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46-552: Rio Grande City is a city in and the county seat of Starr County , Texas , United States. The population was 15,317 at the time of the 2020 census . The city is 41 miles (66 km) west of McAllen . It is connected to Camargo, Tamaulipas , via the Rio Grande City–Camargo International Bridge . The city is situated within the Rio Grande Valley . It holds March record for high temperature for

92-526: A Superior Court and Sheriff (as an officer of the court ), both located in a designated "shire town". Bennington County, Vermont has two shire towns; the court for "North Shire" is in the shire town Manchester , and the Sheriff for the county and court for "South Shire" are in the shire town Bennington. In 2024, Connecticut , which had not defined their counties for anything but statistical, historical and weather warning purposes since 1960, along with ending

138-459: A city the 2000 U.S. Census . As of the 2020 United States census , there were 15,317 people, 3,873 households, and 2,880 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 Census Rio Grande City had a population of 13,834. The median age was 30. The racial makeup of the population was 92.1% white (4.7% claiming to not be Hispanic or Latino), 0.2% Black, 0.3% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 5.5% from some other race and 1.1% from two or more races. 94.3% of

184-410: A county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center; for example, Fairfax City is both the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia and completely surrounded by Fairfax County, but the city is politically independent of the county. When the county seat is in the independent city, government offices such as the courthouse may be in

230-470: A female householder with no husband present, and 16.1% were non-families. 14.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.47 and the average family size was 3.86. In the city, the population was spread out, with 33.1% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

276-597: A group of Texas Rangers , and Cortina decided to attack them. The offensive was unsuccessful. In December, a second group of rangers led by Captain John "Rip" Ford arrived, larger and better organized. Because of appeals from Brownsville residents, the United States Army sent troops from San Antonio to the nearby Fort Brown , which had been abandoned a few years ago. The fort's new commander, Major Samuel Heintzelman , united and coordinated all armed groups to put an end to

322-626: A major field of research in Chinese historical geography, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s. There are 1,355 counties in Mainland China out of a total of 2,851 county-level divisions. In Taiwan , the first counties were first established in 1661 by the Kingdom of Tungning . The later ruler Qing empire inherited this type of administrative divisions. With the increase of Han Chinese population in Taiwan,

368-522: A supply depot for its invading Mexico as part of the Mexican–American War . The area was strategic as the furthest point up the Rio Grande that was navigable and regularly accessible to the era's steamboats . During the early stages of the war, US soldier Henry Clay Davis married Hilaria de la Garza Falcon, a resident of Camargo south of the river. She was heiress to the land on the north side of

414-409: Is known as the seat of its county. Generally, the county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records, jail and correctional facility are located in the county seat, though some functions (such as highway maintenance, which usually requires a large garage for vehicles, along with asphalt and salt storage facilities) may also be located or conducted in other parts of

460-657: Is the La Borde House, which dates to 1899. La Borde was a French riverboat trader and merchant who commissioned the mansion's design in Paris. He had this refined by architects in San Antonio, Texas , and oversaw construction of the building along Main Street. The large house was renovated around the early 1980s, nearly 100 years later. It is now operated as a hotel, complete with a parlor, patio, parlor, shaded verandas, and restaurant. In

506-698: Is the only remaining military presence at the Fort Ringgold area. Rio Grande City is located at 26°22′50″N 98°49′6″W  /  26.38056°N 98.81833°W  / 26.38056; -98.81833 (26.380667, −98.818364). The city gained area prior to the 2010 census giving it a total area of 11.4 square miles (30.0 km), all land. Rio Grande City is served by the Rio Grande City Grulla Independent School District (formerly Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District). Immaculate Conception School of

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552-562: The Cortina War . The fort was abandoned again at the start of the Civil War in 1861, but reoccupied by US forces in 1865. The fort was active until 1944 when the property was sold to the Rio Grande City public schools system. Units stationed here included the 1st Infantry (Mounted Dragoons ), 7th and 28th Infantry Regiments, 3rd Texas Volunteers, the 9th , 10th and 12th Cavalry Regiments,

598-774: The First Cortina War , from 1859 to 1860, and the Second Cortina War , in 1861, in which paramilitary forces led by the Mexican rancher and local leader Juan Cortina , confronted elements of the United States Army , the Confederate States Army , the Texas Rangers , and the local militias of Brownsville, Texas , and Matamoros, Tamaulipas . According to author Robert Elman, Juan Cortina and his followers were

644-573: The Mier Expedition ; Edwin R. Rainwater , hero of the Texas Revolution ; Edward R. Hord, an influential early South Texas statesman; and John L. Haynes , a native Virginian politician and writer who was a strong proponent of Mexican-American (Tejano) rights and outspoken anti-secessionist before the Civil War. Rio Grande City has conserved some of its older structures, and has a designated historic district . Among its contributing structures

690-552: The Republic of China took over. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which function as county-administered cities , urban townships , or rural townships . In most of the United States , a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government

