Cuero, Texas

The city of Cuero got its start in the mid-19th century as a stopping point on the Chisholm Trail cattle route to Kansas. According to the Handbook of Texas Online, "Gustav Schleicher founded the latter town as a way-station and moved to it soon afterward, in 1872." It was not recognized as a town until 1873, though, when it was officially founded. The city was named for the Spanish word "hide", referring to the leather made from animal hides. The industry was extremely short-lived, however, and gave way to various forms of ranching. The city had several Old West gunfights related to clan feuding following the Civil War. Cuero's population grew considerably in the 1870s and 1880s, as residents from the coastal town of Indianola settled here after major hurricanes in this period destroyed sizeable portions of that city. Cuero thrived through much of the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the introduction and practice of turkey ranching in the area. Today, agriculture is still the primary industry in the region. Cuero is considered to be one of the top cattle producers and shippers in Texas. ==Geography==

Cuero is located east of the center of DeWitt County near the mouth of Sandies Creek, where it empties into the Guadalupe River. U.S. Routes 87, 77 Alternate, and 183 pass through the city. All three highways follow South Esplanade Street into the center of town; US 87 then leaves town via East Broadway Street, while US 77A and 183 continue north out of town on North Esplanade Street. US 87 leads southeast to Victoria and west to San Antonio. US 77 Alternate leads northeast to Yoakum, and US 183 leads north to Gonzales. Both 77 Alternate and 183 lead south to Goliad. According to the United States Census Bureau, Cuero has a total area of , of which , or 0.36%, is covered by water. {{Weather box | width = auto | collapsed = yes | single line = yes | location = Cuero, Texas (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1901–present) | Jan record high F = 92 | Feb record high F = 98 | Mar record high F = 99 | Apr record high F = 99 | May record high F = 103 | Jun record high F = 111 | Jul record high F = 110 | Aug record high F = 114 | Sep record high F = 113 | Oct record high F = 101 | Nov record high F = 98 | Dec record high F = 92 | year record high F = | Jan high F = 66.3 | Feb high F = 68.9 | Mar high F = 75.2 | Apr high F = 82.1 | May high F = 88.6 | Jun high F = 94.1 | Jul high F = 96.9 | Aug high F = 98.3 | Sep high F = 92.9 | Oct high F = 85.9 | Nov high F = 75.3 | Dec high F = 67.4 | year high F = 82.7 | Jan mean F = 54.1 | Feb mean F = 57.2 | Mar mean F = 63.8 | Apr mean F = 70.4 | May mean F = 78.0 | Jun mean F = 83.4 | Jul mean F = 85.6 | Aug mean F = 86.2 | Sep mean F = 81.1 | Oct mean F = 72.8 | Nov mean F = 62.7 | Dec mean F = 55.4 | year mean F = 70.9 | Jan low F = 42.0 | Feb low F = 45.5 | Mar low F = 52.3 | Apr low F = 58.7 | May low F = 67.4 | Jun low F = 72.7 | Jul low F = 74.3 | Aug low F = 74.1 | Sep low F = 69.3 | Oct low F = 59.8 | Nov low F = 50.0 | Dec low F = 43.5 | year low F = 59.1 | Jan record low F = 9 | Feb record low F = 12 | Mar record low F = 18 | Apr record low F = 31 | May record low F = 41 | Jun record low F = 50 | Jul record low F = 58 | Aug record low F = 58 | Sep record low F = 42 | Oct record low F = 24 | Nov record low F = 17 | Dec record low F = 7 | year record low F = | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation inch = 2.33 | Feb precipitation inch = 1.54 | Mar precipitation inch = 2.76 | Apr precipitation inch = 2.77 | May precipitation inch = 4.41 | Jun precipitation inch = 3.92 | Jul precipitation inch = 2.44 | Aug precipitation inch = 2.59 | Sep precipitation inch = 3.57 | Oct precipitation inch = 3.27 | Nov precipitation inch = 2.35 | Dec precipitation inch = 2.27 | year precipitation inch = 34.22 | unit precipitation days = 0.01 in | Jan precipitation days = 4.5 | Feb precipitation days = 4.7 | Mar precipitation days = 5.1 | Apr precipitation days = 4.2 | May precipitation days = 4.8 | Jun precipitation days = 5.6 | Jul precipitation days = 4.1 | Aug precipitation days = 4.4 | Sep precipitation days = 5.5 | Oct precipitation days = 3.7 | Nov precipitation days = 4.2 | Dec precipitation days = 4.6 | year precipitation days = 55.4 | Jan snow inch = 0.0 | Feb snow inch = 0.0 | Mar snow inch = 0.0 | Apr snow inch = 0.0 | May snow inch = 0.0 | Jun snow inch = 0.0 | Jul snow inch = 0.0 | Aug snow inch = 0.0 | Sep snow inch = 0.0 | Oct snow inch = 0.0 | Nov snow inch = 0.0 | Dec snow inch = 0.2 | year snow inch = 0.2 | unit snow days = 0.1 in | Jan snow days = 0.0 | Feb snow days = 0.0 | Mar snow days = 0.0 | Apr snow days = 0.0 | May snow days = 0.0 | Jun snow days = 0.0 | Jul snow days = 0.0 | Aug snow days = 0.0 | Sep snow days = 0.0 | Oct snow days = 0.0 | Nov snow days = 0.0 | Dec snow days = 0.2 | year snow days = 0.2 | source = NOAA ==Demographics==

