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2 Geography 3 Demographics |
History
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 for 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 African-American and Seminole Indian residents than the rest of West Texas.
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 targetted 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.
North of town is a tourist attraction called Alamo Village, built in the 1950s as the set of John Wayne's movie The Alamo.
Geography
Brackettville is located at 29°18'55" North, 100°24'54" West (29.315349, -100.415120)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.2 km² (3.2 mi²). 8.2 km² (3.2 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 1,876 people, 618 households, and 438 families residing in the city. The population density is 228.5/km² (591.8/mi²). There are 766 housing units at an average density of 93.3/km² (241.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 64.77% White, 2.67% African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 28.09% from other races, and 3.84% from two or more races. 74.36% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 618 households out of which 38.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% are married couples living together, 10.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% are non-families. 27.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 15.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.00 and the average family size is 3.72.
In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $19,410, and the median income for a family is $24,063. Males have a median income of $21,806 versus $14,773 for females. The per capita income for the city is $9,332. 33.4% of the population and 31.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 37.3% are under the age of 18 and 30.2% are 65 or older.