Eldorado

History

The location of present-day Eldorado was part of a land grant made by the state of Texas in 1878 to the Houston East and West Texas Railroad Company for the construction of a railroad. The land ended up being unused, and in 1895, W. B. Silliman acquired a stake in the area and established a townsite that he named Eldorado. He attracted residents from the nearby town of Verand by promising them free lots. A post office was opened in the same year and in 1896, the town had a population of 100.

Eldorado was chosen as the county seat of Schleicher County in 1901. In 1914, the town had a population of 500. The city voted to incorporate in 1925, but reversed their decision in 1927, only to vote again to incorporate in 1929. In 1930, the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway was built through the town.

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; 26.4% of the residents under 18 and 19.0% were 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 98.2 males, and for every 100 females 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.

Of the occupied households, 35.2% had children under 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 or older.

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

None of the residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

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). The 838 housing units had 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 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.

The median income in the city for a household 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 18 and 26.2% of those 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.

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.