Beeville, Texas

Beeville is a city in Bee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,129 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bee County. It is the home of a community college, Bee County College.

Many of the buildings in Beeville, including the Bee County Courthouse, were designed by the architect William Charles Stephenson, who came to Beeville from Buffalo, New York.

History and culture

The site was first settled by the Burke, Carroll, and Heffernan families in the 1830s; it was first named "Maryville" for Mary Heffernan, then renamed "Beeville" after Barnard E. Bee, Sr., who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War for the Republic of Texas. It was then called "Beeville-on-the-Poesta", with a nearby community "Beeville-on-the-Medio" seven miles (11 km) to the west. In 1859, Beeville's first post office opened.

In 1880 the population was about three hundred. In 1886, the first railroad came to town, and the population exceeded one thousand by the end of the decade.

Beeville was incorporated as a town in 1890, but the incorporation was dissolved the following year. In 1900 the population was 2,311. Beeville was reincorporated as a town in 1908.

In 1920, the population was 3,062. The town streets were paved in 1921. The Rialto Theater, one of the Beeville structures designed by W.C. Stephenson, cost $25,000. On Saturday, August 19, 1922, it opened with the silent film The Three Musketeers starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. Admission was twenty-five cents for adults and ten cents for children. The theater is now used for special occasions, not the general running of motion pictures.

The Texas oil boom brought new residents to town, and in 1930 the population was 4,806. In 1950, the Beeville population was 9,348.

The United States Navy operated the Beeville Naval Air Station, which trained Navy airplane pilots during World War II from 1943 through 1946. The base was reopened in 1952 as NAS Chase Field, continuing in operation through 1992.

In 1967, the town was inundated by of rain during Hurricane Beulah.

There are tours available for a fee of the 18th century Berclair Mansion in nearby Berclair (actually in Goliad County). The house is rumored to be haunted on the last Sunday of each month.

The baseball player Eddie Taubensee and Rudy Jaramillo, the Texas Rangers batting coach, are from Beeville.

Geography

Beeville is located at (28.405498, -97.750757).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.1 square miles (15.8 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,129 people, 4,697 households, and 3,287 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,149.7 people per square mile (829.6/km²). There were 5,539 housing units at an average density of 906.9/sq mi (350.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.08% White, 2.87% African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.69% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 20.63% from other races, and 3.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 67.67% of the population.

There were 4,697 households out of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 19.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% 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 3.30.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.1% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,475, and the median income for a family was $27,794. Males had a median income of $26,761 versus $20,411 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,027. About 26.5% of families and 30.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.8% of those under age 18 and 24.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Beeville is served by the Beeville Independent School District and Bee County College.

References

External links

• Beeville Bee-Picayune - the local newspaper
• Beeville.net
• Beeville on TexasEscapes.com
• Small Town History: Beeville, Texas
• Handbook of Texas Online article about Beeville
• Photos of Beeville and NAS Chase Field, April 2007