Commerce, Texas

Commerce, Texas
City

View of the Texas A&M University–Commerce campus
Nickname(s): "The 'Merce"
Motto: "Fun, Education, Community"

Location of Commerce, Texas
Coordinates: 33°14′42″N 95°54′0″W / 33.24500°N 95.90000°WCoordinates: 33°14′42″N 95°54′0″W / 33.24500°N 95.90000°W
Country United States
State Texas
County Hunt
Government
 • Mayor John Ballotti
Area
 • Total 6.5 sq mi (16.9 km2)
 • Land 6.5 sq mi (16.8 km2)
 • Water 0.1 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation 554 ft (169 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 9,100
 • Density 1,183.3/sq mi (456.9/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 75428-75429
Area code(s) 903
FIPS code 48-16240[1]
GNIS feature ID 1373171[2]

Commerce is a Texas city located in Hunt County, Texas, United States, in North Texas. The population was 9,100 residents at the 2010 census. Commerce is the second largest city in Hunt County and is situated in the heart of the Texas Blackland Prairies, in the northeastern part of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, 60 miles from Dallas, Texas, and 45 miles south of the Texas/Oklahoma border. The rural city is home to Texas A&M University–Commerce, a major 4-year University of over 12,000 students that has been in the town since 1894. Commerce is one of the smallest college towns in Texas.

History

The town of Commerce was formed when two merchants named William Jernigan and Josiah Jackson established a trading post and mercantile store located where the present day downtown area is. The rural area just to the northeast of the area was an open prairie area originally known as Cow Hill. The town was established in 1872 and named Commerce due to the thriving economic activity, and cotton fields and ideal farm and ranch lands between the Middle and South Sulphur rivers on the rich, black gumbo prairie in northeast Hunt County. The town incorporated in 1885. Two years later, a railroad was built through Commerce to transport merchandise from Fort Worth, and nine years later, William L. Mayo, a college educator, moved East Texas Normal College from the Northeast Texas town of Cooper to Commerce after the original school in Cooper was destroyed in a fire. Mayo continued as president of the college, now known as Texas A&M University–Commerce, until his death in 1917 and is buried on the campus grounds.

Commerce was named the “Bois d’Arc Capital of Texas” (pronounced "bow-dark") by the Texas Legislature because of its location in the geographic center of the indigenous range of the bois d’arc tree. The second largest bois d’arc tree in Texas “Big Max”, recognized by the National Forests Famous and Historic Trees, is located within the city limits. Held every September, the annual festival Bois d’Arc Bash pays homage to bois d’arc trees which played a vital part in the frontier days, providing foundations, fences and weapons of the Native Americans. The Bash celebrates with arts & crafts vendors, food, parade, kid's game area, pageant, wine tasting, musical entertainment, 5K run, and car & truck show.

Geography

Commerce is located at 33°14′42″N 95°54′0″W / 33.24500°N 95.90000°W (33.244959, -95.899957).[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.5 square miles (17 km2), of which, 6.5 square miles (17 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (0.92%) is water.

Climate

Commerce's climate is considered to be part of the humid subtropical region. The temperature varies greatly throughout the year. Commerce has hot, humid and dry Summers, typical of much of Texas and above average Spring temperatures. Commerce has cooler fall and Winter temperatures with higher wind chills due to its northern location and location on a natural prairie. During the Spring is the strongest part of the storm season as thunderstorms are very common and Tornadoes have been known to form in and around the area.

Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2010, there were approximately 9,100 people, 2,881 households, and 1,524 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,183.3 people per square mile (456.9/km²). There were 3,405 housing units at an average density of 525.4 per square mile (202.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.07% White, 20.78% African American, 0.42% Native American, 2.59% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 3.13% from other races, and 1.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.65% of the population.

There were 2,881 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.0% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.1% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 3.02.

Age demographic: 21.5% under the age of 18, 28.2% age 18 to 24, 26.3% age 25 to 44, 14.3% age 45 to 64, and 9.8% age 65 or older. The median age was 25.6 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,065, and the median income for a family was $37,284. Males had a median income of $26,389 versus $19,565 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,444. About 13.8% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.4% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Commerce is served by the following Highways-

Commerce is also just minutes north of Interstate 30.

