Santa Anna, Texas
Encyclopedia
Santa Anna is a town in Coleman County, 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...

. The population was 1,081 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Santa Anna is located at 31°44′25"N 99°19′31"W (31.740189, -99.325192).

According to the United States Census Bureau
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 town has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), all of it land.

History

The twin mesas in central Coleman County have always been a landmark. One of the earliest maps of Texas shows a mountain near the center of the state with the notation, "Santa Anna's Peaks." The mountain and later the town were named for the Comanche war chief Santanna, or Santa Anna.

Texas Rangers camped at the foot of the mountain long before the area was settled, and cattle drives from South Texas to the northern markets passed through the gap in the mountain along a military road. This road helped supply the outpost forts along the Texas Forts Trail." The first permanent settlers soon built homes near a fresh water spring at the foot of the mountain. One enterprising settler stocked a supply of goods for trail drivers and settlers, starting the first business at "The Gap" in the early 1870s. In 1879 a petition to open a post office was filed, and the name of Santa Anna was chosen.

During the construction of the Santa Fe Railroad, a group of residents bought land along the right-of-way. Stone buildings were built from limestone quarried from the cap rock of the west mountain. Several businesses moved from Trickham and Brownwood to be a part of the new community. In 1886 The Santa Anna News was established. The first telephone in the county was a private line from Brownwood to Coleman, connected in the Melton Hotel in Santa Anna. A small local exchange was opened in 1892. A drugstore and a bank were opened in the 1880s, and a one-room school was opened that soon expanded to four rooms.

As the open range was preempted and sold, land was cultivated, with cotton the principal crop. Santa Anna eventually had four cotton gins in operation, and was also a major rail shipping point for livestock. The town became a trade center with a thriving business district that included drugstores, hotels, banks, livery stables, and produce houses. One of the early buildings, still a landmark downtown, housed an opera house, where traveling groups and local performers provided entertainment and culture.

After World War I, Dr. T.R. Sealy established a hospital that soon became widely known. A nursing school was founded in the 1920s to provide trained nurses, continuing until the death of Dr. Sealy in the mid 1930s. 1

During the first half of the 20th century Santa Anna thrived as a small farming and ranching community and later found livelihood within the oil industry.

The beginning of the 21st century has seen a new industry emerge in Santa Anna: tourism. There are currently 38 businesses of which 13 are less than three years old. Custom hand-crafted furniture has become a hallmark of the city. Other popular draws include a steakhouse,dairy queen, numerous antique stores, furniture stores and specialty shops. Santa Anna and the surrounding area is also popular among dove, quail, turkey, and deer hunters.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
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 1,081 people, 446 households, and 283 families residing in the town. 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 558.0 people per square mile (215.1/km²). There were 574 housing units at an average density of 296.3 per square mile (114.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 88.90% White, 3.89% African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 4.72% 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 1.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.06% of the population.

There were 446 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% 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, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $22,857, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $29,886 versus $17,917 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 town was $11,065. About 20.4% of families and 23.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.6% of those under age 18 and 24.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...

 quarterback Bobby Layne
Bobby Layne
Robert Lawrence "Bobby" Layne was an American football quarterback who played for 15 seasons in the National Football League. He played for the Chicago Bears in 1948, the New York Bulldogs in 1949, the Detroit Lions from 1950–1958, and the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1958–1962...

was born in Santa Anna on December 19, 1926.

External links

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