at Fort Clark at one time or another. In 1943, the U.S. Army activated the Second Cavalry, which was to be the Army's last horse-mounted unit. By 1944, even the Second had been mechanized, and Fort Clark, so long a center of mounted cavalry, was targeted for closure. Before its closure, the fort was used as a German prisoner-of-war camp.
After the fort officially closed in 1946, it had a variety of uses, until in 1971 it was converted into a resort/retirement center. The historic district of the fort is now on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the resort is not the economic engine the fort once was, and Brackettville has shrunk from its peak population during the war years.
A federally funded brick high school for local black students was completed in April 1944; officially classified as a four-year high school, it is believed to the only one of its kind between San Antonio and El Paso at that time.
North of town is a tourist attraction called Alamo Village, built in the 1950s as the set of John Wayne's movie The Alamo. Scenes from the 1969 comedy Viva Max! were shot here. As of July 2009, Alamo Village has been tentatively closed to the public but is still available for film production and special events such as weddings and receptions.[4]
Brackettville is located at (29.315349, -100.415120)[5].
Continental Airlines serves the Brackettville/ Kinney County area via Del Rio International Airport in Del Rio, Texas. The airport services the Middle Rio Grande region.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2), all of it land.
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 1,876 people, 618 households, and 438 families residing in the city. The population density was 591.8 people per square mile (228.5/km²). There were 766 housing units at an average density of 241.6 per square mile (93.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.77% White, 2.67% African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 28.09% from other races, and 3.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 74.36% of the population.
There were 618 households out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.72.
In the city the population was spread out with 33.5% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $19,410, and the median income for a family was $24,063. Males had a median income of $21,806 versus $14,773 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,332. About 31.2% of families and 33.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.3% of those under age 18 and 30.2% of those age 65 or over.
The City of Brackettville is served by the Brackett Independent School District.
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