The Recreational Activities Of Rural Youth In Waller County, Texas

Scope of Investigation This study includes 102 rural youths between the ages of 15 and 19 years in the high schools of Waller County. The names of the high schools are Sam Schwarz, located at Hempstead; Brookshire, at Brookshire, and Bob Burton, at Sunnyside. There are three important features of the county which made possible the selection of the three high schools in the places studied: (l) Type of population; (2) Geographic location and economic features; and (3) Transportation facilities. Waller County is rural in population and agricultural in interests. The total population in 1930 was 10,014 and the Negro population 4,952. The Negro population has been normally about 50 percent of the total population. The county has shown a decline in population since 1910. For the total population, the percent change was a decrease of 14.8 in 1910; 15.2 in 1920, and 2.7 in 1930. The percent change for Negroes was a decrease of 14.7 in 1910; 25.9 in 1920, and 0.3 in 1930. The period between 1880 and 1900 showed no decline in population. The largest town is Hempstead, the county seat and the main trade area, with a population of 2,000 in 1936. The next largest town is Brookshire, with a population of 500. Sunnyside is considered as an open country community, with a population of 100. All three of these places studied, as well as the county, have a rather stable rural population. The county is located in the coastal prairie area in South Texas. It consists of an area of 519 square miles. It has a rolling to level topography with soil varying from black land in the Brazos River bottom to sandy loam in the prairie. Cotton, cattle, and watermelons are the primary agricultural enterprises in the county.1 The majority of the people are farmers and there were 729 Negro farm operators in the county. Table I shows the number of colored operators, land in farms, and value of land and buildings of Negroes in Waller County, 1935