West Sharyland is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Hidalgo County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. The population was 2,004 at the 2020 United States Census. It is part of the

McAllen McAllen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Hidalgo County. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexican border. The city limits extend south to the Rio Grande, across ...

– Edinburg–

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Sharyland is located at (26.276838, -98.338393).
According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

West Sharyland first appeared as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2000 U.S. Census.

2020 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,947 people, 676 households, and 648 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 743 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 85.34%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.03%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.07%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 0.24%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 13.98% from other races, and 0.34% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 98.10% of the population. There were 676 households, out of which 69.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 78.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 4.1% were non-families. 3.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.36 and the average family size was 4.44. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 42.3% under the age of 18, 12.5% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 12.3% from 45 to 64, and 3.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $24,602, and the median income for a family was $24,393. Males had a median income of $17,283 versus $15,125 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $8,383. About 31.5% of families and 30.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 36.0% of those under age 18 and 32.9% of those age 65 or over.

Development

The areas growth is largely a result of the economic changes spawned by the

North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...

(NAFTA

.The region is also becoming popular as a bedroom community for white collar workers and professionals working in McAllen and Mission. A 1998 Census Bureau study found that McAllen-Mission is the third fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States.

Education

Portions of the West Sharyland

are served by two school districts:

Mission Consolidated Independent School District Mission Consolidated Independent School District is a public school district based in Mission, Texas, Mission, Texas (United States, USA), in the lower Rio Grande Valley (Texas), Rio Grande Valley.La Joya Independent School District La Joya Independent School District is a school district headquartered in La Joya, Texas, United States. The La Joya Independent School District, located in the western portion of Hidalgo County, Texas consist of more than stretching west of ...

. Sections of the Mission CISD portion are served by Cantu, Cavazos, and Waitz elementary schools in

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) * Alton (surname) Places Australia * Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario * Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zeala ...

. All Mission CISD residents are zoned to Alton Memorial Junior High School in Alton and Mission High School in

.Mission CISD School Zones
" Mission Consolidated Independent School District. Retrieved on August 2, 2018
See HTML version
Junior high boundaries are determined by the elementary school zoning, with some optional exceptions, while high school boundaries are described by text. Zoned LJISD schools are Kika de la Garza Elementary School, Memorial Middle School, and Palmview High School.High School Zones 2017-2018
"

La Joya Independent School District La Joya Independent School District is a school district headquartered in La Joya, Texas, United States. The La Joya Independent School District, located in the western portion of Hidalgo County, Texas consist of more than stretching west of ...

. Retrieved on September 16, 2018.

Notable people

John H. Shary Founder of Sharyland and the Rio Grande Valley citrus industry. His daughter, Marialice, married Texas Governor

Allan Shivers Robert Allan Shivers (; October 5, 1907 – January 14, 1985) was an American politician who served as the 37th governor of Texas from 1949 to 1957. Shivers was a leader of the Texas Democratic Party during the turbulent 1940s and 1950s and dev ...

. John J. Conway Purchased the land that would become Sharyland from the Catholic Church before selling much of it to John Shary. Conway played an instrumental role in developing an irrigation system for local farms, and founded the city of Mission Texas; much of unincorporated Sharyland actually lies within Mission's city limits.

Lloyd Bentsen Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. (February 11, 1921 – May 23, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 69th United States secretary of the treasury under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1994. He served as a United States senator from ...

Born in Sharyland and graduated from Sharyland High School. Bentsen was a four-term Senator, vice-presidential candidate, and from 1993 to 1994 served as

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

's Treasury Secretary.

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

Retired to Sharyland after his third unsuccessful run for the presidency, in 1908. Bryan and his wife remained in Sharyland until 1913, when President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

made him Secretary of State. After leaving the cabinet in 1915, Bryan sold the "Bryan House" in Sharyland and moved to Florida. Bryan achieved his greatest fame shortly before his death when he squared off against

Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the 19th century for high-profile representations of trade union causes, and in the 20th century for several criminal matters, including the ...

in the famous " Scopes Trial", which tested whether

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

could be taught in the classroom.

Jorge Cantú Jorge Luís Cantú Guzmán (born January 30, 1982) is an American-born Mexicans, Mexican former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Cincinnati Reds, Florida Marlins, Texas Rang ...

Major League Baseball player for the Texas Rangers who was born in

and graduated from Sharyland High School.

References

External links

Photographs of Sharyland Excursions
from the University of Texas-Pan American hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
{{authority control Census-designated places in Hidalgo County, Texas Census-designated places in Texas