Bacliff, Texas
Encyclopedia
Bacliff is a census-designated place
(CDP) in north central Galveston County
, Texas
, United States
, 16 miles (25.7 km) northwest of Galveston
. The population was 6,962 at the 2000 census. Bacliff, originally called Clifton-by-the-Sea, began as a seaside resort town. Bacliff morphed into a fishing community, finding hardship, gang violence, and an increase of sex offenders and felons when the shrimping industry declined. The community never incorporated, with many failed incorporation attempts made. The Bacliff CDP has one elementary school and several parks and boat ramps.
resort called "Clifton-by-the-Sea." Hurricanes, Galveston
's recovery after the Hurricane of 1900
, and rapid transportation diminished Clifton-by-the-Sea's popularity. Clifton-by-the-Sea had 50 residents and two businesses in 1933 and 100 residents and four businesses from 1940 to 1949. During the late 1940s or early 1950s the community became "Bacliff."
Cheap housing and the shrimping industry sustained Bacliff, and at that time there was no pollution in the water and less shore erosion compared to the amount of erosion in the 2000s. "Gator" Miller, publisher of small newspapers such as the monthly magazine Seabreeze and the entertainment magazine Night Moves, said that in the 1950s the The Galveston Daily News bought a large parcel of land and awarded free lots to subscribers; people who canceled subscriptions lost their homesites, which were given to other subscribers. Miller said that this resulted in confused title
s and a lack of large business; Miller said that a retailer would not wish to buy land in Bacliff and then discover that an individual claimed a title to the land. In 1961, when the post office opened, both names ("Bacliff" and "Clifton-by-the-Sea") were still used to refer to the community, which had 1,707 residents and 25 businesses during that year. In 1966 this increased to 1,782 residents and 17 businesses.
Around the 1980s, three measures to incorporate the Bacliff area failed by wide margins. In April 1985, residents of Bacliff, Bayview
, and San Leon
considered an incorporation proposal to become the City of Bayshore. Judge Ray Holbrook signed an order for the election to take place on April 6, 1985, freeing the area, which had a population of 11,000, from the extraterritorial jurisdiction
of League City
and Texas City
. Residents rejected the incorporation proposal. The vote was tallied with 1,268 against and 399 in favor. Proponents wanted a local police force and the ability to pass ordinances. Opponents said that the tax base was too small to support municipal services including police and road and drainage improvements.
In 1986, residents in Bacliff and Bayview considered incorporating into a general law city. Supporters said that incorporation would establish more local control over affairs, an area police department, and the ability to pass ordinances. Opponents said that the area's tax base could not sufficiently support municipal service, including police protection and road and drainage improvements. At the time the area of 3.6 square miles (9.3 km²) considering incorporation had 7,000 people. Galveston County Judge Ray Holbrook signed an order setting the date of the election as Saturday, August 9, 1986 and releasing the area from the extraterritorial jurisdiction
of Kemah
, League City, and Texas City. In 1986, the Bacliff and Bayview area received water and sewer services from two municipal utility districts; if the incorporation measure had passed the districts would have likely remained. Donna Maples, vice president of the Bacliff-Bayview Community Association, supported the incorporation measure. The officials overseeing the election described turnout as "heavy." Officials announced that the incorporation proposal failed on a 770 to 163 count.
By 1986, the community became a bedroom community for workers commuting to jobs in the area; during that year the Bacliff community had 4,851 residents and 19 businesses. Since the 1980s, when the shrimping industry declined, more affluent residents moved to Dickinson
and the unincorporated community of San Leon
, while illegal immigrants, sex offender
s, and other felon
s moved to Bacliff. In 1990 the community had 5,549 residents, 27 businesses, six churches, and one school.
After Hurricane Ike
hit Texas in September 2008, Galveston County officials offered a debris removal program to residents in unincorporated areas, including Bacliff, who could not clear debris by themselves.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the CDP has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²), of which, 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²) of it is land and 0.40% is water.
