Waller County, Texas

Waller County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 56,794.[1] Its county seat is Hempstead.[2] The county was named for Edwin Waller, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and first mayor of Austin.

Not to be confused with Walker County, Texas.

Waller County
County
The Waller County Courthouse in Hempstead
The Waller County Courthouse in Hempstead
Map of Texas highlighting Waller County
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Map of the United States highlighting Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 30°01′N 95°59′W
Country United States
State Texas
Founded1873
Named forEdwin Waller
SeatHempstead
Largest cityPrairie View
Area
 • Total518 sq mi (1,340 km2)
 • Land513 sq mi (1,330 km2)
 • Water4.4 sq mi (11 km2)  0.8%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total56,794
 • Density110/sq mi (42/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district10th
Websitewww.co.waller.tx.us

Waller County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX metropolitan statistical area. It is home of the Prairie View A&M University.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 518 square miles (1,340 km2), of which 4.4 square miles (11 km2) (0.8%) are covered by water.[3]

Adjacent counties

Communities

Cities

Town

Unincorporated areas

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18809,024—
189010,88820.7%
190014,24630.8%
191012,138−14.8%
192010,292−15.2%
193010,014−2.7%
194010,2802.7%
195011,96116.4%
196012,0710.9%
197014,28518.3%
198019,79838.6%
199023,39018.1%
200032,66339.6%
201043,20532.3%
202056,79431.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[4]
1850–2010[5] 2010–2020[6][7]
Waller County, Texas - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Race / Ethnicity Pop 2010[8] Pop 2020[7] % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 19,260 23,494 44.58% 41.37%
Black or African American alone (NH) 10,537 12,104 24.39% 21.31%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 141 210 0.33% 0.37%
Asian alone (NH) 213 785 0.49% 1.38%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 9 10 0.02% 0.02%
Some Other Race alone (NH) 54 314 0.12% 0.55%
Mixed race/multiracial (NH) 455 1,391 1.05% 2.45%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 12,536 18,486 29.02% 32.55%
Total 43,205 56,794 100.00% 100.00%

Note: the U.S. Census Bureau treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

As of the 2000 census,[9] 32,663 people, 10,557 households, and 7,748 families resided in the county. The population density was 64 people per square mile (25 people/km2). The 11,955 housing units averaged 23 units per square mile (8.9 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 57.83% White, 29.25% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 10.28% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. About 19.42% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 10,557 households, 35.1% had children under 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were not families. About 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.79, and the average family size was 3.25.

In the county, the population was distributed as 25.70% under 18, 18.10% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 20.50% from 45 to 64, and 9.40% who were 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.70 males. For every 100 females 18, and over, there were 96.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,136, and for a family was $45,868. Males had a median income of $34,447 versus $25,583 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,338. About 11.50% of families and 16.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.00% of those under age 18 and 12.30% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Igloo Corporation, a manufacturer of cooling and portable refrigeration products, is headquartered in unincorporated Waller County between Brookshire and Katy.[10] In 2004, Igloo announced that it was consolidating its corporate, distribution, and manufacturing operations in Waller County.[11]

Goya Foods has its Texas offices in an unincorporated area of the county near Brookshire.[12]

