Pasadena, Texas
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| Pasadena, Texas | |||
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| Nickname: ""Strawberry Capitol"" | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| County | Harris | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | John Manlove | ||
| - City Council | (Chair) John Manlove
District A: Ralph Riggs |
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| Area | |||
| - City | 115.3 km² (44.5 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 114.4 km² (44.2 sq mi) | ||
| - Water | 0.9 km² (0.4 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 9.1 m (29.9 ft) | ||
| Population (2004) | |||
| - City | 141,674 | ||
| - Density | 1,238.7/km² (3,208.2/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) | ||
| Website: http://www.ci.pasadena.tx.us/ | |||
Pasadena is a city southeast of Houston in Harris County, Texas, within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. It is the second largest city in the county, 15th largest in the state and 159th largest in the United States, next to its namesake city, Pasadena, California, the 160th largest. The area was founded in 1893 by John H. Burnett of Galveston. At the time of its founding, the land's lush, flowering vegetation inspired Burnett to name the city after Pasadena, California.
As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city's population was 141,674. It boasts the largest all volunteer municipal fire department in the United States, the Pasadena Volunteer Fire Department. The city's economy is closely linked to the nearby Houston Ship Channel and its related industrial districts, as well as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in the bordering Clear Lake area.
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[edit] History
The first inhabitants of the area are believed to have been the cannibalistic Karankawa Indians, who lived throughout the Gulf coast region.
[edit] Birthplace of Texas
Pasadena is near the location of the final battle of the Texas Revolution, which occurred on April 21, 1836. The Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna was captured at Vince's Bayou. A monument to that battle, known as the San Jacinto Monument, is located on the outskirts of the city on the ship channel. Because this was the last conflict that led to the Mexican surrender, Pasadena is known as the "Birthplace of Texas." Washington County, Texas shares the claim to that title, since that is where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed.
[edit] The Allen Ranch
A large ranch occupied what is now western Pasadena all the way to Harrisburg, Texas. That ranch was known as the Allen Ranch. By 1888, the Allen Ranch contained 15,000 acres in Harris County, 10,000 acres in Brazoria County, Texas with grazing lands in Galveston and Fort Bend Counties. Sam Allen had started the ranch 45 years earlier with 350 acres. When he was 62, he suffered a sunstroke and was buried in nearby Harrisburg in 1888.
[edit] The 19 mile fence
The Galveston, Harrisburg & Houston Railroad ran through the Allen ranch. There was a problem of cattle being regularly killed on the tracks and in 1875, Sam Allen built a 19 mile fence along the east side of the railway right of way to keep the cattle off the tracks. The fence ran from Harrisburg to League City and had four rails and a top rail wide enough to walk on. A gate was placed in the fence at the Harrisburg-Lynchburg Road with a large sign above instructing that it should be closed at all times. The area east of this railroad fence running from Buffalo Bayou to the tracks on Sims Bayou ran all the way to Galveston Bay. It contained 100,000 acres of grazing land for cattle.
[edit] First settlements
In the area were small post along Buffalo Bayou such as Lynchburg, Clinton, Morgans Point, La Porte and the larger towns of Harrisburg and Houston. Many other "proposed" towns in or near present day Pasadena were set up but short lived and either abandoned or never even got off the ground. Some of these included, Germantown, later known as Frostown, Hamilton, which tried to steer away residents of Harrisburg, San Jacinto a town across from the Lynchburg Ferry, Louisville just down stream. A huge development called Buffaloe at the mouth of Vince Bayou was proposed by Merriweather Woodson Smith on July 8, 1837. He had purchased 2,222 acres from the William Vince survey, but not lots were ever sold.
In 1892 Colonel John H. Burnett of Galveston established an unnamed townsite on the Vince Survey just east of the Allen Ranch. Burnett was involved in both construction and promoting railroads and knew the impact of railroads on the value of property. The land was sold in 10 acre lots. He had also established the nearby towns or Deepwater and Genoa, later to be incorporated into Pasadena and Houston.