In 2008, the median house price in Bacliff was $
80,000. During that year, John Nova Lomax of Houston Press
wrote that his impression of the town is that "much of it is a white
ghetto almost as hardcore as the roughest parts of Houston's South Park or Fifth Ward," despite that the community has "plenty of nice houses and good people, especially along the waterfront." Lomax said that Grand Avenue, Bacliff's main thoroughfare, "is lined with little more than a nonstop succession of beer joints, liquor stores and gambling halls, while the town's back streets offer up vistas of ramshackle abodes and general deprivation not often seen outside of Appalachia
." Lou's, which Lomax said was "the town's one true grocery store," had a lot of cigarettes, beer, and canned food and "offers little else other than wilted vegetables and whole aisles of all-but-bare shelves." Lomax characterized the poverty as "Gulf Coast-style" as "often as not, these houses have the hulks of rusted-out boats in their tiny yards instead of trucks." Bacliff has a strip club and many gambling halls open during many times throughout the day; criminals intending to rob individuals target gambling halls. Bacliff has a ratio of bars per person which Lomax says "rivals those of many hard-drinking British
seaside resorts." Jack Nelson, a local resident, told the Houston Press "This is the only town I know that has churches next to bars that are next to gambling halls, and then repeat that all over town."
In the 2000s, a gated complex which Lomax said, "wouldn't look out of place in Clear Lake" opened on Bacliff's southern side. Pam Matranga, constable of the County Precinct 7, said in the 2008 article that 700 new houses were opening along Bayshore Drive, which Lomax described as the, "most pleasant and wealthy thoroughfare" in Bacliff. "Gator" Miller said that, "Just looking at it from an aerial view, you can see that [Bacliff is] destined to be a ghetto
. There's no room there the way the streets are laid out, and the only way to relieve that would be if the county came in and condemned half the streets and let grass grow through."
of 2000, there were 6,962 people, 2,523 households, and 1,753 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 2,764.6 people per square mile (1,066.7/km²). There were 2,963 housing units at an average density of 1,176.6/sq mi (454.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 82.65% White, 1.78% African American, 0.78% Native American, 2.99% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 9.67% from other races
, and 2.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.30% of the population.
There were 2,523 households out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples
living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the CDP, the population was spread out with 29.0% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 109.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.6 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $32,188, and the median income for a family was $35,182. Males had a median income of $30,783 versus $25,172 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $14,884. About 16.2% of families and 21.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.6% of those under age 18 and 16.3% of those age 65 or over.
In 2008, Bacliff had almost as many unemployed residents as it had residents with university degrees. Bacliff also has a higher than average concentration of sex offenders, with one of 225 Bacliff residents, compared to one in 594 in Houston
.
consisting of mostly White American
s. The gangs appeared around the period when the shrimping industry declined in the 1980s. In a 2008 Houston Press
article, "Gator" Miller said that many Bacliff gangs commit crimes in Kemah
. Jack Nelson, a resident interviewed by the Houston Press, said that recreational drugs such as crack cocaine
and methamphetamine
, rather than gangs per se, are the origins of Bacliff's issues. Miller described Bacliff as "the problem child [in the area]" and added that deputies told him that 90% of their calls go to Bacliff. Miller said that, prior to the 2004 election of Precinct 7 Constable Pam Matranga, meth lab
s operated in Bacliff prior to the popularity of meth labs around the United States since the local constables allowed them to remain. In addition, the understaffed county police department found difficulty fighting crime in Bacliff. In 2008, the 4th Street Blood Gang faced federal indictment on charges related to trafficking of cocaine, crack cocaine, and methamphetamines. The gang began in the mid-1990s.
On September 11, 2004, Bacliff residents attended a "town hall meeting" and demanded area officials to take measures to decrease crime. Miller said that many Bacliff residents want to continue to drink alcohol, gamble, smoke cannabis
, and consume methamphetamines, yet they do not like the effects of crack cocaine
and the violence associated with crack.
Pam Matranga said that a nickname given to the city, "Felon City," is not deserved since outsiders, not longtime Bacliff residents, cause crime in Bacliff. Matranga said that cheap rental prices encourage criminals to settle in Bacliff. John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press said that, due to economic pressures such as new development and rising housing prices along coastlines, Bacliff residents began to believe that efforts to lower Bacliff's crime rates would intensify. Miller believes that Bacliff will change only if drastic change such as mass redevelopment would occur.
Bacliff is located in District 23 of the Texas House of Representatives
. As of 2008, Craig Eiland
represents the district. Bacliff is within District 11
of the Texas Senate
; as of 2008 Mike Jackson
represents that district. In 1992, Bacliff was within District 24 of the Texas House of Representatives; after statewide legislative redistricting District 24 became District 23 in 1993 with its boundary changing by several city blocks.
Bacliff is in Texas's 14th congressional district
. As of 2008, Ron Paul
represents the district. The United States Postal Service
Bacliff Post Office is located at 415 Grand Avenue in the CDP in unincorporated Galveston County. In 1994 Republican Party
strength grew in Bacliff.
