Del Rio is a city in and the county seat of Val Verde County[1] in southwestern Texas, United States. As of 2020, Del Rio had a population of 34,673.[2][3]
The Spanish established a small settlement south of the Rio Grande in present-day Mexico, and some Spanish colonists settled on the north side of the Rio Grande as early as the 18th century.
The United States acquired the territory following the Mexican War and, after the American Civil War, Paula Losoya Taylor in1862 was the first Anglo-American to build a hacienda in the area.[4]
San Felipe Springs, about 8 mi (13 km) east of the Rio Grande on the U.S. side of the border, has historically produced 90×106 US gal (340,000 m3) of water a day. This was critical to the arid region. Developers acquired several thousand acres of land adjacent to the springs, and to San Felipe Creek formed by the springs, from the state of Texas in exchange for building a canal system to irrigate the area.
The developers sold tracts of land surrounding the canals to recover their investment and show a profit. The initial investors (William C. Adams, Joseph M. Hudson, John P. Grove, Donald Jackson, John Perry, Joseph Ney, Randolph Pafford, A. O. Strickland, and James H Taylor) formed the San Felipe Agricultural, Manufacturing, and Irrigation Company in 1868. The organization completed construction of a network of irrigation canals in 1871 to support agriculture. Residents referred to the slowly developing town as San Felipe Del Rio. Local lore among the Tejanos said the name came from early Spanish explorers, who offered a mass at the site on St. Philip's Day, 1635.
In 1883, local residents requested a post office be established. The United States Postal Department shortened "San Felipe del Rio" to "Del Rio" to avoid confusion with San Felipe de Austin. In 1885, Val Verde County was organized and Del Rio was designated as the county seat. The City of Del Rio was incorporated on November 15, 1911.
The San Felipe community was started by the Arteaga family. Arteaga Street and Arteaga Park are named after them. Together the communities are still part of a rural region.
Ranchers and farmers recruited Mexican workers during the early decades of the 20th century, especially during World War II, when so many American men were at war. After the war, the government withdrew visas and deported workers, including some who were citizens, as well as children born here.
Like many border communities, Del Rio has been affected in the early 21st century by migrants arriving from Mexico, Central and South America. Migrants from the Caribbean have also crossed the border here.
In September 2021, approximately 30,000 Haitian migrants crossed the border at Del Rio.[5] The United States Border Patrol moved many to a camp underneath the Del Río–Ciudad Acuña International Bridge.[5] The squalid conditions in the camp attracted widespread national attention.[5]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 52.3 km2 (20.2 sq mi), of which 52.2 km2 (20.2 sq mi) are land and 0.1 km2 (0.039 sq mi), or 0.24%, is covered by water.[6]
Del Rio lies on the northwestern edges of the Tamaulipan mezquital, also called the South Texas brush country. It is also near the southwestern corner of the Edwards Plateau, which is the western fringe of the famous, oak savanna-covered Texas Hill Country; that area is dotted with numerous small springs; one of these is the San Felipe Springs, which provides a constant flow of water to San Felipe Creek. The creek supplied fresh water for drinking and irrigation to early settlers of Del Rio, and the springs are still the town's water supply.
The Del Rio region, to just west of the Pecos River, has a mix of desert shrub and steppe vegetation depending on soil type, with the gray-leafed cenizo (Leucophyllum spp.), several different acacias, cacti, and grama grasses dominant members of local flora. The terrain is mostly level, but some areas are dissected with substantial canyons and drainages, though none of the upland areas are elevated enough to be considered mountains.
Del Rio experiences a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) with mild winters and hot, humid summers. High dewpoint temperatures occur during much of the warmer months, due to the terrain and prevailing surface winds from the southeast. In the spring and fall seasons, severe thunderstorms often build on the Serranías del Burro to the distant west of Del Rio, occasionally affecting Del Rio and uplands to the north. This occurs due to the uplift of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico which is channeled along the Rio Grande, combined with intense heating of lowland areas or frontal and dryline activity.[7] Temperatures peak in late summer and then quickly drop during autumn.
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 34,673 people, 12,300 households, and 8,898 families residing in the city.
As of the census[12] of 2000, 33,867 people, 10,778 households, and 8,514 families resided in the city. The population density was 2,194.0 inhabitants per square mile (847.1/km2). The 11,895 housing units averaged a density of 770.6 per square mile (297.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 73.05% White American, 7.21% African American, 0.70% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 17.79% from other races, and 2.68% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 81.04% of the population.
Of the 10,778 households, 42.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.0% were not families. About 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family siz