CHRISTINE, TEXAS. Christine is on Farm Road 140 ten miles south of Jourdanton in south central Atascosa County. It was founded in October 1909 as one of two towns promoted by developer C. F. Simmons and named after his daughters, Christine and Imogene. The community of Imogene never went beyond the planning stages, but by 1910 Christine had a post office, two hotels, a cafe, and a department store. Simmons also built the Artesian Belt Railroad to Christine from McDonna. A three-teacher school and Methodist and Baptist churches were added in 1911. By 1913 the school had 141 students.

Water problems plagued the town, but in 1916 a reservoir and water tower temporarily solved the problem. Lettuce, honey, and cattle became the main cash crops. Three cattle breeders and retail outlets for feed, lumber, and groceries served an estimated population of 600 in 1914. Christine became a stock-shipping point. The population of the town declined to 259 by 1925, however. In 1931 the number of residents had increased to 524, where it remained for a decade; during this time the number of recorded business varied from nine to fifteen. In 1936 the Christine school had seven teachers and 175 students.

Christine's population declined to slightly less than 300 during the 1940s and remained under 300 until 1982. The town had nine businesses in 1945 but only two in the late 1960s. The high school closed in 1948, and the school district was officially annexed to Jourdanton in 1954. During the 1950's, water well was dug in Christine. In the early 1980s the Atascosa Mining Company and the San Miguel Power Plant were located there. In 1988 the population was 381, and one retail business was listed. The population was 436 in 2000 with seven businesses listed.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 436 people, 140 households, and 116 families residing in the town. The population density was 248.0 people per square mile (95.6/km²). There were 160 housing units at an average density of 91.0/sq mi (35.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 78.90% White, 0.23% Asian, 14.91% from other races, and 5.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 74.54% of the population.

There were 140 households out of which 48.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.0% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.1% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 3.50.

In the town the population was spread out with 37.6% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $23,333, and the median income for a family was $25,375. Males had a median income of $23,333 versus $13,281 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,465. About 34.5% of families and 38.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 47.4% of those under age 18 and 36.2% of those ages 65 or over.

Education

Christine is served by the Jourdanton Independent School District.

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