(DISD), while northern areas are zoned to Clear Creek Independent School District
(CCISD). The CCISD part of the community north of Bay Avenue is within the Board of Trustee District 5, represented by Dee Scott as of 2008.
The DISD portion is zoned to Kenneth E. Little Elementary School in the Bacliff community in unincorporated Galveston County, Barber Middle School in Dickinson
, McAdams Junior High School in Dickinson, and Dickinson High School in Dickinson. CCISD pupils are zoned to Stewart Elementary School (formerly Kemah Elementary School) in unincorporated Galveston County, League City Intermediate School in League City
, and Clear Creek High School in League City.
Residents are zoned to the College of the Mainland
, a community college
in Texas City
.
(FM 646) has five baseball fields, one boat ramp, one historic site, ten picnic areas, one pier, one playground, and five practice backstops. The Bacliff Boat Ramp is along FM 646, while the Bayshore Boat Ramp is along Farm to Market Road 517
(FM 517).
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) in north central Galveston County
Galveston County, Texas
Galveston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 291,309. Its county seat is Galveston. League City is the largest city in Galveston County in terms of population; between...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 16 miles (25.7 km) northwest of Galveston
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
. The population was 6,962 at the 2000 census. Bacliff, originally called Clifton-by-the-Sea, began as a seaside resort town. Bacliff morphed into a fishing community, finding hardship, gang violence, and an increase of sex offenders and felons when the shrimping industry declined. The community never incorporated, with many failed incorporation attempts made. The Bacliff CDP has one elementary school and several parks and boat ramps.
History
Bacliff first opened in 1910 as a seaside summer weekendWorkweek
The workweek and weekend are those complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest respectively. The legal working week , or workweek , is the part of the seven-day week devoted to labor. In most Western countries it is Monday to Friday. The weekend comprises the two traditionally...
resort called "Clifton-by-the-Sea." Hurricanes, Galveston
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
's recovery after the Hurricane of 1900
Galveston Hurricane of 1900
The Hurricane of 1900 made landfall on the city of Galveston in the U.S. state of Texas, on September 8, 1900.It had estimated winds of at landfall, making it a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale...
, and rapid transportation diminished Clifton-by-the-Sea's popularity. Clifton-by-the-Sea had 50 residents and two businesses in 1933 and 100 residents and four businesses from 1940 to 1949. During the late 1940s or early 1950s the community became "Bacliff."
Cheap housing and the shrimping industry sustained Bacliff, and at that time there was no pollution in the water and less shore erosion compared to the amount of erosion in the 2000s. "Gator" Miller, publisher of small newspapers such as the monthly magazine Seabreeze and the entertainment magazine Night Moves, said that in the 1950s the The Galveston Daily News bought a large parcel of land and awarded free lots to subscribers; people who canceled subscriptions lost their homesites, which were given to other subscribers. Miller said that this resulted in confused title
Title (property)
Title is a legal term for a bundle of rights in a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or an equitable interest. The rights in the bundle may be separated and held by different parties. It may also refer to a formal document that serves as evidence of ownership...
s and a lack of large business; Miller said that a retailer would not wish to buy land in Bacliff and then discover that an individual claimed a title to the land. In 1961, when the post office opened, both names ("Bacliff" and "Clifton-by-the-Sea") were still used to refer to the community, which had 1,707 residents and 25 businesses during that year. In 1966 this increased to 1,782 residents and 17 businesses.
Around the 1980s, three measures to incorporate the Bacliff area failed by wide margins. In April 1985, residents of Bacliff, Bayview
Bayview, Galveston County, Texas
Bayview is an area within unincorporated Galveston County, Texas, United States that was formerly a more distinct community.The San Leon-Bacliff-Bayview Chamber of Commerce serves the area.-History:...
, and San Leon
San Leon, Texas
San Leon is a census-designated place in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,365 at the 2000 census.-History:...
considered an incorporation proposal to become the City of Bayshore. Judge Ray Holbrook signed an order for the election to take place on April 6, 1985, freeing the area, which had a population of 11,000, from the extraterritorial jurisdiction
Extraterritorial jurisdiction
Extraterritorial jurisdiction is the legal ability of a government to exercise authority beyond its normal boundaries.Any authority can, of course, claim ETJ over any external territory they wish...
of League City
League City, Texas
League City is a city in Galveston County and Harris County in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 45,444; in the 2006 census estimate, the population was listed as 67,200. The 2010 Census places the population of League City...
and Texas City
Texas City, Texas
Texas City is a city in Chambers and Galveston counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 41,521 at the 2000 census. It is a part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. Residents rejected the incorporation proposal. The vote was tallied with 1,268 against and 399 in favor. Proponents wanted a local police force and the ability to pass ordinances. Opponents said that the tax base was too small to support municipal services including police and road and drainage improvements.
