Refugio, Texas
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Refugio census division. It lies in ZIP code area 78377. The Survey maps it on the Refugio quadrangle. 2,712 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 46 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Refugio
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 4 records
Amon B. King's Men Monumentlisted 2018
Refugio County Courthouselisted 2002- Mission Nuestra Senora del Refugio Monumentlisted 2018
- Mitchell-Simmons Houselisted 2024
Population over time
2 figuresRefugio fell from 2,890 to 2,712 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2,890 | |
| 2020 | 2,712 | -178 (-6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 8 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1953 USGS Beeville quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS Refugio quadrangle1:62500
- 1956 USGS Beeville quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1960 USGS Beeville quadrangle1:250000
- 1979 USGS Refugio quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Beeville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
8 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 8 fires within 5 miles of Refugio between 2009 and 2019, burning about 516 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 August 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | LABOR DAY FIRES U. S. 77 |
| 1 May 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 500 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
| 26 October 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | HIGHWAY 77 GRASS FIRE |
| 24 October 2016 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | 77N |
| 7 January 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | HENDERSON RANCH FIRE |
| 30 January 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | 1 MILE ON HWY 77 |
| 22 January 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | 77N |
| 11 January 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | HWY 183 FIRE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
41 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Refugio in 41 storm reports between 1994 and 2021: 12 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 11 flash flood, 2 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1995 | Tornado (F0) | Refugio | 1 hurt, $40,000 | County sheriff report of a tornado which had overturned two tractor-semitrailer resulting in one injury. |
| April 2015 | Hail | Refugio | $50,000 | Quarter to golf ball sized hail occurred across the northwest and northern portions of the city of Refugio. |
| June 2014 | Tornado (EF0) | Refugio | $50,000 | NWS storm survey and local video concluded an EF0 tornado, with winds estimated at 65 MPH briefly touched down in north Refugio. It touched down near the intersection of west Heard Street and north Alamo Street. The tornado removed the roof and collapsed the north facing exterior wall of one mobile home. Minor shingle damage was observed on a couple of homes along east Houston Street. Several large trees were toppled. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Refugio | $50,000 | Winds caused the roof to lift off a trailer house, downed numerous trees, damaged many fences, and downed power lines in Refugio. |
| March 2016 | Lightning | Refugio | $25,000 | Lightning struck a 200 barrel oil storage tank on North Swift Street creating a large oil fire. Multiple emergency vehicles were required to contain the fire. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Refugio | $15,000 | Power poles were blown down and a trampoline was blown up into a tree on the west side of Refugio. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Refugio | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew part of a roof off in Refugio. This caused a natural gas line to break. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Refugio | $5,000 | A picture was relayed via social media of a 2 feet diameter tree uprooted in Refugio. |
| May 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Refugio | $5,000 | Power lines were reported down in Refugio by the County Sheriff. |
| July 2021 | Flash Flood | Refugio | - | FM 774 from Texas Highway 35 to FM 2678 was closed due to high water. |
| July 2021 | Flood | Refugio | - | Copano Creek near Refugio went above major flood stage on the afternoon of the 8th and crested near 18 feet during the early morning hours of the 9th. |
| July 2021 | Flash Flood | Refugio | - | FM 774 east of Refugio was closed due to flooding. |
| June 2017 | Hail | Refugio | - | Pictures relayed through social media showed quarter to half dollar sized hail in Refugio. |
| April 2015 | Funnel Cloud | Refugio | - | Refugio County Sheriff's Office reported a funnel cloud northwest of Refugio. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Refugio | - | Refugio County Sheriff's Office estimated wind gusts up to 65 mph. |
| June 2014 | Flash Flood | Refugio | - | Public reported county roads covered with a foot of water in places to the northeast of Refugio. |
| September 2010 | Flash Flood | Refugio | - | Water over the roadways of FM 774 and Highway 35 along Artesian Creek. |
| July 2007 | Flash Flood | Refugio | - | Very heavy rainfall, of up to 6 to 12 inches in some spots, led to numerous secondary roads underwater and impassable throughout the most of the Refugio county. U.S. 77 became impassable with high water just north of the city of Refugio. Highway 35 was closed due to many impassable spots. Tivoli and Austwell had significant flash flooding, with almost all streets impassable. |
| October 2005 | Hail | Refugio | - | Penny size hail reported at Copano Creek and U.S. 77. |
| November 2004 | Hail | Refugio | - | Reported by county sheriff along Highway 183 near the Refugio and Goliad county line. |
| September 2003 | Flash Flood | Refugio | - | Heavy rainfall resulted in several streets flooded in the city of Refugio. |
| March 2000 | Flash Flood | Refugio | - | Five to twelve inches of rain fell over Refugio county as a thunderstorm remained stationary for several hours. Local law enforcement officials closed FM 2678 from Refugio to Bayside. |
| August 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Refugio | - | Several large trees downed by thunderstorm wind. |
| February 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Refugio | - | Strong thunderstorm wind gust overturned two semi-tractor trailers on Highway 77. |
| April 1995 | Hail | Refugio | - | Agricultural extension reported 8000 acres of damage (cotton...4000, corn...3000, Milo...1000). The sheriff's department reported large trees downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| April 1995 | Hail | Refugio | - | Sheriff's department and the agricultural extension reported hail. |
| May 2006 | Hail | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| March 2005 | Hail | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| November 2003 | Funnel Cloud | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| September 1998 | Flash Flood | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| October 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| February 1998 | Hail | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| March 1997 | Flash Flood | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| March 1997 | Flash Flood | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| March 1997 | Hail | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| March 1997 | Flash Flood | Refugio | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Hail | Refugio | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodsboro | 5.2 miles | 8 | |
| Ryanville | 7.2 miles | 8 | |
| Quintana | 7.5 miles | 9 | |
| Bonnie View | 9.6 miles | 8 | |
| Cranell | 11.3 miles | 8 | |
| Vidaurri | 11.7 miles | 9 | |
| Old Saint Marys | 14.5 miles | 9 | |
| Bayside | 14.9 miles | 9 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Refugio | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q975650 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1345013. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.





