Alton, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alton, Texas
|
|
|---|---|
| Country |  United States of America |
| State |  Texas |
| County | Hidalgo |
| Incorporated | 1978 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 7.31 sq mi (18.94 km2) |
| • Land | 7.31 sq mi (18.93 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.01 km2) |
| Elevation | 161 ft (49 m) |
| Population
(2020)
|
|
| • Total | 18,198 |
| • Density | 2,489.8/sq mi (961.3/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
78573
|
| Area code(s) | 956 |
| FIPS code | 48-02212 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1329468 |
Alton is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 18,198 at the 2020 census.
History
Alton was founded in 1910 or 1911 by citizens and railroad officials of Alton, Illinois.
On September 21, 1989, the Alton bus crash occurred; a Dr. Pepper truck hit a Mission Consolidated Independent School District school bus and caused it to fall into a caliche pit, killing 21 students.
Geography
Alton is located at 26°17′4″N 98°18′21″W / 26.28444°N 98.30583°W (26.284307, −98.305940). It is bordered to the south by Palmhurst and to the north and east by McAllen, although downtown McAllen is 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Alton. It is about 70 miles (110 km) north of Brownsville.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Alton has a total area of 7.31 square miles (18.94 km2), of which 0.003 square miles (0.008 km2), or 0.04%, are water.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1980 | 2,732 | — | |
| 1990 | 3,069 | 12.3% | |
| 2000 | 4,384 | 42.8% | |
| 2010 | 12,341 | 181.5% | |
| 2020 | 18,198 | 47.5% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
Alton is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas.
2020 census
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 439 | 2.41% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 47 | 0.26% |
| Native American or Alaska Native (NH) | 5 | 0.03% |
| Asian (NH) | 22 | 0.12% |
| Some Other Race (NH) | 27 | 0.15% |
| Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) | 12 | 0.07% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 17,646 | 96.97% |
| Total | 18,198 |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 18,198 people, 4,566 households, and 3,959 families residing in the city.
Education
Most of Alton is a part of the Mission Consolidated Independent School District. Small portions are within the Sharyland Independent School District and La Joya Independent School District.
Much of Alton was in the Alton Independent School District until January 27, 1975, when that district merged into Mission CISD.
In 2018 city manager Jorge Arcaute stated that some families moved to Alton specifically to put their children in the Mission CISD and Sharyland ISD schools.
All of Hidalgo County is in the service area of South Texas College.
Schools
Mission CISD operates the following elementary schools that serve sections of Alton:
- Alton Elementary School – Alton
- Arturo Cantu Elementary School – Alton
- Named after Arturo Cantu, a Mission ISD teacher who in 1969 drowned in the Anzalduas Park after rescuing three of his students.
- Raquel Cavazos Elementary School – Alton
- Waitz Elementary School – Alton
- Hurla M. Midkiff Elementary School – Palmhurst
- Salinas Elementary School – annexed into the City of McAllen
Mission CISD operates Alton Memorial Junior High School, named in honor of the Mission CISD students who died in the 1989 bus crash, in Alton. Students zoned to Cantu, Cavazos, and Waitz elementaries are zoned to Alton Memorial, while those zoned to Alton Elementary, Midkiff, and Salinas are zoned to Rafael A. Cantu Junior High School in Palmhurst. Sections of Alton are zoned to Mission High School and Veterans Memorial High School in Mission.
There is a Mission CISD alternative high school: Mission Collegiate High School, in Alton. Sharyland ISD operates Jesse Jensen Elementary School in Alton. Sharyland ISD sections of Alton are zoned to Jensen, North Junior High School in McAllen, and Sharyland Pioneer High School in unincorporated Hidalgo County.
La Joya ISD operates Domingo Treviño Middle School in Alton. The sections of Alton in La Joya ISD are divided between:
- Diaz/Villareal Elementary School and Kika de la Garza Elementary School
- Treviño Middle and Memorial Middle School
- Juarez-Lincoln High School and Palmview High School
In addition, South Texas Independent School District operates magnet schools that serve the community.
Parks and recreation
Josefa Garcia Park is in Alton. It previously had 5 acres (2.0 ha) of land. In 2018 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) gave a $500,000 grant to increase the park's size to 55 acres (22 ha). The park includes a memorial to the 1989 bus accident, with 21 crosses, one per deceased victim, and a statue of Jesus Christ.