In 1986, residents in Bacliff and Bayview considered incorporating into a general law city. Supporters said that incorporation would establish more local control over affairs, an area police department, and the ability to pass ordinances. Opponents said that the area's tax base could not sufficiently support municipal service, including police protection and road and drainage improvements. At the time the area of 3.6 square miles (9.3 km²) considering incorporation had 7,000 people. Galveston County Judge Ray Holbrook signed an order setting the date of the election as Saturday, August 9, 1986 and releasing the area from the extraterritorial jurisdiction
Extraterritorial jurisdiction
Extraterritorial jurisdiction is the legal ability of a government to exercise authority beyond its normal boundaries.Any authority can, of course, claim ETJ over any external territory they wish...
of Kemah
Kemah, Texas
Kemah is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The city's population was 2,330 as of the 2000 census. Located in Galveston County, Kemah's main industry comes from shipping...
, League City, and Texas City. In 1986, the Bacliff and Bayview area received water and sewer services from two municipal utility districts; if the incorporation measure had passed the districts would have likely remained. Donna Maples, vice president of the Bacliff-Bayview Community Association, supported the incorporation measure. The officials overseeing the election described turnout as "heavy." Officials announced that the incorporation proposal failed on a 770 to 163 count.
By 1986, the community became a bedroom community for workers commuting to jobs in the area; during that year the Bacliff community had 4,851 residents and 19 businesses. Since the 1980s, when the shrimping industry declined, more affluent residents moved to Dickinson
Dickinson, Texas
Dickinson is a city in Galveston County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 17,093 at the 2000 census.-History:...
and the unincorporated community of San Leon
San Leon, Texas
San Leon is a census-designated place in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,365 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, while illegal immigrants, sex offender
Sex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
s, and other felon
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
s moved to Bacliff. In 1990 the community had 5,549 residents, 27 businesses, six churches, and one school.
After Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike was the second-costliest hurricane ever to make landfall in the United States, the costliest hurricane ever to impact Cuba and the second most active hurricane to reach the Canadian mainland in the Great Lakes Region after Hurricane Hazel in 1954...
hit Texas in September 2008, Galveston County officials offered a debris removal program to residents in unincorporated areas, including Bacliff, who could not clear debris by themselves.
Geography and climate
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²), of which, 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²) of it is land and 0.40% is water.
In 2008, the median house price in Bacliff was $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
80,000. During that year, John Nova Lomax of Houston Press
Houston Press
The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
wrote that his impression of the town is that "much of it is a white
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
ghetto almost as hardcore as the roughest parts of Houston's South Park or Fifth Ward," despite that the community has "plenty of nice houses and good people, especially along the waterfront." Lomax said that Grand Avenue, Bacliff's main thoroughfare, "is lined with little more than a nonstop succession of beer joints, liquor stores and gambling halls, while the town's back streets offer up vistas of ramshackle abodes and general deprivation not often seen outside of Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
." Lou's, which Lomax said was "the town's one true grocery store," had a lot of cigarettes, beer, and canned food and "offers little else other than wilted vegetables and whole aisles of all-but-bare shelves." Lomax characterized the poverty as "Gulf Coast-style" as "often as not, these houses have the hulks of rusted-out boats in their tiny yards instead of trucks." Bacliff has a strip club and many gambling halls open during many times throughout the day; criminals intending to rob individuals target gambling halls. Bacliff has a ratio of bars per person which Lomax says "rivals those of many hard-drinking British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
seaside resorts." Jack Nelson, a local resident, told the Houston Press "This is the only town I know that has churches next to bars that are next to gambling halls, and then repeat that all over town."
In the 2000s, a gated complex which Lomax said, "wouldn't look out of place in Clear Lake" opened on Bacliff's southern side. Pam Matranga, constable of the County Precinct 7, said in the 2008 article that 700 new houses were opening along Bayshore Drive, which Lomax described as the, "most pleasant and wealthy thoroughfare" in Bacliff. "Gator" Miller said that, "Just looking at it from an aerial view, you can see that [Bacliff is] destined to be a ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
. There's no room there the way the streets are laid out, and the only way to relieve that would be if the county came in and condemned half the streets and let grass grow through."
