Grand Prairie, Texas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Grand Prairie, Texas | |
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Texas |
| Counties | Tarrant, Dallas and Ellis |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Charles England |
| Area | |
| - City | 81.5 sq mi (211.2 km²) |
| - Land | 71.4 sq mi (184.9 km²) |
| - Water | 10.1 sq mi (26.3 km²) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - City | 127,427 |
| - Density | 1,784.6/sq mi (689.1/km²) |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Website: www.gptx.org | |
Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas County (USA), with a significant overlap into Tarrant County, and a minor overlap into Ellis County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 127,427 (145,600 as of 2005).
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[edit] History
- Incorporated as "Grand Prairie" in 1909, the community was first recognized as Dechman in 1863.
- From his home in Birdville, Alexander McRae Dechman learned he could trade his oxen and wagons for land in Dallas County. In 1863, he bought 239½ acres on the east side of the Trinity River and 100 acres of timber land on the west side of the river for a broken down wagon, oxen team and US$200 in Confederate money. He tried to establish a home on the property, but ran into difficulties, so returned his family to Birdville before joining the Civil War. In 1876 he filed a town plat consisting of 50 acres with Dallas County.
- After the war, he returned to Birdville for two years before selling that farm in 1867 and moving to Houston, where Yellow Fever broke out causing the family to settle in Bryan.
- In 1876, Dechman traded half his "prairie" property to T&P Railroad to ensure the railroad came through the town. The railroad named the depot "Dechman" prompting its namesake to relocated his home from Bryan to Dechman. His son Alexander had been living in Dechman and operating a trading post and farm.
- The post office was opened in 1877 under the name "Deckman" rather than "Dechman" because the U.S. Post Office couldn't read the writing on the form completed to open the post office.
- The name of the town changed to Grand Prairie later in 1877. Legend has it that the town was renamed after a famous female actor stepped off the train and exclaimed "My, what a grand prairie!" Dechman sold the remainder of his Grand Prairie land in 1890 and apparently moved to Waxahachie. He is buried in historic Greenwood Cemetery in Dallas.
- Grand Prairie incorporated as a city in 1909.
- Grand Prairie has a long history with the defense and aviation industry. While the present day Vought plant on Jefferson Ave is part of a small strip of the Dallas city line; it was originally in Grand Prairie. During WWII it was a North American Aviation plant that produced the P-51C variant. After the War, Vought aircraft took over the plant. This later became LTV and then eventually returned to the Vought moniker. The plant was the production site for the F-8 and the A-7 aircraft of the 1950-1989 time period.
- For a period, Grand Prairie was the Notrh American headquarter for Aerospatial Helicopter
- Lion Country Safari - In the 1970's a drive through African Wildlife amusement park was built in Grand Prairie. While quite common in the US now, this was first in the region. As one would expect it allowed the visitor to drive through and see lions, hippos, and similar animals. It also featured wildlife shows. At one point a number of animals escaped and cause quite a stir in the city. The facility is now closed.
[edit] Geography
Grand Prairie is located at (32.715266, -97.016864)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 211.2 km² (81.5 mi²). 184.9 km² (71.4 mi²) of it is land and 26.3 km² (10.1 mi²) of it (12.44%) is water.
The West Fork of the Trinity River and a major tributary, Johnson Creek, flow through Grand Prairie.
[edit] Demographics
As of 2005, the population is estimated to be over 144,000.
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 127,427 people, 43,791 households, and 32,317 families residing in the city. The population density was 689.1/km² (1,784.6/mi²). There were 46,425 housing units at an average density of 251.0/km² (650.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.97% White, 13.53% African American, 0.77% Native American, 4.42% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 15.90% from other races, and 3.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 32.99% of the population. There were 43,791 households out of which 41.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.38.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.5% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $46,816, and the median income for a family was $51,449. Males had a median income of $35,300 versus $28,184 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,978. About 8.7% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.2% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
Approximately 65% of Grand Prairie's K-12 student population attends schools in the Grand Prairie Independent School District, which celebrated its 100-year anniversary in the 2002-2003 school year. The remaining 35% of Grand Prairie's student population reside and therefore attend schools in the following districts in descending order: Arlington ISD, Mansfield ISD, Cedar Hill ISD, Irving ISD, and the Midlothian ISD. Population dynamics indicate that it is plausible that by 2015, the majority of City of Grand Prairie residents will not reside in the Grand Prairie ISD. This is due to the rapid development and population growth of the city's population south of I-20 and west of Carrier parkway. Most of these areas of the City of Grand Prairie reside in the Arlington and Mansfield ISD attendance boundaries.
In Texas, school district boundaries do not always follow city and county boundaries because all aspects of the school district government apparatus, including school district boundaries, are separated from the city and county government.
GPISD - Grand Prairie Independent School District
The high schools in the district are Grand Prairie High School and South Grand Prairie High School.
AISD - Arlington Independent School District
The Arlington ISD has the second highest portion of Grand Prairie's K-12 student population. 6 Arlington ISD Elementary schools are within the city limits of Grand Prairie. Grand Prairie residents in the Arlington ISD are located generally west of the Dallas-Tarrant County boundary and north of the intersection of Camp Wisdom and Lake Ridge in Southwest Grand Prairie. One of the Arlington High Schools, James Bowie High, has more Grand Prairie residents than Arlington residents that are students at the school.
Grand Prairie student/residents in the Arlington ISD will attend Bowie, Sam Houston, or Lamar High School in the Arlington ISD or their feeder elemetaries and junior highs.
MISD - Mansfield Independent School District
The Mansfield ISD contains the third highest portion of the Grand Prairie's K-12 student population. Grand Prairie residents in the Mansfield ISD are located generally south of the intersection of Camp Wisdom and Lake Ridge and west of Joe Pool Lake to the Tarrant and Ellis County line in Southwest Grand Prairie. No Mansfield ISD schools are currently open within the city limits of Grand Prairie, but 2 elementary schools and 1 junior high school are planned to be built in these areas. The Mansfield ISD is the fastest growing ISD in Tarrant county and the growth in far southwest Grand Prairie is a major factor in the Mansfield ISD's subsequent growth.
Grand Prairie student/residents in the Mansfield ISD will attend Timberview High School or Mansfield High School in the Mansfield ISD or their feeder elemetaries and junior highs. Timberview High School is located on Texas State Highway 360 less than 100 yards from the Grand Prairie city line.
Other School Districts
Less than 10% of Grand Prairie residents reside in the Cedar Hill, Irving, and Midlothian Independent School Districts. However, the number of Grand Prairie residents in the Cedar Hill and Midlothian ISD is expected to increase significantly over the next 10-20 years as suburban development spreads to these mostly undeveloped areas of Grand Prairie.
[edit] Infrastructure
[edit] Transportation
Interstate highways 20 and 30 run east-west through the city, along with SH 303, SH 180, and SH 161, a future extension of the Dallas outerloop (President George Bush Turnpike). FM 1382 (Belt Line Road) begins from SH 180, crossing I-20 and eventually heading to Cedar Hill.
[edit] Trivia
- Sandy Cheeks in the television show SpongeBob SquarePants is from Grand Prairie.
[edit] External links
- City of Grand Prairie (official website)
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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