Temple, Texas

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City of Temple
Location of Temple, Texas
Location of Temple, Texas
Coordinates: 31°5′37″N 97°21′44″W / 31.09361, -97.36222
Country United States
State Texas
County Bell
Area
 - Total 65.5 sq mi (169.5 km²)
 - Land 65.4 sq mi (169.3 km²)
 - Water 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²)
Elevation 719 ft (219 m)
Population (2000)
 - Total 54,514
 - Density 834.2/sq mi (322.1/km²)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 - Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s) 254
FIPS code 48-72176[1]
GNIS feature ID 1369696[2]
Website: www.templetexas.us

Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. Adjacent to the county seat (Belton), Temple lies in the region referred to as Central Texas. Located off Interstate 35, Temple is 65 miles north of Austin and 34 miles south of Waco. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 54,514, but a 2006 estimate places the current population at a little over 60,000. It is a "principal city" in the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area. .

Currently known as the "Wildflower Capital of Texas," Temple was originally founded in 1881 as a railroad town. It was named in honor of Bernard Moore Temple, civil engineer and former surveyor with the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company that established the town. For many years it was the home of the Santa Fe Railway Company's hospital for its employees. Temple is known for its strength as a regional medical center (primarily due to the highly respected Scott & White Memorial Hospital, (the largest employer in town). With Scott & White, the Veteran's Hospital Center, and other smaller clinics, Temple is home to more physicians per capita than any other community in the nation. Temple is the site of one of two major campuses for the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. Medical students spend their third and fourth years of medical school in Temple for clinical training (and has recently received approval for all four years).

Besides health services, Temple is home to many regional distribution centers and headquarters to two large, multi-national companies, Wilsonart International and McLane Company[1]. The Temple Daily Telegram is the daily newspaper.

Temple invests heavily in the success of its high school football team. The Wildcats of Temple High School won the state championship in 1979 and in 1992 (for the largest division in Texas). During the early 1980s under coach Bob McQueen, the Wildcats were undefeated in regular season play for five years straight. Currently led by coach Bryce Monsen, they are in the playoffs once more after having won their district yet again in 2007. This was their first outright league title since 1995 and their first perfect district record since 1985. After a close game, Temple was defeated, ending their season.

Temple High School is also home to an award-winning Theatre Arts Department. The Theatre Department is directed by Natasha Tolleson and has won notable awards. Temple High School's Theatre Arts Department has won district for the past 15 years in UIL one act, and in 2007, won the title of state champion over all 5A schools in Texas

Contents

[edit] Geography

Temple is located at 31°5′37″N, 97°21′44″W (31.093678, -97.362202)[3]. Its residents are within relatively short driving distances to Texas's major cities: 134 miles to Dallas, 143 miles to San Antonio, and 187 miles to Houston.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 65.4 square miles (169.5 km²), of which, 65.3 square miles (169.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.14%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 54,514 people, 21,543 households, and 14,110 families residing in the city. The population density was 834.2 people per square mile (322.1/km²). There were 23,511 housing units at an average density of 359.8/sq mi (138.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.76% White, 16.49% African American, 0.51% Native American, 1.53% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 9.23% from other races, and 2.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.82% of the population.

There were 21,543 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,135, and the median income for a family was $42,795. Males had a median income of $30,858 versus $22,113 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,360. About 10.8% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

The City of Temple is served by the Temple Independent School District, as well as Temple College which offers two-year Associate degrees in a variety of subjects, including popular programs in business administration, information technology and nursing.

With such a large medical community, Temple is also home to Texas A&M University's Medical School (the above mentioned Texas A&M Health Science Center). It operates in conjunction with the Scott & White Memorial Hospital and the Veteran's Hospital Center.

Adjacent Belton is home to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor offering both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in various fields of study. Several other regional and national universities are close by: Baylor University in Waco, University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University in College Station, and Tarleton State University—Central Texas in Killeen.

The Temple Independent School District has an award-winning public high school with rich offerings including AP and IB courses and diverse extracurricular activities. In addition, Temple is also home to several private schools: Saint Mary's Catholic School (Pre K-8), Holy Trinity Catholic High School (Texas), Immanuel Lutheran (K-8) and Central Texas Christian School (K-12).

[edit] Transportation

Temple was founded as a railroad junction, and serves as a major freight railroad hub to this day. Both the Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway have mainlines serving the city, and a BNSF rail yard and locomotive maintenance facility are located here. Amtrak also serves the city with its Texas Eagle passenger train, which calls at Temple (Amtrak station).

Temple does not have commercial airline service, but is served indirectly by three airports:

[edit] Notables

Temple is the hometown of Spoon singer Britt Daniel, football legend Mean Joe Greene, football legend Sammy Baugh, actor Rip Torn, author Bryan Burrough[4], astronaut Dr. Bernard Harris, Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane, Jr. and Houston Astros team chaplain Gene Pemberton, the only full-time chaplain in Major League Baseball. Frank W. Mayborn (1903-1987), editor and publisher of the Temple Daily Telegram, was a tireless civic booster of Temple. The Mayborn Convention Center and Museum in south Bell County bears his name. Mayborn also founded KCEN-TV, the NBC affiliate for Central Texas. Temple is mentioned in the film No Country for Old Men.

[edit] External links

A water tower advertising the City of Temple's official website.
A water tower advertising the City of Temple's official website.

[edit] Local Newspaper, Television and Radio

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ Booknotes


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Municipalities and communities of
Bell County, Texas
County seat: Belton
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‡This city also has portions in adjacent county or counties
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