736-530: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville , founded in 1884 and the only Catholic school in Starr County, provides a faith-based Pre-K through eighth-grade education to approximately 250 students each year. Rio Grande City first appeared as an unincorporated community in the 1950 U.S. Census ; and as a census designated place in the 1980 U.S. Census . After incorporation, Rio Grande City was listed as

782-410: The poverty line , including 57.3% of those under age 18 and 33.7% of those age 65 or over. County seat In Canada , the provinces of Ontario , Quebec , New Brunswick , Prince Edward Island , and Nova Scotia have counties as an administrative division of government below the provincial level, and thus county seats. In the provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia

828-442: The 1970s and into the 1980s, federal law enforcement officials concentrated their anti-drug smuggling efforts on Starr County. In spite of Rio Grande City's rich architectural heritage, many buildings in the old downtown district are abandoned, dilapidated, or crumbling. While there are a good number of small shops and businesses operating in the district, most new development and commerce takes place in new shopping centers outside of

874-412: The 9th and 10th being composed of Buffalo Soldiers . The original parade ground is maintained, and several post buildings survive to be used as school facilities. These include the sentry and guard houses, barracks, officers quarters, bakery, hospital and post headquarters, situated along Ringgold Avenue, Lee Circle, 12th Cavalry and F Troop streets. The Rio Grande City United States Army Reserve Center

920-532: The Brownsville authorities, and on September 28, he raided and occupied the town with a posse of between forty and eighty men. His enemies, however, had fled. During the occupation of Brownsville, Cortina issued a proclamation to reveal his intentions to both communities, quoting from Proverbs 22:24 : "(...) There is no need of fear. Orderly people and honest citizens are inviolable to us in their persons and interests. Our object, as you have seen, has been to chastise

966-582: The Cortina threat. Cortina retreated up the Rio Grande until on December 27, 1859, Heintzelman and Ford engaged him in the Battle of Rio Grande City . Cortina's forces were decisively defeated, losing sixty men and all their equipment. Pursued and defeated again by Ford a few days later, Cortina retreated with his men into the Burgos Mountains. The First Cortina War was mostly finished. With increasing pressure from

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1012-508: The Eastern Han dynasty , the number of counties increased to above 1,000. About 1400 existed when the Sui dynasty abolished the commandery level (郡 jùn), which was the level just above counties, and demoted some commanderies to counties. In Imperial China, the county was a significant administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of the imperial bureaucratic structure; in other words, it

1058-515: The State of Texas, look on them as brothers, and keep in mind that which the Holy Spirit saith: "Thou shalt not be the friend of the passionate man; nor join thyself to the madman, lest thou learn his mode of work and scandalize thy soul." Cortina retained control over Brownsville until September 30, 1859, when he evacuated the town at the urging of influential residents of Matamoros. In the following days,

1104-596: The United States and Mexican Governments to cease all hostile activities, Cortina remained away from the scene for more than a year. The final engagements of the war were the Battle of La Bolsa , on February 4, 1860, and the Battle of La Mesa, on March 17. The Texas Rangers, under Ford, successfully defended their riverboat in the first engagement and routed the Cortinistas across the river at La Mesa, Tamaulipas . In May 1861,

1150-522: The United States at 108 °F (42 °C). The area around Rio Grande City was first settled by Spanish colonists on the southern bank of the river as Camargo . The northern bank became more densely settled after the Mexican-American War and United States' annexation of the territory. In 1846 the northern bank was gradually developed— still under the name Camargo . It was used by the US Army as

1196-879: The United States, followed by Towson , the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland . Likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey , though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township , an incorporated municipality. In some states, often those that were among the original Thirteen Colonies , county seats include or formerly included "Court House" as part of their name, such as Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia . Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama , Arkansas , Georgia , Iowa , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Mississippi , Missouri , New Hampshire , New York , and Vermont have two or more county seats, usually located on opposite sides of

1242-404: The city was 82.97% White , 0.30% African American , 0.44% Native American , 1.11% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 12.51% from other races , and 2.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 95.89% of the population. There were 3,333 households, out of which 47.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were married couples living together, 19.8% had

1288-418: The county, especially if it is geographically large. A county seat is usually an incorporated municipality . The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia , where the county seat is the entire county. Ellicott City , the county seat of Howard County, Maryland , is the largest unincorporated county seat in

1334-420: The county. Examples include Harrison County, Mississippi , which has both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats, and Hinds County, Mississippi , which has both Raymond and the state capital of Jackson . The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult. There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of civic pride for

1380-574: The first "socially motivated border bandits," similar to the Garzistas and the Villistas of later generations. The fighting took place in the Rio Grande Valley area, which straddles the international border of Texas and Mexico . The First Cortina War began at Brownsville on July 13, 1859, when Cortina shot the town marshal , Robert Shears, in the arm for his brutalizing of Cortina's former employee, Tomás Cabrera. Tension increased between Cortina and

1426-611: The independent city under an agreement, such as in Albemarle , or may in be enclaves of the county surrounded by the independent city, such as in Fairfax . Others, such as Prince William , have the courthouse in an enclave surrounded by the independent city and have the county government, the Board of Supervisors, in a different part of the county, far from the county seat. The following counties have their county seat in an independent city: Bedford