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 6,962 people, 2,523 households, and 1,753 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,764.6 people per square mile (1,066.7/km²). There were 2,963 housing units at an average density of 1,176.6/sq mi (454.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 82.65% White, 1.78% African American, 0.78% Native American, 2.99% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 9.67% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.30% of the population.
There were 2,523 households out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the CDP, the population was spread out with 29.0% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 109.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.6 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $32,188, and the median income for a family was $35,182. Males had a median income of $30,783 versus $25,172 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the CDP was $14,884. About 16.2% of families and 21.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.6% of those under age 18 and 16.3% of those age 65 or over.
In 2008, Bacliff had almost as many unemployed residents as it had residents with university degrees. Bacliff also has a higher than average concentration of sex offenders, with one of 225 Bacliff residents, compared to one in 594 in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
.
Crime
As of 2008, Bacliff has street gangsGangs in the United States
Street gangs in the United States date to the early 19th century. The most publicized street gangs in the U.S. are African-American; black gangs were not recognized as a social problem until after the great migration of the 1910s...
consisting of mostly White American
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
s. The gangs appeared around the period when the shrimping industry declined in the 1980s. In a 2008 Houston Press
Houston Press
The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
article, "Gator" Miller said that many Bacliff gangs commit crimes in Kemah
Kemah, Texas
Kemah is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The city's population was 2,330 as of the 2000 census. Located in Galveston County, Kemah's main industry comes from shipping...
. Jack Nelson, a resident interviewed by the Houston Press, said that recreational drugs such as crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
and methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
, rather than gangs per se, are the origins of Bacliff's issues. Miller described Bacliff as "the problem child [in the area]" and added that deputies told him that 90% of their calls go to Bacliff. Miller said that, prior to the 2004 election of Precinct 7 Constable Pam Matranga, meth lab
Clandestine chemistry
Clandestine chemistry is chemistry carried out in secret, and particularly in illegal drug laboratories. Larger labs are usually run by gangs or organized crime intending to produce for distribution on the black market...
s operated in Bacliff prior to the popularity of meth labs around the United States since the local constables allowed them to remain. In addition, the understaffed county police department found difficulty fighting crime in Bacliff. In 2008, the 4th Street Blood Gang faced federal indictment on charges related to trafficking of cocaine, crack cocaine, and methamphetamines. The gang began in the mid-1990s.
On September 11, 2004, Bacliff residents attended a "town hall meeting" and demanded area officials to take measures to decrease crime. Miller said that many Bacliff residents want to continue to drink alcohol, gamble, smoke cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
, and consume methamphetamines, yet they do not like the effects of crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
and the violence associated with crack.
Pam Matranga said that a nickname given to the city, "Felon City," is not deserved since outsiders, not longtime Bacliff residents, cause crime in Bacliff. Matranga said that cheap rental prices encourage criminals to settle in Bacliff. John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press said that, due to economic pressures such as new development and rising housing prices along coastlines, Bacliff residents began to believe that efforts to lower Bacliff's crime rates would intensify. Miller believes that Bacliff will change only if drastic change such as mass redevelopment would occur.
Economy
Bacliff CDP had 3,147 employed civilians as of the 2000 Census, including 1,360 females. Of the civilian workers, 2,435 (77.4%) were private for profit wage and salary workers. Of them 56 (1.8% of the total Bacliff CDP civilian workforce) were employees of their own corporations, 82 (2.6%) were private non-profit wage and salary workers, 151 (4.8%) worked for local governments, 144 (4.6%) were state government workers, 53 (1.7%) were federal workers, 268 (9.3%) were self-employed, and 14 of them (less than 1% of the total Bacliff CDP workforce) worked in agriculture, forestry, fishing, or hunting. 14 (Less than 1%) were unpaid family workers.Local government
Two municipal utility districts serve the Bacliff CDP. Some sections of the Bacliff CDP are served by the Bacliff Municipal Utility District, while other sections are served by the Bayview Municipal Utility District. The Bacliff Volunteer Fire Department provides fire protection services.County, state, and federal representation
The community is within Galveston County Precinct 1. As of 2008, Patrick Doyle is the commissioner of the precinct. The Galveston County Sheriff's Office Precinct 7 serves Bacliff. As of 2008 Pam Matranga is the constable of the precinct.Bacliff is located in District 23 of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
. As of 2008, Craig Eiland
Craig Eiland
Allen Craig Eiland is a Democratic member and former Speaker pro Tempore of the Texas House of Representatives. Eiland represents Texas House district 23, which includes Galveston, Jamaica Beach, Texas City and the Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston County and all of Chambers County.Prior to...
represents the district. Bacliff is within District 11
Texas Senate, District 11
District 11 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves portions of Brazoria, Galveston and Harris counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The current Senator from District 11 is Mike Jackson.-2004:-2002:-1998:...
of the Texas Senate
Texas Senate
The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing 31 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 672,000 per constituency. There are no term limits, and each term is four years long. The Senate meets at the...
