Valley View, Texas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Education
5 In Town
6 External links

[edit] History

Valley View is a town in Cooke County, Texas, United States. The population was 737 at the 2000 census.

VALLEY VIEW, TEXAS (Cooke County) -- Valley View is on Spring Creek at the intersection of Interstate Highway 35, Farm Road 922, and the Burlington-Northern Santa Fe (formerly Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe) Railway 10 miles south of Gainesville in southern Cooke County.

The site of the community was first settled in 1870 by the Lee family. L. W. Lee plotted a town on his land in 1872, naming it Valley View, presumably for the view offered at the site of Spring Creek valley. Eighteen families moved in, and a post office opened in the community that same year. A blacksmith shop was opened in 1873, and the shop was used for the community's first school. By 1884 the town had an estimated 250 inhabitants, three steam gristmills and cotton gins, and three general stores and shipped cotton, livestock, and wheat. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway reached the town in 1886. Valley View had four church buildings and a hotel by 1890, and the Valley View school district was incorporated in 1902. In 1903 the town witnessed dramatic growth with the completion of a two-story brick school house and six brick business buildings, the arrival of telephone service, and the opening of a bank. The following year the Valley View News began publishing weekly. The community had an estimated population of 600 by 1914. Two fires struck the town in 1924. In the fall the east side of the town square was burned down. On the morning of December 19 bank robbers started a second fire as they robbed the First National Bank of $5,000. A further two city blocks were destroyed. Valley View's population was estimated at 700 from the 1920s through the mid-1960s. In 1970 it was 805, but the town declined during the next decade. When Valley View incorporated in 1980, it had 514 inhabitants and six businesses. The town began to grow again in the 1980s and had a population of 640 in 1990.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: A. Morton Smith, The First 100 Years in Cooke County (San Antonio: Naylor, 1955).[1]

[edit] Geography

Valley View is located at 33°29′37″N, 97°9′52″W (33.493656, -97.164403)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.0 km² (2.3 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 737 people, 270 households, and 216 families residing in the town. The population density was 123.2/km² (319.0/mi²). There were 292 housing units at an average density of 48.8/km² (126.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.01% White, 0.27% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 1.22% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.39% of the population.

There were 270 households out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.0% were non-families. 17.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the town the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $48,500, and the median income for a family was $51,875. Males had a median income of $39,167 versus $24,107 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,204. About 7.9% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

Valley View Independent School District was incorporated in 1902. A two-story brick school was built in 1902-1903. A larger school was built in 1938. The building is still in use as part of the elementary campus. It has been renovated to restore the original features of the building.

The district grew during the time of school consolidation in the early to mid 20th Century. Schools such as John's Branch, Lone Oak, Elm Grove, Lois, Burns City, Mountain Springs, etc. became part of the Valley View ISD.

Today, the school district serves approximately 650 students on three connected campuses.

Valley View Elementary consists of grades Kindergarten through 4th and includes classrooms for the Cooke County Special Education cooperative's Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities. The school has consistently received high ratings in the Texas accountability system. Class sizes typically are 19:1, with kindergarten classes at a 16:1 ratio.

Valley View Middle School (grades 5th-8th) provides a challenging curriculum which prepare students for the future challenges of high school and beyond. Students continue art and music classes, but are also exposed to opportunities in drama, agricultural science, and family consumer science. Students may also participate in University Interscholastic League (UIL) academic and athletic contests.

Valley View High School has a long tradition of excellence. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has consistently rated the school highly and awarded gold performance recognition in multiple areas each year. VVHS is a large Class A school and students have achieved great success in extra-curricular activities. Past achievements include State Championships in UIL academics and football along with playoff successes in other sports. Other student extra-curricular activities include the Student Council, FFA, FCCLA, BPA, FCA, and the National Honor Society.

[edit] In Town

Since you're only about an hour from Dallas, you're close to the hustle and bustle of the metroplex, yet far enough away to experience the small town life.

Like many small towns, everybody knows your name and many local activities center around the school. The local schools are consistently ranked highly by the Texas Education Association (TEA).

The Valley View high school varsity football team had the honor during the 2005-06 school year of winning the 16-A district championship. The boys track team were also district champions.

There are three restaurants in Valley View: Valle's Pizza, Big Fatty's Barbecue, and a Dairy Queen franchise. The major businesses in town are a major trucking company hub and a feed mill, both owned by Alan Ritchey, Inc. The First State Bank of Gainesville has a branch in the town.

There are six churches within the city limits of Valley View: First Baptist Church (Southern Baptist), Church of Christ (churches of Christ), Cornerstone Baptist Church (Southern Baptist), St. John's Catholic Church (Roman Catholic), Methodist Church (United Methodist), and Christian Gathering (independent Pentecostal).