[edit] Naming of Pasadena
Much speculation has surrounded the true story on how Pasadena, Texas received its name. It is claimed by some sources that the word "Pasadena" is Spanish for "land of flowers." [1] There is also a story from Pasadena, California on the origins of the word as follows; Dr. Thomas Elliott was searching for a new name of his Southern California town, had contacted an Indian missionary friend in Michigan who had worked with the Minnesota Chippewa Indians. He submitted four names for translation: "Crown of the Valley," "Key of the Valley," "Valley of the Valley," and "Hill of the Valley." The names came back starting with "Weo-quan pa-sa-de-na," "Hat of the Valley." All the names ended in "pa-sa-de-na (of the valley)". The name was put to a vote, and due to its euphonious nature, it was accepted as Pasadena. After Pasadena, California was established Burnett had visited the area and decided that area near the Vince Bayou looked very similar to Pasadena, and named the new Texas town after it. [2]
[edit] Geography
Pasadena is located at (29.676196, -95.173845)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 115.3 km² (44.5 mi²). 114.4 km² (44.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (0.81%) is water. The city is bordered by the Houston Ship Channel (Buffalo Bayou / San Jacinto River) to the north. The southeastern most part of the city fronts Galveston Bay.
[edit] Climate
The climate of Pasadena is that of neighboring Houston. Hot and humid summers with mild winters typical of the Southern United States.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high °F (°C) | 61 (16) | 66 (18) | 73 (22) | 79 (26) | 85 (29) | 91 (32) | 94 (34) | 93 (33) | 89 (31) | 82 (27) | 72 (22) | 65 (18) | 79 (26) |
| Rec high °F (°C) (year) | 84 (29) (1975) | 91 (33) (1986) | 96 (36) (1946) | 95 (35) (1987) | 99 (37) (1996) | 103 (39) (1980) | 105 (41) (1939) | 107 (42) (1980) | 109 (43) (2000) | 97 (36) (1938) | 90 (32) (1934) | 85 (29) (1995) | 109 (43) (2000) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 41 (5) | 44 (6) | 51 (10) | 58 (14) | 65 (18) | 71 (21) | 73 (22) | 73 (22) | 68 (20) | 59 (15) | 50 (10) | 44 (6) | 58 (14) |
| Rec low °F (°C) (year) | 5 (-15) (1940) | 14 (-10) (1951) | 22 (-6) (2002) | 31 (-1) (1987) | 44 (7) (1978) | 50 (10) (1970) | 62 (17) (1990) | 60 (16) (1992) | 46 (8) (1942) | 29 (-2) (1993) | 19 (-7) (1976) | 7 (-14) (1989) | 5 (-15) (1940) |
| Average precipitation: inches (mm) |
3.9 (99) | 2.9 (74) | 3.5 (89) | 3.6 (91) | 5.6 (142) | 5.1 (129) | 3.4 (86) | 3.7 (94) | 4.3 (109) | 4.7 (119) | 3.7 (94) | 3.6 (91) | 47.9 (1217) |
| Maximum precipitation: inches (mm) (year) |
13.11 (333) (1891) | 9.80 (249) (1959) |
10.66 (271) (1922) | 10.92 (277) (1976) | 15.87 (403) (1907) | 19.21 (488) (2001) | 14.80 (376) (1900) | 15.43 (392) (1915) | 13.37 (340) (1913) | 17.64 (448) (1949) | 14.10 (358) (1943) | 14.38 (365) (1923) | 72.86 (1851) (1900) |
| Source: Weatherbase[3] | |||||||||||||
[edit] Transportation
Pasadena is served by three freeway systems. Interstate 45 is the closest interstate to the Pasadena city limits. The main freeway artery is the Pasadena Freeway (Texas 225). The east side of the Sam Houston Tollway (Beltway 8) runs through the eastern portion of the city.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 141,674 people, 47,031 households, and 35,179 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,238.7/km² (3,208.1/mi²). There were 50,367 housing units at an average density of 440.4/km² (1,140.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.45% White, 1.63% African American, 0.68% Native American, 1.83% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 21.30% from other races, and 3.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 48.24% of the population.
