Crystal City, Texas

.]]On March 26 , 1937 , Spinach growers erected a statue of the Cartoon Character Popeye in the town because his reliance on spinach for strength led to greater popularity for the vegetable. See the Popeye statue web entry .

See also Chester, Illinois for another Popeye statue.

During World War II, Crystal City, Texas was home to an alien internment camp housing mainly Japanese aliens and their families as well as some Italians and other so called "enemy aliens." See World War II Internment Camps History Entry

In 1963, Crystal City, Texas was also the location where the first Mexican-American political revolt took place in Texas as the Mexican-American majority elected fellow Mexican-Americans to the city council, led by Juan Cornejo a local Teamsters Union business agent. Although these five elected officials known as "Los Cinco" only held office for two years, many consider this "spark" the starting point of what became known as the Chicano Movement. See the Crystal City Revolts History Entry

In the late 1960s, Crystal City, Texas would become the location of continued civil rights activism among its Mexican-American majority population and the birthplace of the third party political movement known as La Raza Unida Party under the leadership of Jose Angel Gutierrez. La Raza Unida and related organizations won election to most offices in Crystal City and Zavala County, Texas in the period between 1969 and 1980 when the party declined at the local level. See the Handbook of Texas History Entry

In the 1970s, following protests of charges on the part of La Raza Unida, Crystal City's natural gas supply was shut off by the supplier and Crystal City residents shifted to wood burning stoves, solar heat and power, and propane gas. To this day there is no natural gas in Crystal City, but most residents purchase propane from the city.

Early in its history the area known as the "Winter Garden District" was deemed the "Spinach Capital of the World." The first Spinach Festival was held in 1936. It was put on hold during World War II and later years. The Festival was resumed in 1982. The Spinach Festival is held to this day on the first weekend in November and draws former residents (many of them former migrant farm workers) from Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Washington State and beyond.

GEOGRAPHY

Crystal City (Zavala County) is located at 28°41'4" North, 99°49'40" West (28.684412, -99.827851).

According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 9.4 Km&² (3.6 Mi&² ). 9.4 km&² (3.6 mi&²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of the Census of 2000, there were 7,190 people, 2,183 households, and 1,781 families residing in the city. The Population Density was 762.7/km&² (1,974.1/mi&²). There were 2,500 housing units at an average density of 265.2/km&² (686.4/mi&²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.96% White , 0.67% African American , 0.39% Native American , 0.10% Asian , 0.06% Pacific Islander , 28.33% from Other Races , and 2.50% from two or more races. 94.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,183 households out of which 43.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were Married Couples living together, 25.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.4% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.25 and the average family size was 3.67.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.9% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $15,400, and the median income for a family was $17,555. Males had a median income of $22,217 versus $14,591 for females. The Per Capita Income for the city was $8,899. 44.1% of the population and 39.8% of families were below the Poverty Line . 51.3% of those under the age of 18 and 43.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

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Crystal City, Texas

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