Commerce is the proposed terminus in the third and final stage for the proposed Blacklands Turnpike, a toll road that would run from far northeastern Dallas County, through Collin and Rockwall counties, as a faster way to get from Dallas to the major cities in Hunt County.

Sports

High School Sports

Commerce High School is the only high school in Commerce, they are known as the Commerce Tigers and compete at the 3A level in UIL sports. The Commerce Tigers compete in football, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, softball, baseball, track and field, cross country, powerlifting, tennis, and golf. The Commerce Tigers football team has two state titles from 1999 and 2001. Commerce-Norris High School (defuct) won the state championship for basketball in 1964.

Collegiate Sports

The A&M-Commerce Lions compete in NCAA Division II sports and are a flagship member of the Lone Star Conference. The A&M-Commerce Lions compete in: football, volleyball, women's basketball, men's basketball, women's soccer, softball, golf, track and field, and cross country. Football is very popular among the university as well as the town, as fans from surrounding cities including Greenville and Sulphur Springs will come out to support the A&M-Commerce Lions football team. The A&M-Commerce Lions have earned numerous conference titles in nearly every sport that they compete in. In addition to this they've also earned five national titles, men's basketball (1954-1955), men's golf (1965), football (1972), men's tennis (1972, 1978).

Media

KETR[4] serves as the radio station for the city of Commerce, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Hunt County, and surrounding cities. The station was founded in 1975 at the A&M-Commerce campus where it still remains today. KETR is a 100,000 watt radio station that can reach up to 75 miles away, the radio frequency is 88.9 FM in honor of the year 1889 which is the year the university was founded. The station provides news, music, and sports for its listeners. In fact the station has two NPR talk shows. Commerce High School football games are broadcast on KETR, as well as A&M-Commerce Lions football and basketball games.

Education

Primary and Secondary Education

The City of Commerce is served by the Commerce Independent School District. CISD currently operates the following schools:

Postsecondary Education

The city of Commerce is home to Texas A&M University–Commerce [5](Formerly Known as East Texas State University), a fully accredited and ranked university that offers over 100 different majors, with an enrollment of 12,321 students, 6,282 undergraduates, and 6,041 graduate students. A&M-Commerce was founded in 1889 at its original location in Cooper, Texas, but moved to Commerce after burning down in 1894. The university is ranked #1 in the state of Texas for teaching education and 13th in the nation, the university also remains as the fifth longest continuous operating university in the state of Texas.

Economy

Due to being a rural college town with proximity to Dallas, Commerce has an economy that remained steady for years, but recently has seen some increase with a few new businesses opening and others being renovated. Most of the bigger businesses of the town surround the local university, and the university's student body is bigger than the town itself. Therefore, it is no surprise that the university also happens to be the top employer of the city as shown in the chart below. The downtown area is approximately one mile from the University and is the hub for town festivities. The downtown area includes bars, dining, a fashion retailer, a pet store, an office supplies retailer, a thrift shop, real estate offices, tax preparation offices, an insurance agency, the Chamber of Commerce, banks, and loft style living.

Employment

# Employer # of Employees
1 Texas A&M University-Commerce 900
2 Covidien 0- closed
3 Walmart 251
4 Commerce ISD 250
5 Legacy Housing 178
6 City of Commerce 85
7 Ben E. Keith Company 84

[6]

Notable Landmark of the City

The most notable landmark of the city of Commerce is the high-rise 12 story building located on the A&M-Commerce campus. This building is called Samuel H. Whitley Hall and is the tallest building between Dallas and Texarkana. The building is named in honor of former university president Samuel Whitley, who served as president of the university from 1924-1946. This 146 foot tall building serves as a dormitory for traditional freshmen on campus.

Samuel H. Whitley Hall of A&M-Commerce

Notable Natives and Residents

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  4. ↑ KETR
  5. ↑ A&M-Commerce Website
  6. ↑ 2011 Commerce CAFR

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Commerce, Texas.