Cuero, Texas

Cuero is a city in DeWitt County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,571 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of DeWitt County. It is also unofficially known as the "turkey capital of the world" (this is reflected in the school mascot, the Gobblers).

Geography

Cuero is located at (29.093638, -97.291122).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.9 square miles (12.8 km²), of which, 4.9 square miles (12.8 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.40%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,571 people, 2,500 households, and 1,695 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,331.1 people per square mile (513.6/km²). There were 2,867 housing units at an average density of 580.8/sq mi (224.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.25% White, 16.71% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 12.84% from other races, and 2.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 34.73% of the population.

There were 2,500 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 29.2% 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 2.54 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 86.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,931, and the median income for a family was $29,500. Males had a median income of $26,154 versus $16,551 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,286. About 21.5% of families and 26.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.6% of those under age 18 and 20.1% of those age 65 or over.

History

The city of Cuero had its start in the mid 19th century as a stopping point on the Chisholm Trail cattle route to Kansas. However, it wasn't recoginzed as a town until 1873 when it was officially founded. The city was named for the Spanish word meaning "hide", referring to the leather made from animal hides. The industry was extremely short-lived, however, and gave way to various forms of ranching. The city's population grew considerably in the 1870s and 1880s as residents from the coastal town of Indianola, Texas settled here after major hurricanes in this period destroyed sizeable portions of their city. The city thrived through much of the late 19th and early 20th century by the introduction and practice of turkey ranching in the area. Today, agriculture is still the primary industry in the Cuero region. Cuero is considered to be one of the top cattle producers and shippers in Texas. Recently, on August 8, 2008, a DeWitt County deputy, Brandon Riedel, filmed an unidentifiable animal along back roads near Cuero, Texas on his dashboard camera. It is said to be the mythical chupacabra.

Cuero was the birthplace of Leo Frank.

Culture

• Turkey Fest - A local festival during which the townsfolk compete with people at various turkey-centric events. The competitions revolve around the turkeys each town raises and takes immense pride in. The events are the prettiest turkey contest, turkey toss, turkey trot, and turkey race.

Education

The City of Cuero is served by the Cuero Independent School District. John C. French serves K-1 grades, Hunt Elementary serves 2-4 grades, Cuero Intermediate School serves 5-6 grades, Cuero Junior High serves 7-8 grades, and Cuero High School serves 9-12 grades.

Sighting of Chupacabra in 2007 and 2008

Phylis Canion, resident of Cuero, Texas, and a former hunter with African experience, along with some neighbors found roadkills near her farm in August 2007 that she believed was mythical, bloodsucking chupacabra. She kept the head of the beast in her freezer. On September 1 2007 she showed the head of the beast to journalists and said that, "It is one ugly creature." The putative Texan chupacabrawhose head she had exhibited had big ears, large fanged teeth and grayish-blue, mostly hairless skin. Earlier Canion said that she had lost some chickens to wild animals recently. Canion based her premise that the animal that killed her chickens was not a coyote, but perhaps the vampire-like beast, because, according to her, chickens weren't eaten or carried off, but, blood was sucked off from them. The alleged sighting had triggered off an international and countrywide craze. Canion started selling $5 T-shirts that read: "2007, The Summer of the Chupacabra, Cuero, Texas." both locally and to foreign countries.

The animal found by Phylis Canion was likely the Mexican Hairless Dog, a rare breed found in Mexico and not the mythical Chupacabra as reported by Foxnews.com.

On August 8, 2008, a Dewitt County deputy, Corporal Brandon Riedel, filmed an unidentifiable animal along back roads near Cuero, Texas on his dashboard camera. The animal was about the size of a coyote but was hairless with a long snout, short front legs and long back legs. The footage was clear and in daylight, however the animal was running in front of and away from the police cruiser so it is difficult to discern most of its features; however at one point it briefly looks over its shoulder, revealing what seems to be a very elongated snout. Riedel commented that it didn't seem to be running like a dog or coyote, which run in a more smooth motion, and instead in the footage it is running in a galloping motion. However, Reiter's boss, Sherrif Jode Zavesky, believes it may be a coyote similar to the one identified by Texas State University–San Marcos researchers in November 2007.

References

External links

• Handbook of Texas article on Cuero
• Cuero Chamber of Commerce
• City of Cuero official page