Missouri City, Texas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Missouri City is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown Metropolitan Area. The city is mostly located in Fort Bend County with a small portion within Harris County. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 52,913, but the latest census estimates from 2003 have increased that number by almost 10,000 to 62,570.
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History
The area in which Missouri City is now located holds a significant part in the history of Texas that dates back to its early days as part of the United States. In August of 1853, the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway (BBB&C), began operating its first twenty miles of rail line that stretched from Harrisburg (now Houston) to Stafford's Point (now Stafford). It was the first railroad to begin operating in Texas, and the first standard gauge railroad west of the Mississippi River.
The railway continued its extension westward until, in 1883, it linked with its eastward counterpart, completing the Sunset Route from Los Angeles to New Orleans. Today, owned by Union Pacific Railroad, the route of the BBB&C, is still an important and heavily operational railroad line.
In 1890, two real estate investors from Houston (R.M. Cash and L.E. Luckle) purchased four square miles of land directly on the route of the BBB&C, only a mile and a half from its first stop at Stafford's Point. They advertised the property as "a land of genial sunshine and eternal summer" in St. Louis, Missouri and its surrounding areas. Three years later, W.R. McElroy purchased eighty acres in the same vicinity, and in effort to promote the area jointly with Cash and Luckle in St. Louis, he named it "Missouri City". Its first actual settlers were from Arlington, Texas near Dallas and Fort Worth.
The settlement was officially registered in Texas in 1894, and began to take shape as a railroad town along US-90A at Texas Parkway, then known as Main Street, Blue Ridge Road, or Farm to Market Road 2234. Its growth took a challenging turn when, on Valentine's Day in 1895, shortly after the first group of settlers had arrived, the town was hit with a blizzard. This discouraged some of the newcomers who gave up and moved elsewhere. Those unwaivered stayed and found success in farming and ranching.
Among its first businesses were a blacksmith shop, a depot, and a general store, which also housed the first post office. The first Catholic church was built in 1913, but was destroyed by a hurricane in 1915. The new church built to replace it stood until 1990.
Oil was discovered in nearby Blue Ridge in 1919; soon after, a salt mine opened there. Missouri City became the railroad shipping point for these two resources. In 1925, at the same location, natural gas was discovered. After a pipeline had been constructed the following year, Missouri City became the first town in Fort Bend County to make use of natural gas.
With the benefit of a railroad, Missouri City had already been home to commuters who, by train, commuting|commuted to adjacent towns like Stafford's Point and Sugar Land to work. With the increase of automobiles and improvement of roads and highways in the early part of the 20th century, the developing community gradually attracted a wealth of newcomers. This gave birth to a new generation of commuters replacing railroad commuting|commuters that eventually became obsolete. By the 1950s, the town began to take shape as a notable "bedroom community" suburb of Houston.
After fear and rumor spread of possible annexation of the unincorporated town by Houston, town leaders scrambled to piece together a city government. On March 13, 1956, the community that began as a small settlement more than 55 years earlier was incorporated.
Missouri City has since seen tremendous economic growth, moving eastward, southward, and then westward. The city was first made over by Fondren Park (in Harris County), near US-90A, in the early 60s, followed by Quail Valley, along Cartwright Road between Texas Parkway and Murphy Road, in the late 60s. It should be noted that, unlike neighboring Houston, Missouri City has been a zoned city since 1981. Multifamily complexes (e.g. apartments and condominiums) are a rare find because of the current zoning ordinance.
In the 1970s, an influx of middle-class African Americans - most of them first-time homeowners - were attracted to developing communities south and west of Houston. Many of them made the subdivisions of Missouri City home, and have since been a major source of influence and vitality in the life of the city. This influx occurred after an economic downturn caused property values and interest rates to drop. As a result of the influx, many white families moved to different communities and neighborhoods in a response known as the 'white flight'. A majority of them were former renters in Southwest Houston-area apartments - some of them employees within Houston's work centers (Texas Medical Center, Greenway Plaza). In 2000, it was named a model city for Middle-class African Americans by Black Entertainment Television (BET).
Its most recent residential developments include the upscale, master-planned communities of Lake Olympia, adjacent to Quail Valley, and Sienna Plantation, situated south of Highway 6, on and around land once occupied by plantations where, among other things, sugarcane and cotton were harvested.
Two zip codes - 77459 and 77489 coexist, where the 77489 zip code extends into a section of the City of Houston east of Fondren Road with the eastern terminus at Chimney Rock Road. Fondren Road is the current demarcation between Missouri City and Houston - since the late 1970s, communities east of Fondren Road and north of FM 2234 - including Willowridge High School - have been part of the City of Houston since late 1979. Some residents refer to this "disputed" section - a nine-square mile section of Fort Bend County as Missouri City because of the 77489 zip code; in 1998, the City of Houston Super Neighborhood Council refers to this "disputed" section as the Fort Bend-Houston Super Neighborhood #41.
Geography
Missouri City is located at 29°34'58" North, 95°32'22" West (29.582799, -95.539423)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 78.8 km² (30.4 mi²). 76.9 km² (29.7 mi²) of it is land and 1.9 km² (0.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.37% water.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there are 52,913 people, 17,069 households, and 14,645 families residing in the city. The population density is 687.9/km² (1,781.7/mi²). There are 17,481 housing units at an average density of 227.3/km² (588.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 44.29% White, 38.35% African American, 0.20% Native American, 10.60% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.46% from other races, and 2.06% from two or more races. 10.88% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 17,069 households out of which 48.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.2% are married couples living together, 12.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 14.2% are non-families. 11.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 2.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.09 and the average family size is 3.36.
In the city the population is spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 5.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $72,434, and the median income for a family is $77,762. Males have a median income of $51,013 versus $36,786 for females. The per capita income for the city is $27,210. 3.3% of the population and 2.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 3.5% of those under the age of 18 and 4.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Points of interests
There are some very high guyed masts at Missouri City, Texas. These are:
- Senior Road Tower
- Fox-TV Tower
- KHOU-TV Tower
- KTRK-TV Tower
- Houston Tower Joint Venture Tower
- American Towers Tower Missouri City
- Richland Towers Tower Missouri City
- Blue Ridge Tower Missouri City
KRIV-TV Tower and KTRK-TV Tower are located very close together.
Education
The Fort Bend County portion of Missouri City is served by Fort Bend Independent School District, while the Harris County portion is served by Houston Independent School District.
All of the schools located in the city limits of Missouri City are owned by Fort Bend ISD. Seven elementary schools, three middle schools, and three high schools are inside Missouri City.
The Harris County portion of Missouri City is zoned to schools located in the city limits of Houston. The Harris County portion is zoned to Bell Elementary (places south of Texas Beltway 8) and Jenard M. Gross Elementary (places north of Beltway 8), Louie Welch Middle School, and Westbury High School.
The entire city is served by the Houston Community College System.
Schools in Missouri City
- Elementary Schools
- E. A. Jones Elementary School
- Glover Elementary School
- Hunters Glen Elementary School
- Lantern Lane Elementary School
- Palmer Elementary School
- Quail Valley Elementary School
- Sienna Crossing Elementary
- Scanlan Oaks Elemantary
- Middle Schools
- Lake Olympia Middle School
- Missouri City Middle School
- Quail Valley Middle School
- High Schools
External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Local or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Local or Microsoft Virtual Earth
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