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'Alice' is a city in Jim Wells County, Texas, United States. The population was 19,010 at the 2000 census but 2006 estamates put the population at 19,744. 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.

Contents

Culture

Geography

Climate

Demographics

Transportation

Highways

Air travel

Railways

Education

Colleges

Public

Private

Notable people

Attractions

Outdoors

External links

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 31.9 km² (12.3 mi²). 30.8 km² (11.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.0 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (3.25%) is water. The largest body of water in the city limits is Lake Findley, a reservoir north of the city center.

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 616.8/km² (1,597.4/mi²). There were 6,998 housing units at an average density of 227.1/km² (588.0/mi²). 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.

Transportation

Highways

★ U.S. Highway 281

★ Texas State Highway 44

★ Texas State Highway 359

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 1,574.
'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

Notable people

★ Nobel Prize Winner 'Robert F. Curl Jr.' 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).

★ '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.

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

★ 'Richard Raymond (Texas politician)' 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.

Attractions

Alice is home to the world's tallest cement water tower. The tower was recognized by the 1976 Guinness Book of World Records as being the worlds tallest cement water tower. The tower was built in 1926-1927.

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. Special rates are available for Winter Texans.

External links

★ The Alice Echo News Journal - Pulitzer-Prize winning newspaper serving Jim Wells County for over 100 years.