Falfurrias, Texas

Geography

Falfurrias is located in northeastern Brooks County at 27°13′36″N 98°8′42″W (27.226529, -98.144922). The city is centered on the intersection of U.S. Highway 281 (Future Interstate 69C) and State Highway 285. Falfurrias is approximately 78 miles (126 km) southwest of Corpus Christi, 90 miles (140 km) east of Laredo, and 36 miles (58 km) south of Alice.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.4 km²), all land.

History

Falfurrias' founding and development were largely due to the efforts of Edward Cunningham Lasater, a pioneer Rio Grande Valley rancher and developer. In 1895, he started a cattle ranch in what was then northern Starr County. At one point, it was one of the largest ranches in Texas. With the extension of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway south from Alice to his ranch in 1904, Lasater founded the town of Falfurrias and subdivided a sizable portion of his ranch land for sale to other farmers. In 1898, a post office opened in the community. A local newspaper began publication in 1906. Lasater brought in his Jersey cows and established a creamery in 1909. Sweet cream butter and other products from Edward Lasater's creamery company made the town a familiar name across the state. But that butter is no longer made from milk produced in Falfurrias. Don Pedro Jaramillo, a Mexican-born curandero known as "The Healer of Los Olmos", was buried in Falfurrias in 1907 and is venerated at a shrine there.

The state granted a petition by local residents to form a new county, Brooks, with Falfurrias as its county seat in 1911. Irrigation methods introduced to the area in the 1920s brought in truck farming and the citrus fruit industry. The city became a primary trade and shipping center for the surrounding region. The area received another economic boost in the 1930s and 1940s when extensive oil and gas reserves were discovered around Falfurrias.

The city had a population of 6,712 in 1950, which declined throughout the latter half of the twentieth century. There were 5,297 people living in Falfurrias in 2000 and 4,981 in 2010.

Name origin

The name "Falfurrias" antedates Anglo association with the area, and its derivation is uncertain. Town founder Edward C. Lasater claimed that it was a Lipan word meaning "the land of heart's delight". Others believed that it was the Spanish name for a native desert flower known as the heart's delight. Another theory is that Falfurrias is a misspelling of one or another Spanish or French word. Still another theorizes that the name refers to a local shepherd named Don Filfarrias. The term filfarrias is Mexican slang for "dirty and untidy".

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,297 people, 1,801 households, and 1,354 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,926.4 people per square mile (743.7/km²). There were 2,062 housing units at an average density of 749.9 per square mile (289.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.21% White, 0.25% African American, 0.55% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 21.56% from other races, and 2.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 92.54% of the population.

There were 1,801 households out of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were married couples living together, 21.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.41.

In the city, the population was distributed as follows: 32.2% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $15,000, and the median income for a family was $18,208. Males had a median income of $23,438 versus $17,973 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,573. About 43.3% of families and 46.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 58.0% of those under age 18 and 37.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Falfurrias is served by the Brooks County Independent School District. Schools are:

Notable people

In popular culture

Falfurrias and Brooks County were featured in a 2014 Latino USA story on illegal immigration in South Texas.