| City of Richmond | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Richmond Police Department, formerly a jail | |
| Location of Richmond, Texas | |
| Coordinates: | |
| 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 | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes | 77406, 77407, 77469 |
| Area code(s) | 281 832 |
| FIPS code | 48-61892[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1345187[2] |
| Website | ci.richmond.tx.us |
The city of Richmond is the seat of Fort Bend County[3] 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 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.
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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, and Mirabeau Lamar, who are all buried in Richmond. 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.
Richmond is located at (29.580921, -95.763000).[4]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10 km2), of which, 3.7 square miles (9.6 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) of it (5.58%) is water.
| Climate data for Richmond, TX | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 62 (17) |
66 (19) |
72 (22) |
79 (26) |
86 (30) |
91 (33) |
94 (34) |
94 (34) |
90 (32) |
82 (28) |
72 (22) |
64 (18) |
79.3 (26.3) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 42 (6) |
45 (7) |
51 (11) |
58 (14) |
66 (19) |
72 (22) |
74 (23) |
74 (23) |
69 (21) |
60 (16) |
51 (11) |
43 (6) |
58.8 (14.9) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 4.1 (104) |
3.0 (76) |
3.2 (81) |
3.5 (89) |
4.7 (119) |
5.5 (140) |
3.3 (84) |
4.3 (109) |
5.8 (147) |
4.0 (102) |
4.6 (117) |
3.4 (86) |
49.4 (1,255) |
| Source: Monthly Averages for Richmond, TX[5] | |||||||||||||
As of the census[1] 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 per square mile (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 $34,888, and the median income for a family was $35,801. Males had a median income of $27,457 versus $22,723 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,195. About 17.0% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.4% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.
The United States Postal Service Richmond Post Office is located at 5560 Farm to Market Road 1640.[6]
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.[7]
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.[8][9]
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Jester State Prison Farm units, including the Jester I Unit, the Carol Vance Unit (formerly the Jester II Unit), the Jester III Unit, and the Jester IV Unit, in an unincorporated area 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Richmond.[10][11]
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.
Fort Bend County Libraries operates the George Memorial Library, the central library and the site of the administrative offices of the library system, located along Farm to Market Road 762.[12] Richmond also has the Fort Bend County Law Library.[13]
The Main Library moved from Rosenberg to its current location in Richmond in 1986. The George Foundation funded the 77,000 square feet (7,200 m2) library facility, designed by Ronald Wedemeyer Associates and built on 6 acres (2.4 ha) of land. When the library opened, it had unfinished areas to facilitate future expansion.[12] In December 1989 the Commissioners Court of Fort Bend County, in accordance with Texas Local Government code §323.021(a), ordered the construction of a law library.[13] The main library expansion and the 1991 installation of an automation system used funds from the 1989 bond election, and expansion occurred on 1995 and 2002. The 2002 expansion included the addition of two conference rooms.[12]
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