Politics and government
United States presidential election results for Waller County, Texas[13]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 14,260 62.73% 8,191 36.03% 283 1.24%
2016 10,531 62.74% 5,748 34.25% 505 3.01%
2012 9,244 58.13% 6,514 40.96% 144 0.91%
2008 8,265 53.30% 7,153 46.12% 90 0.58%
2004 7,679 55.32% 6,145 44.27% 57 0.41%
2000 5,686 52.37% 5,046 46.47% 126 1.16%
1996 3,559 41.28% 4,535 52.60% 528 6.12%
1992 3,065 33.84% 4,270 47.14% 1,723 19.02%
1988 3,607 47.31% 3,957 51.90% 60 0.79%
1984 4,116 51.69% 3,828 48.07% 19 0.24%
1980 3,019 46.71% 3,329 51.51% 115 1.78%
1976 1,992 40.97% 2,828 58.17% 42 0.86%
1972 2,263 58.95% 1,538 40.06% 38 0.99%
1968 958 27.86% 1,684 48.97% 797 23.18%
1964 980 31.12% 2,167 68.82% 2 0.06%
1960 1,115 49.18% 1,101 48.57% 51 2.25%
1956 1,426 59.49% 929 38.76% 42 1.75%
1952 1,487 54.01% 1,264 45.91% 2 0.07%
1948 448 27.42% 812 49.69% 374 22.89%
1944 190 13.23% 1,007 70.13% 239 16.64%
1940 300 21.96% 1,065 77.96% 1 0.07%
1936 111 11.08% 889 88.72% 2 0.20%
1932 89 6.94% 1,192 92.91% 2 0.16%
1928 376 42.68% 504 57.21% 1 0.11%
1924 203 13.89% 1,239 84.80% 19 1.30%
1920 167 13.36% 674 53.92% 409 32.72%
1916 182 22.03% 636 77.00% 8 0.97%
1912 144 16.78% 594 69.23% 120 13.99%

United States Congress
Senators Name Party First Elected Level
  Senate Class 1 John Cornyn Republican 2002 Senior Senator
  Senate Class 2 Ted Cruz Republican 2012 Junior Senator
Representatives Name Party First Elected Area(s) of Waller County Represented
  District 10 Michael McCaul Republican 2004 Entire county

Texas Senate

District 18: Lois Kolkhorst (R)- first elected in 2014.

Texas House of Representatives

District 3: Cecil Bell, Jr. (R)- first elected in 2013.

Voting controversies

A history of controversies exists regarding the reluctance of county officials to allow students attending historically black Prairie View A&M University to vote in Waller County.[14][15]

As reported by the US District Court (Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division) in Veasey v Perry, October 2014 (CIVIL ACTION NO. 13-CV-00193), pp 6–7 verbatim:

  • In 1971, after the 26th Amendment extended the vote to those 18 years old and older, Waller County, which was home to Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), a historically Black university, became troubled with race issues. Waller County's tax assessor and voter registrar prohibited students from voting unless they or their families owned property in the county. This practice was ended by a three-judge court in 1979.
  • In 1992, a county prosecutor indicted PVAMU students for illegally voting, but dropped the charges after receiving a protest from the DOJ.
  • In 2003, a PVAMU student ran for the commissioner's court. The local district attorney and county attorney threatened to prosecute students for voter fraud—for not meeting the old domicile test. These threatened prosecutions were enjoined, but Waller County then reduced early voting hours, which was particularly harmful to students because the election day was during their spring break. After the NAACP filed suit, Waller County reversed the changes to early voting and the student narrowly won the election.
  • In 2007–08, during then Senator Barack Obama's campaign for president, Waller County made a number of voting changes without seeking clearance. The county rejected "incomplete" voter registrations and required volunteer deputy registrars (VDRs) to personally find and notify the voters of the rejection. The county also limited the number of new registrations any VDR could submit, thus limiting the success of voter registration drives. These practices were eventually prohibited by a consent decree.

In 2018, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in U.S. district court, alleging that the county's early-voting plan unduly limits early voting opportunities for students at Prairie View A&M.[16] On October 10, Jacob Aronowitz, a field director for Democratic U.S. House candidate Mike Siegel, delivered a letter from Siegel, which indicated a solution to attempts to keep students at Prairie View A&M University from voting, to a clerk on the county executive's staff. As a result, Aronowitz was arrested for what he was told was "48 hour investigative detention."[17]

Law enforcement

As of 2021 the current sheriff is Troy Guidry, who was elected in 2020.[18][19] The previous sheriff was Glenn Smith, who had been sheriff since 2008. Smith was previously chief of the police department of Hempstead, where he had been fired by the town council. after allegations that he and four white officers had exhibited racism and police brutality during the arrest of a 35-year-old black man.[20]

