Midlothian, Texas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Midlothian is a city in northwest Ellis County, Texas, United States. As of 2006, the city population is estimated at 13,200.
Midlothian's former motto, evidenced by older signs that still stand around the city, was "The Steel and Cement Capital of Texas", as three large cement manufacturers and one large steel manufacturer are located in and around the city. The city's new motto is "DFW's Southern Star".
Midlothian's industrial base was to be supplemented by the Superconducting Super Collider project in the adjacent city, Waxahachie, east of Midlothian. However, the project was halted by the United States House of Representatives in 1993.
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[edit] Geography
Midlothian is located at (32.480169, -96.989350)GR1.
Adjacent cities are Cedar Hill to the north, Mansfield to the northwest, Venus to the southwest, Waxahachie to the southeast, and Ovilla to the northeast.
The City Limits of Midlothian covers approximately 53 square miles and the extra-territorial jurisdiction another 33 square miles.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 7,480 people, 2,650 households, and 2,011 families residing in the city. The population density was 76.6/km² (198.4/mi²). There were 2,792 housing units at an average density of 28.6/km² (74.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.45% White, 2.91% African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 3.94% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.11% of the population.
There were 2,650 households out of which 42.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.9% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.2% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $49,464, and the median income for a family was $55,055. Males had a median income of $37,151 versus $27,209 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,329. About 4.4% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Economy
Three of the top ten largest cement factories in the United States operate in the city: Texas Industries ("TXI"), Holcim and Ash Grove. Chaparral Steel, spun off from TXI, also runs a large steel factory adjacent to TXI's cement plant. Due primarily to the air pollution generated by these industries, the Environmental Protection Agency concluded that Ellis County was in non-attainment of the Clean Air Act[1]. (The EPA also concluded that Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties were also in non-attainment.)
A large industrial park, Railport is located along U.S. 67 on the southwestern side of the city. Railport is home to several distribution facilities including, Target, Toys R US, and Kehe Foods. A 1.5 million square foot facility for Solo Cups is forthcoming.
The north side of the city is also host to MidTexas International Center’s Auto Park, a large automobile distribution and processing center.
[edit] Triple Freeport tax exemption
Many industrial and distribution businesses (like TXI and Target) in Midlothian are exempt from local taxes or have deeply discounted local taxes. It is called the triple Freeport tax exemption meaning that the businesses are exempt from property taxes from the city, county and school district. Because of lower government revenues but higher infrastructure costs to serve these businesses, property taxes for other businesses and residents are higher.
[edit] Music
A large number of bands have come from Midlothian. A recent study showed that in four years, more than 60 bands formed in the area. Due to a strict school and conservative community, these bands are mostly of the rock genre. Several bands have gone on to sign with major music labels such as Victory. There are two primary venues for music in Midlothian, The Lighthouse, where bands such as Photodrive play, and the Midlothian Bible Church.
[edit] Education
The City of Midlothian is served by the Midlothian Independent School District and Navarro College.
[edit] Health effects of local industry
A peer-reviewed survey of acute health symptoms (not chronic conditions like cancer) in the area surrounding the cement plants in Midlothian found a 30% higher rate of respiratory problems among those living downwind or in proximity of the plants[citation needed] (The study was conducted by a UT toxicologist in 1997-98).
[edit] References
- ^ Dallas-Fort Worth Ozone Nonattainment Area. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
[edit] External links
- Midlothian official website
- Midlothian Family Network - Critic of Midlothian industial businesses and politicians
- County residents resisting annexation by Midlothian
- Midlothian Observer blog
- 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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