Splendora is a city in Montgomery County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,683 at the 2020 census. Splendora was named in reference to the "splendor of its floral environment."[5]
History
In the late 1800s, The Houston, East and West Texas Railway (now the Union Pacific Railroad), at the suggestion of Charles Cox, decided to build a narrow-gauge spur at the location of what is now Splendora. The location was originally known as "Cox's Switch."[5] The area slowly grew more populated after W.W. Burrow built a general store in the area in 1883.[6] In 1896, Cox recommended to the town's postmaster, Milton Z. King, that the town's name should be changed. They decided to change the name to Splendora because of the "splendor of its floral environment."[5][6] The town was incorporated in December 1966.[5]
There were 548 households, out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.33.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.8% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.
According to the 2015 American Community Survey, The median income for a household in the city was $37,431 and the median income for a family was $38,542. Males had a median income of $27,763 versus $16,809 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,609. About 25.8% of families and 31.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 53.3% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.
Government and infrastructure
City Hall
Splendora is governed locally by a City Council consisting of a mayor and 5 council members. As of June 2022, the mayor is Dorothy Welch. Council members are William Ramey, Evelyn Myers, Mike Clark, Sharon Ipes, and William Usher.[1]
The Texas Legislature designated Splendora ISD (and therefore Splendora) as part of Lone Star College (originally the North Harris Montgomery Community College District).[16] The territory in Splendora ISD joined the community college district in 1996.[17]
^Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.[10][11]
