Alice, Texas

History

Alice originated from the defunct community of Collins, three miles to the east. Around 1880 the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway attempted to build a line through Collins, which then had about 2,000 inhabitants. The townspeople were not amenable to selling their land to the railroad company; consequently, the railroad site was moved three miles west, and in 1883 a depot called Bandana was established at its junction with the Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande Railway. Bandana soon became a thriving cattle-shipping point, and application for a post office was made under the name Kleberg in honor of Robert Justus Kleberg. The petition was denied because a town named Kleberg already appeared on the post office list, so residents then chose the name Alice, in honor of Alice Gertrudis King Kleberg, Kleberg's wife and the daughter of Richard King. The Alice post office opened for business in 1888. Within a few years the remaining residents of Collins moved to Alice, which was by then a thriving community.

The City of Alice was known for its large cattle industry until the discovery of oil and petroleum beneath Alice in the 1940s which caused a slight population boom.

In 1948, an incident involving Lyndon B. Johnson's bid for the U.S. Senate took place at Alice's Precinct 13 where 202 ballots were cast in alphabetical order and all just at the close of polling in favor of Johnson. Johnson won the election against Coke Stevenson by 87 votes.

Culture

Alice has long been recognized as "The Birthplace of Tejano" dating back to the mid-1940s when Armando Marroquin, Sr. of Alice and partner Paco Betancourt of San Benito, Texas launched what was to be the first home-based recording company to record Tejano artists exclusively. Ideal Records, which was based in Alice, the heart of South Texas and under the direction of Marroquin became the perfect vehicle for Tejano groups and artists to get their music to the public. Marroquin, who also owned and operated a jukebox company, ensured that Ideal recordings would be distributed throughout South Texas. The songs recorded, which were contributed by Tejano and Mexican composers became very popular through jukeboxes placed in restaurants, cantinas or any other establishment that would have them, and the then very scarce Spanish language radio programs.

Geography

Alice is located at 27°45′02″N 98°04′14″W (27.750652, -98.070460). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.3 square miles (32 km²), of which 11.9 square miles (31 km²) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) (3.25%) is water. Alice falls within the boundaries of South Texas as well as the Texas Coastal Bend.

The nearest Metropolitan areas within 100 Miles are:

Climate

Demographics

At the 2000 census, there were 19,010 people, 6,400 households and 4,915 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,597.4 per square mile (616.8/km²). There were 6,998 housing units at an average density of 588.0 per square mile (227.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.44% White, 0.86% African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 17.92% from other races, and 2.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 78.05% of the population.

There were 6,400 households of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples living together, 17.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.39.

Age distribution was 30.3% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.

The median household income was $30,365, and the median family income was $34,276. Males had a median income of $32,409 versus $17,101 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,118. About 17.9% of families and 21.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.4% of those under age 18 and 20.2% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Today, Alice's economy is centered on the drilling industry with more than 100 different oil field companies located around the Alice area. Alice is called the "Hub City" due to its geographical location between Corpus Christi, McAllen, Laredo and San Antonio. Alice's location between these cities makes it an ideal center for distribution. Some major oil companies in Alice are Schlumberger, Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Inc., Weatherford International, Grey Wolf Drilling Company, south division and Alice serves as the headquarters for Dixie iron Works - MSI. As of 2009, Alice has an unemployment rate of 6.30 percent when the U.S. average was 8.50 percent. Recent job growth has been negative and the number of jobs in Alice has decreased by 1.10 percent.

Highways

Air travel

Railways

Now owned by Kansas City Southern, which connects Monterrey, Mexico via Laredo, to the Port of Corpus Christi.

Education

The City of Alice is served by the Alice Independent School District.

Higher education

Public

Private

Notable people

Ramon Ayala

Outdoors

Alice and its surrounding areas have an abundance of wildlife, so hunting, fishing and bird watching are favorite activities, and there are wild game hunting leases available through Texas Parks and Wildlife. Golfers have two courses to choose from in the Hub City, with the Alice Municipal Golf Course being the larger with 18 holes, long fairways and water hazards. The other is the 9-hole Alice Country Club golf course east of town.