; as of 2008 Mike Jackson
Mike Jackson
General Sir Michael David "Mike" Jackson, is a retired British Army officer and one of its most high-profile generals since the Second World War. Originally commissioned into the Intelligence Corps in 1963, he transferred to the Parachute Regiment, with whom he served two of his three tours of...
represents that district. In 1992, Bacliff was within District 24 of the Texas House of Representatives; after statewide legislative redistricting District 24 became District 23 in 1993 with its boundary changing by several city blocks.
Bacliff is in Texas's 14th congressional district
Texas's 14th congressional district
Texas's 14th district for the United States House of Representatives is a Congressional district that covers the area south and southwest of the Greater Houston region, including Galveston, in the state of Texas. The district was created as a result of the 1900 U.S. Census and was first contested...
. As of 2008, Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
represents the district. The United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
Bacliff Post Office is located at 415 Grand Avenue in the CDP in unincorporated Galveston County. In 1994 Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
strength grew in Bacliff.
Education
Some of the areas within the Bacliff CDP fall under the boundary of Dickinson Independent School DistrictDickinson Independent School District
Dickinson Independent School District is a school district based in Dickinson, Texas, United States.DISD serves most of the city of Dickinson as well as portions of the cities of La Marque, League City, and Texas City and some houses in unincorporated Galveston County .All of the DISD catchment...
(DISD), while northern areas are zoned to Clear Creek Independent School District
Clear Creek Independent School District
Clear Creek Independent School District is a school district based in League City, Texas . The district serves most of the Clear Lake Area and some other neighboring parts of the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metro area....
(CCISD). The CCISD part of the community north of Bay Avenue is within the Board of Trustee District 5, represented by Dee Scott as of 2008.
The DISD portion is zoned to Kenneth E. Little Elementary School in the Bacliff community in unincorporated Galveston County, Barber Middle School in Dickinson
Dickinson, Texas
Dickinson is a city in Galveston County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 17,093 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, McAdams Junior High School in Dickinson, and Dickinson High School in Dickinson. CCISD pupils are zoned to Stewart Elementary School (formerly Kemah Elementary School) in unincorporated Galveston County, League City Intermediate School in League City
League City, Texas
League City is a city in Galveston County and Harris County in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 45,444; in the 2006 census estimate, the population was listed as 67,200. The 2010 Census places the population of League City...
, and Clear Creek High School in League City.
Residents are zoned to the College of the Mainland
College of the Mainland
College of the Mainland is a community college located in Texas City, Texas, United States. Its name comes from its location on the "mainland" portion of Galveston County, Texas .-History:...
, a community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
in Texas City
Texas City, Texas
Texas City is a city in Chambers and Galveston counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 41,521 at the 2000 census. It is a part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
.
Parks and recreation
The Galveston County Department of Parks and Senior Services operates several recreational facilities in Bacliff. The Bacliff Community Center is at 4503 11th Street. The 28 acres (113,312.1 m²) Bayshore Park at 5437 East Farm to Market Road 646Farm to Market Road 646
Farm-to-Market Road 646 known as FM-646 is a north-south and east-west state highway that runs entirely within Galveston County, Texas. It is 22.5 miles long and runs between Hitchcock, Texas and San Leon, Texas.-History:...
(FM 646) has five baseball fields, one boat ramp, one historic site, ten picnic areas, one pier, one playground, and five practice backstops. The Bacliff Boat Ramp is along FM 646, while the Bayshore Boat Ramp is along Farm to Market Road 517
Farm to Market Road 517
Farm to Market Road 517 is a farm to market road in the U.S. state of Texas.- Other Names :FM 517 has many names on its journey....
(FM 517).
External links
- Gangsters in Bacliff - Houston PressHouston PressThe Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
- Bacliff Wiggers - Houston PressHouston PressThe Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
- Bacliff MUD