There were 47,031 households out of which 43.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.2% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.48.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,522, and the median income for a family was $42,541. Males had a median income of $34,330 versus $25,869 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,301. About 13.2% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.8% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Culture
The city has several museums, including the Pasadena Historical Museum, the Bay Area Museum and Armand Bayou Nature Center. Pasadena also has a community theater (Pasadena Little Theatre), a large rodeo each year (Pasadena Livestock Show & Rodeo) and orchestra (the Pasadena Philharmonic). The city's newspaper is the Pasadena Citizen.
Because of its location near the enormous amount of refineries that dot the ship channel (which help to make Houston's petrochemical complex the largest in the nation), Pasadena has been dubbed by locals with the nickname "Stinkadena." Another reason for the name may be the large sewage treatment plant located along State Highway 225 that links Houston to Pasadena. Another nickname, "Pasa-get-down-dena", was coined in the mid-1980s by a Houston morning radio DJ named Moby on his show Moby in the Morning on the long gone station, 97 Rock. At least two country music songs have been recorded with "Pasa-get-down-dena" as the title: one by Kenefick on their album "Hard Road," and John Evans on his album "Biggest Fool in Town."
[edit] Gilley's and Urban Cowboy
Pasadena was enshrined in film history when John Travolta, Debra Winger and others descended on the city to film the 1980 hit movie Urban Cowboy, which depicted life and young love in Pasadena. The film centered around the city's enormous honky-tonk bar Gilley's, which was co-owned by country music star Mickey Gilley. In 1989 Gilley's suffered an arson fire that gutted the interior, but the building's shell was still standing until 2006 when it was demolished by the Pasadena Independent School District, its current owner. Only the old sound recording studio remains. The old sign was moved to the Cowboy Ranch, a local restaurant no longer open. After the restaurants demise the sign was actioned off on the website eBay. Gilley still makes his home in Pasadena.
[edit] Strawberry Festival
The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 caused many people to resettle in Pasadena. Clara Barton of the American Red Cross purchased 1.5 million strawberry plants and sent them to Pasadena to help victims of the flood get back on their feet. By the 1930s those crops had flourished so much that Pasadena was claiming the moniker of Strawberry Capital of the World. At its height, the city's strawberry growers shipped as many as 28 train carloads of strawberries each day. To honor that history, the city still holds an annual "Strawberry Festival," and today Strawberry Road stretches through much of the city near where the old strawberry crops grew.
[edit] Education
[edit] Colleges and universities
Institutions of higher education include:
- University of Houston–Clear Lake (partially in Pasadena, partially in Houston)
- San Jacinto College (Central Campus and System Headquarters) a community college system which serves all of Pasadena as well as all and portions of several other school districts.
- Texas Chiropractic College
[edit] K-12 schools
Most of city of Pasadena is served by the Pasadena Independent School District. Some of the eastern part is served by Deer Park Independent School District, some of the southern part is served by Clear Creek Independent School District and La Porte Independent School District.
[edit] Public libraries
Pasadena owns the Pasadena Public Library [1]. In addition Pasadena residents are served by the Harris County Public Library. The nearest HCPL branch to Pasadena is the South Houston Library in South Houston.
[edit] Famous residents/natives
- Bo Brinkman - Actor, Producer, Writer, Director (married to Melissa Gilbert 1988-1992)
- LeeAnne Locken - Miss USA finalist and actress
- Mickey Gilley - Country singer
- Ronald Clark O'Bryan - murderer nicknamed "The Candyman"
- RJ Helton - Singer
- Chris Sampson - Pitcher, Houston Astros baseball team
[edit] External links
- City of Pasadena
- City Information
- Pasadena Chamber of Congress
- Pasadena Citizen
- Pasadena Strawberry Festival
- Pasadena Livestock Show & Rodeo
- Pasadena Information
[edit] References
- Pasadena, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
- 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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