Alice, Texas Totally Explained

Everything about Alice Texas totally explained

Alice is a city in Jim Wells County, Texas, United States. The population was 19,010 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Jim Wells County. Alice was established in 1888. First it was called Bandana, then Kleberg and finally Alice after Alice Gertrudis King the daughter of Richard King, who established the King Ranch.

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 Bentacourt 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 (27.750652, -98.070460). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.3 square miles (31.9 km²), of which, 11.9 square miles (30.8 km²) of it's land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) of it (3.25%) is water.

Climate

Annual Average Temperature: 71.4 degrees
January Average Temperature: 55.1 degrees
July Average Temperature: 84.1 degrees
Average Annual Rainfall: 30.13 inches
Wettest Month: September (5.52 inches)
Driest Month: March (.94 inches)
Growing Season: 289 days
The last snowfall was during the 2004 Christmas Eve Snowstorm where up to 12 inches fell in the city.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,010 people, 6,400 households, and 4,915 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,597.4 people per square mile (616.8/km²). There were 6,998 housing units at an average density of 588.0/sq mi (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 out 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.
   In the city the population was spread out with 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 income for a household in the city was $30,365, and the median income for a family 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. It continues to remain one of the last surviving oil drilling cities in the United States.

Transportation

Highways

U.S. Highway 281

Texas State Highway 44

Texas State Highway 359

Interstate 69 - Planned to ajoin with Highway 281

Air travel

Alice International Airport

Corpus Christi International Airport (in Corpus Christi)

Railways

Texas-Mexican Railway

Education

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

Colleges

Coastal Bend College provides vocational and academic courses for certification or associate degrees. The college also works with local business and industry to customize training and education classes for employees.

Texas A&M University-Kingsville (in Kingsville)

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (in Corpus Christi)

Public

High Schools- grades 9-12 - Alice High School. Enrollment 1,576. Jr. High- grades 7-8 - William Adams Middle School Intermediate- grades 5-6 - Dubose, Memorial Elementary- grades K-4 - Noonan elementary, Saenz elementary, Mary R. Garcia Elementary, Salazar Elementary, Schallert Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary.

Private

St. Elizabeth School- Grades PreK3 through 5th St. Joseph School- Grades PreK through 5th Alice Christian School- Grades K through 12 Agape House- Grades PreK through 5th Texas Migrant Council- head start

Notable people

Chris Brazzell, a Canadian Football League(CFL) Player and ex NFL player, was born May 22, 1976, and played on the Alice High School football team. He was drafted to the NFL in 1998 to the New York Jets as the 174th overall pick in the 6th round.

Lois Chiles, born April 15, 1947, who was a top 1970s fashion model and actress, most famous for her role as Bond girl "Holly Goodhead" in Moonraker.

Robert F. Curl Jr.,Nobel Prize Winner, was born on August 23, 1933 in Alice, Texas. Rober Curl Jr. is an emeritus professor of chemistry at Rice University. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 for the discovery of fullerene (with the late Richard Smalley, also of Rice University, and Harold Kroto of the University of Sussex).

Richard Raymond was born in Alice on October 27, 1960. Raymond is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives. He currently represents District 42, which encompasses western Webb County and includes most of the city of Laredo.

Raul G. Salinas, the current mayor of Laredo, was born in Alice on November 8, 1947.

Grace Saenz-Lopez, former mayor that stole her neighbor's Shih Tzu then told the owners that it had died. She then reported it stolen after being interviewed by reporters only for it to be found at her sister's house.

J. Frank Dobie, award winning author who taught at UT Austin is from Alice and graduated from WAHS

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.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Alice Texas'.

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