Victoria - Texas
Posted by: 
JimmyEv
N 28° 47.901 W 097° 00.584
14R E 694247 N 3187270
One of the state's oldest cities, Victoria grew slowly on cotton and cattle until the latter half of the 20th century, when oil helped it emerge as a major regional trading center.
Waymark Code: WM1GC7
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/03/2007
Views: 43
VICTORIA, 79 m. (93 alt., 7,421 pop.), known for beautiful homes, the Old World atmosphere of its public square, and the profusion of roses in its gardens and parks, is rich in romantic history. In 1685 the doomed La Salle crossed the region, and in 1721 the Spanish established a fort and mission in the locality. Later (1824) a group of Spanish settlers under Don Martin de Leon established the colony that was to develop into the Victoria of today.
During its early years Indian raids were frequent. Despite Mexican laws barring them, Anglo-American settlers entered the region and took an active part in local events of the Texas Revolution. General Urrea made headquarters at Victoria after Fannin’s surrender.
With the influx of German immigrants in the 1840's, much of the aspect of the town changed from Spanish to Colonial German. Settlers from earlier Anglo-American communities had drifted to Victoria, and the village population became a medley of several races.
Cattle, grazing on the wide salt meadows around the town, are still Victoria’s main source of revenue. Cotton is the leading crop. Recent oil developments have been extensive, although the antipathy of some of the wealthy ranchers of the region to having their fields and pastures “messed up with smelly oil,” with resultant refusals to lease to oil companies, has amazed promoters.
---Texas, a Guide to the Lone Star State, 1940
This excerpt appeared in Tour 7, Section d: Schulenberg to Sinton on US Highway 77.
Victoria has seen an eight-fold increase of population since then, but most of the growth has been out of the central city, to the north. If you get beyond the freeways bypassing Victoria, to the original townsite, the city still exudes a historic charm. Even though low glass towers border the central, Spanish-style square, the historic Victoria County Courthouse still dominates. Many old homes in the central city have been preserved in an effort that was begun in 1986. It's very pleasant to stroll the quiet, live oak-lined streets any day of the week Spring, Fall or Winter. And no one snubs their nose at an oil lease anymore.
