Harker Heights, Texas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harker Heights is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. The population was 17,308 at the 2000 census. Incorporated in 1960, the town name is derived from the name of one of the two original landowners and city founder, Harley Kern.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Education
- 4.1 High Schools
5 External links

[edit] History

Harker Heights is located near Fort Hood, a United States Army base that was designated a permanent military facility in 1950. As the base grew, the nearby town of Killeen also grew. Water Control and Improvement District No. 4 was established on land near the Killeen city limits and the military base in 1955, and included the land owned by Pinckney R. Cox and Harley Kern. These two men subdivided their land in 1957 and began selling lots. By 1960, between 600 and 700 of the lots had been developed and new residents supplied with water and other utility services. Following a petition for an incorporation election, the town was established on September 24, 1960 and Cox was elected mayor. Kern had died before the incorporation, and the Harker in Harker Heights was a concatenation of Harley Kern's name as a tribute to one of the original landowners.

The only major expansion of the town occurred in December, 1988, when the city annexed the Comanche Hills Utility District, adding 3,500 people to the town population. Currently Harker Heights, which is a suburb of Killeen is starting to become more independent. On February 1, 2007, ground breaking ceremonies were held for the new 675,000 square foot shopping center. It is the first up-scale shopping center in the area and includes a 16 screen movie theater.

[edit] Geography

Harker Heights is located at 31°4′6″ N 97°39′20″ W (31.068333333333, -97.655555555556) (31.068459, -97.655524)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 33.0 km² (12.8 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 17,308 people, 6,200 households, and 4,712 families residing in the city. The population density was 523.7/km² (1,356.4/mi²). There were 6,823 housing units at an average density of 206.5/km² (534.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.89% White, 14.94% African American, 0.78% Native American, 3.58% Asian, 0.40% Pacific Islander, 5.79% from other races, and 3.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.44% of the population.

There were 6,200 households out of which 42.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.4% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.4% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 34.8% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 101.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,947, and the median income for a family was $49,607. Males had a median income of $31,728 versus $26,404 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,061. About 7.4% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

The City of Harker Heights is served by the Killeen Independent School District. The elementary schools are Bellaire, Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Clarke, Clear Creek, Clifton Park, Duncan, Eastward, Fowler, Harker Heights, Hay Branch, Iduma, Ira Cross, Maxdale, Meadows, Montague Village, Mountain View, Nolanville, Oveta Culp Hobby, Peebles, Pershing Park, Reeces Creek, Saegert, Skipcha, Sugar Loaf, Timber Ridge, Trimmier, Venable Village, West Ward, and Willow Springs. The middle schools are Audie Murphy, Eastern Hills, Fairway, Haynes, Liberty Hill, Live Oak Ridge, Manor, Nolan, Palo Alto, Rancier, Smith, and Union Grove. The high schools are Ellison, Harker Heights, Haynes, Killeen, and Shoemaker.

[edit] High Schools

All high school students living in Harker Heights attend Harker Heights High School. After first opening in the Fall of 2000, HHHS has grown from a school of 1450 students to one of 2200. The Knights compete at the AAAAA classification level and have made the playoffs in football 6 of the school's 7 years (including 3 district championships in AAAA) and are the defending district champions in Boys basketball (district 13-5A).