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1472-511: The much shorter Second Cortina War occurred. The American Civil War had just begun, and Cortina, who had aligned himself with the Federal government of the United States , invaded Zapata County, Texas . Defeated by Confederate Captain Santos Benavides at the Battle of Carrizo and losing 18 men, Cortina retreated into Mexico. Cortina no longer conducted any large-scale military incursions within

1518-542: The number of counties also grew by time. By the end of Qing era, there were 11 counties in Taiwan. Protestant missionaries in China first romanized the term as hien . When Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, the hierarchy of divisions also incorporated into the Japanese system in the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. By September 1945, Taiwan was divided into 8 prefectures ( 州 and 廳 ), which remained after

1564-442: The old downtown neighborhood. In May 1993, Rio Grande City was officially incorporated as a municipal corporation (i.e. city). Ringgold Barracks were established at Davis Landing on 26 October 1848 by the 1st US Infantry under the command of Captain J.H. La Motte, in honor of Major Ringgold , who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Palo Alto . Troops were withdrawn on 3 March 1859 but reoccupied again on 29 December 1859 during

1610-424: The population was Hispanic or Latino of any race with 88.2% of the population describing themselves as ethnically Mexican. As of the census of 2000, there were 11,923 people, 3,333 households, and 2,796 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,571.6 inhabitants per square mile (606.8/km). There were 3,846 housing units at an average density of 506.9 per square mile (195.7/km). The racial makeup of

1656-498: The river that was developed as Rio Grande City. At the end of the war, Davis set out to organize this area into a formal city; he divided the land into plots to be sold. At first, the area was referred to as Rancho Davis . He and other developers changed the name to Rio Grande City to attract Anglo-American investors and settlers. From its founding in 1848 until the Texas Mexican Railroad opened up in 1883, Rio Grande City

1702-764: The state's area, has no borough government or borough seat. One borough, the Lake and Peninsula Borough , has its borough seat located in another borough, namely King Salmon in Bristol Bay Borough . In Louisiana , which is divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as "parish seats". In New England , counties have served mainly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Rhode Island has no county level of government and thus no county seats, and Massachusetts has dissolved many but not all of its county governments. In Vermont , Massachusetts , and Maine county government consists only of

1748-700: The term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in China are the administrative centers of the counties in the People's Republic of China . Xian have existed since the Warring States period and were set up nationwide by the Qin dynasty . The number of counties in China proper gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As Qin Shi Huang reorganized the counties after his unification, there were about 1,000. Under

1794-416: The towns involved, along with providing employment opportunities. There are 33 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states: Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the county seat in these case is referred to as the "borough seat"; this includes six consolidated city-borough governments (one of which is styled as a "municipality"). The Unorganized Borough, Alaska , which covers 49% of

1840-490: The townsfolk of Brownsville formed a twenty-man group to fight Cortina called the "Brownsville Tigers". In November, the Brownsville Tigers learned that Cortina was at his mother's home, called Rancho del Carmen, five miles west of Brownsville. They immediately launched an attack, only to be sent into retreat in disarray by the "Cortinistas", as they were called. Later the same month, the Brownsville Tigers were joined by

1886-607: The use of county seats in particular, will fully transition with the permission of the United States Census Bureau to a system of councils of government for the purposes of boundary definition and as county equivalents. Two counties in South Dakota , Oglala Lakota and Todd , have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county. Their county-level services are provided by Fall River County and Tripp County , respectively. In Virginia ,

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1932-421: The villainy of our enemies, which heretofore has gone unpunished. These have connived with each other, and form, so to speak, a perfidious inquisitorial lodge to persecute and rob us, without any cause, and for no other crime on our part than that of being of Mexican origin, considering us, doubtless, destitute of those gifts which they themselves do not possess. (...) Mexicans! Peace be with you! Good inhabitants of

1978-407: Was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 19,853, and the median income for a family was $ 21,363. Males had a median income of $ 20,245 versus $ 14,984 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 9,684. About 40.4% of families and 44.1% of the population were below

2024-406: Was an independent city from 1968 to 2013, while also being the county seat of Bedford County . Bedford reverted to an incorporated town, and remains the county seat, though is now part of the county. The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, and the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3. Cortina Troubles Inconclusive The Cortina Troubles is the generic name for

2070-409: Was one of the most significant hubs of trade between Texas and Mexico. In addition, because of its prominence and exploits by local residents, it was part of the romanticized concept in the United States of the " Wild West ". Famous early residents include Joshua H. Bean , brother of Judge Roy Bean , and the first mayor of San Diego , California; Orlando C. Phelps, one of the few surviving members of

2116-574: Was the lowest level that the government reached. Government below the county level was often undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying between dynasties. The head of a county was the magistrate , who oversaw both the day-to-day operations of the county as well as civil and criminal cases. The current number of counties mostly resembled that of the later years of the Qing dynasty . Changes of location and names of counties in Chinese history have been

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