2020 census As of the 2020 census, Cuero had a population of 8,128, 2,588 households, and 1,472 families. The median age was 39.1 years; 22.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.7% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 127.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 132.0 males. 93.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 6.8% lived in rural areas. There were 2,588 households in Cuero, of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 41.7% were married-couple households, 18.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 3,071 housing units, of which 15.7% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.4%. 2000 census As of the 2000 census, 6,571 people, 2,500 households, and 1,695 families resided in the city. The population density was . The 2,867 housing units had an average density of 580.8 per sq mi (224.1/km). The racial makeup of the city was 67.25% White, 16.71% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 12.84% from other races, and 2.07% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 34.73% of the population. Of the 2,500 households, 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were not families. About 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.13. In the city, the age distribution was 27.1% under 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 women, there were 86.1 men. For every 100 women age 18 and over, there were 80.6 men. The median income for a household in the city was $24,931, and for a family was $29,500. Men had a median income of $26,154 versus $16,551 for women. The per capita income for the city was $14,286. About 21.5% of families and 26.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.6% of those under age 18 and 20.1% of those age 65 or over. ==Arts and culture==

Turkey Fest is a local festival during which the townsfolk compete with people at various turkey-centric events. The competitions revolve around the turkeys each town raises and in which each takes immense pride. The events are the prettiest turkey contest, turkey toss, turkey trot, and turkey race. Unlike most turkey trots, where humans do the racing, in Cuero, the "turkey trot" involves racing actual turkeys. In 1972, Charles Kuralt did an "On the Road" report for CBS News from Cuero, where he did his own turkey call. Christmas in Cuero began in 2000 with the lighting of the gazebo in Cuero Municipal Park. It has grown to over 100 displays of Victorian and Western scenes, 12-car trains, gingerbread houses, and other scenes. A live nativity scene is sponsored by a church in Cuero. Two of the scenes were vandalized by two teens in November 2009. The park was still open to the public, excluding the two damaged scenes. The teens arrested for the crime had their bonds set at $150,000, in part because of the effect the crime had on the community. ==Parks and recreation==

Cuero has many places for recreation, including a baseball complex, a golf course, volleyball courts, tennis courts, a basketball pavilion, and a park area with access to public swimming pool. ==Education==

The City of Cuero is served by the Cuero Independent School District. John C. French serves prekindergarten 4 through grade 2, Hunt Elementary serves grades 3–5, Cuero Junior High serves grades 6–8, and Cuero High School serves grades 9–12. In addition, the City of Cuero is served by St. Michael's Catholic School. Providing education for the children of DeWitt County for over 130 years, the school has a fully accredited early childhood program (prekindergarten to grade 4) and offers education for kindergarten-grade 6. ==Museums and historic sites==

Cuero has the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum, the Cuero Heritage Museum, the Pharmacy and Medical Museum of Texas (now a separate location of the Cuero Heritage Museum), and the DeWitt County Historical Museum. Numerous sites in Cuero are on the National Register of Historic Places listings in DeWitt County, Texas, including (but not limited to) the Cuero Commercial Historic District, the First Methodist Church, the Grace Episcopal Church, the Macedonia Baptist Church, and the Terrell-Reuss Streets Historic District. ==Notable people==

• Frank Bass, professor and inventor of the Bass diffusion model • MSG Roy Benavidez, Medal of Honor recipient • Alois Blackwell, NFL player • Robert E. Blake, lawyer and athlete • Guy Cordon, United States Senator of Oregon from 1944 to 1955 • Leo Frank, lynching victim • Christopher A. Fuchs, physicist • Fred Hansen, Olympic champion pole vaulter • Frank Horton, U.S. Congressman for New York • Henry Joseph Huck (1822–1905), once "the leading lumberman and supplier of building materials in the young State of Texas" • Caesar Kleberg, conservationist • Barr McClellan, lawyer, author (Blood, Money & Power: How LBJ Killed JFK), entrepreneur • Jo Morrow, television and film actress • Sam Neely (1948–2006), country/folk musician and writer • Aurora Estrada Orozco (1918–2011), Mexican-American community leader • Robert Strait, high-school football running back • Cody Wallace, NFL player • Mary Fanett Wheeler, mathematician • Arthur Whittington, NFL player • Jordan Whittington, NFL player • Dale Murray, MLB pitcher ==See also==