In November 2021, a 16 year old was charged with six counts of aggravated assault for crashing into six people on bicycles while attempting to roll coal. All four of the riders were hospitalized for their injuries, two of them being airlifted.[21][22] According to attorneys hired by the injured, the injuries included "broken vertebrae, cervical and lumbar spinal injuries, broken collar bones, hands, and wrists [requiring surgical intervention], multiple traumatic brain injuries, lacerations, soft tissue damage, road rash, and extensive bruising"[23] The Waller county district attorney, Elton Mathis, released a statement about the handling of the case by the Waller Police Department in which he said "This case was not handled appropriately by the investigating agency. PERIOD." According to his statement, the Texas Department of Public Safety urged the local police to treat the scene as a crime scene, and to contact the district attorney's office. Despite this, the local police released the 16 year old without doing an investigation.[21][22]

Education

School districts serving Waller County include:[24]

Brazos Valley Sudbury School was previously in operation in Waller County.

Blinn College is the designated community college for all of the county.[25]

Prairie View A&M University is the only university located within the county.

Media
Main article: The Waller Times

The Waller Times publishes local community news, school news, and sports news weekly on Mondays.[26] It was founded in 1991 and is still family owned and operated.

Transportation
Houston Executive Airport

Major highways

The TTC-69 component (recommended preferred) of the once-planned Trans-Texas Corridor went through Waller County.[27]

Airports

Houston Executive Airport is located between Brookshire and Katy in an unincorporated area. Skydive Houston Airport (Skylake Airport) is located south of Waller in an unincorporated area.

The Houston Airport System stated that Waller County is within the primary service area of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, an international airport in Houston in Harris County.[28] In addition William P. Hobby Airport in Houston and in Harris County has commercial airline service.

See also

References
  1. "Waller County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  4. "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
  5. "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  6. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  7. "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Waller County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  8. "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Waller County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  9. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  10. "Igloo Worldwide Headquarters Archived 2010-04-21 at the Wayback Machine." Igloo Corporation. Accessed September 5, 2008. "Igloo Products Corp. 777 Igloo Road Katy, Texas 77494"
  11. "Igloo consolidating operations in Katy facility." Houston Business Journal. Monday October 18, 2004. Retrieved on March 2, 2011. "1001 W. Sam Houston Parkway North" for the old Houston facility
  12. "Contact Us." Goya Foods. Retrieved on March 26, 2016. "Goya Foods of Texas 30602 McAllister Road Brookshire, TX 77423"
  13. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
  14. "2 Voter Rights Cases, One Gripping a College Town, Stir Texas" by Ralph Blumenthal, New York Times, May 28, 2008
  15. "Judges slap Waller voter rules, give hand to Prairie View" by Cindy George, Houston Chronicle October 24, 2008
  16. "Fighting for the Right to Vote in a Tiny Texas County" by Vann R. Newkirk II and Adam Harris, The Atlantic magazine.
  17. Eversden, Andrew; Platoff, Emma (October 11, 2018). "Campaign for congressional candidate Mike Siegel disputes account of worker's arrest". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  18. "HOME". www.wallercountytexassheriff.org. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  19. Lewis, Brooke A. (October 23, 2020). "Waller County voters to elect first new sheriff since 2008". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  20. Foxhall, Emily. "Waller County sheriff seeks 3rd term after difficult year". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  21. "Teen who hit 6 bicyclists with truck while allegedly harassing them faces felony charges, authorities say". The Washington Post.
  22. "16-Year-Old Texas Truck Driver Who Hit Six Cyclists Charged With Felonies". November 9, 2021.
  23. "Coal-rolling Texas truck driver plows into 6 cyclists". October 2, 2021.
  24. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Waller County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022. - Text list
  25. Texas Education Code Sec. 130.168. BLINN JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
  26. McLemee, Scott (February 6, 2004). "Justice Department to Look Into Alleged Threat to Students' Voting Rights", The Chronicle of Higher Education 50 (22): A30.
  27. TxDoT, TTC Section C & S, Detailed Map 1, 2007-12-17 Archived 2009-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
  28. "Master Plan Executive Summary." George Bush Intercontinental Airport Master Plan. Houston Airport System. December 2006. 2-1 (23/130). Retrieved on December 14, 2010.
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