Eldorado, Texas

Eldorado, Texas
City
Eldorado welcome sign Eldorado welcome sign
Location of Eldorado, Texas Location of Eldorado, Texas
File:Schleicher County Eldorado.svg
Coordinates: 30°51′39″N 100°35′54″W
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Schleicher
Government
• Type	Mayor–council
• Body	City Council
• Mayor	Oscar Martinez
Area
• Total	Template:Infobox settlement/areadisp
• Land	Template:Infobox settlement/areadisp
• Water	Template:Infobox settlement/areadisp
Elevation	Template:Infobox settlement/lengthdisp
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,574
• Density	Template:Infobox settlement/densdisp
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	76936
Area code(s)	325
FIPS code	48-22960
GNIS feature ID	1356891
Website	Template:Official url

Eldorado (/ˌɛl dəˈrɑːdoʊ/ ()EL-də-RAH-doh, /-ˈreɪdoʊ/ -RAY-doh) is the only city in and the county seat of Schleicher County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,574 at the 2020 census. Eldorado is located on U.S. Highway 277, some 21 miles (34 km) north of Sonora and 43 miles (69 km) south of San Angelo, Texas.

Geography

Eldorado is located at 30°51′39″N 100°35′54″W (30.860746, −100.598329).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.4  square miles (3.6 km²), all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Eldorado had a population of 1,574 people living in 631 households.

The median age was 39.5 years, with 26.4% of residents under the age of 18 and 19.0% 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.6 males.

Of the occupied households, 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 45.3% were married-couple households, 19.5% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, 27.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, and about 26.0% were made up of individuals; 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 765 housing units, of which 17.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.3%.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

Racial composition as of the 2020 census

Race	Number	Percent
White	700	44.5%
Black or African American	23	1.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native	13	0.8%
Asian	9	0.6%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	3	0.2%
Some other race	581	36.9%
Two or more races	245	15.6%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	1,047	66.5%

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, 1,951 people, 712 households, and 513 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,408 inhabitants per square mile (544/km²). There were 838 housing units at an average density of 604.6 per square mile (233.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.63% White, 2.15% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 24.24% from other races, and 2.56% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 53.92% of the population.

Of the 712 households, 37.9% had children under 18 living with them, 58.7% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were not families. About 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city, the population was distributed as 30.4% under 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,682, and for a family was $30,781. Males had a median income of $26,172 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,994. About 20.8% of families and 26.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.6% of those under age 18 and 26.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Eldorado is served by the Schleicher County Independent School District, as are all other parts of the county.. The comprehensive high school is Eldorado High School.

All of Schleicher County is in the service area of Howard County Junior College District.

Yearning for Zion Ranch

Eldorado was the nearest city to the Yearning for Zion Ranch (YFZ Ranch), the headquarters of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints headed by convicted sex offender felon Warren Jeffs. More than 400 children were removed from the compound in April 2008 by Texas Child Protective Services. Hundreds of children were taken into custody and temporarily placed into foster homes. The children were returned to their mothers shortly afterward. In 2018, the YFZ Ranch was sold off and closed.

Media portrayals

The movie El Dorado, starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum, takes place in a fictional "El Dorado" during the late 1800s. The real town of Eldorado did not exist until 1895, well after the date of John Wayne's fictional adventure. Eldorado and The Eldorado Success were shown in the 2022 Netflix documentary Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey about the FLDS community.

Gallery

File:First National Bank, Eldorado, TX IMG 1390.JPG First National Bank of Eldorado

File:FLDS Eldorado hi.jpg FLDS Temple just outside Eldorado

File:First Baptist Church, Eldorado, TX IMG 1393.JPG First Baptist Church of Eldorado

File:Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, Eldorado, TX IMG 1396.JPG Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church off U.S. Highway 277 in Eldorado

See also

• List of municipalities in Texas

External links

• The Eldorado Success Newspaper – Official website