George West was a land venture and ranching enterprise of George Washington West and Kittie West. Originally from Shannonville Tennessee, West began to build his town in 1913, after ranching from 1880 to 1912 in the area between Pleasanton and Corpus Christi. He sold his cattle holdings and began to colonize some. West offered the San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf Railroad $100,000 and a free easement through his land to build to George West. West had made his fortune on cattle drives but knew that the future rested with the transport of the animals on a train. He purchased some 120,000 acres in Live Oak County and held 26,000 cattle. A drought had caused such losses that he sold half of his acreage. Other ranchers tried to sell property at that time, and prices dropped to low levels. In 1918, West offered $75,000 to build a new courthouse if the county seat was moved from Oakville, which was not on a railroad route, and if voters approved the plan. The courthouse actually cost $120,000 and was built to West's specifications. He also built schools, roads, and water and electricity plants. George West was incorporated in 1946, and the government changed to home rule in 1980.
Geography
George West is located at . This is northwest of Corpus Christi and miles 85.6 miles south of San Antonio. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,524 people, 892 households, and 671 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,327.3 people per square mile. There were 1,035 housing units at an average density of 544.3/sq mi. The racial makeup of the city was 82.73% White, 0.28% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 14.38% from other races, and 2.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 58.00% of the population. There were 892 households, out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couplesliving together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.29. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median agewas 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,364, and the median income for a family was $33,971. Males had a median income of $28,456 versus $14,573 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,591. About 18.2% of families and 21.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.0% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.
