Missouri City, Texas 151185 225602211 2008-07-14T14:35:42Z 72.46.196.204 /* Fort Bend Independent School District */ {{Infobox Settlement |official_name = City of Missouri City |settlement_type = [[City]] |nickname = |motto = <!-- Images --> |image_skyline = |imagesize = |image_caption = |image_flag = |image_seal = <!-- Maps --> |image_map = TXMap-doton-MissouriCity.PNG |mapsize = 250x200px |map_caption = Location of Missouri City, Texas |image_map1 = FortBend County MissouriCitysvg.svg |mapsize1 = 250px |map_caption1 = <!-- Location --> |subdivision_type = [[List of countries|Country]] |subdivision_name = [[United States]] |subdivision_type1 = [[Political divisions of the United States|State]] |subdivision_name1 = [[Texas]] |subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in Texas|Counties]] |subdivision_name2 = [[Fort Bend County, Texas|Fort Bend]], [[Harris County, Texas|Harris]] <!-- Government --> |government_footnotes = |government_type = |leader_title = |leader_name = |leader_title1 = |leader_name1 = |established_title = |established_date = <!-- Area --> |unit_pref = Imperial |area_footnotes = |area_magnitude = |area_total_km2 = 78.8 |area_land_km2 = 76.9 |area_water_km2 = 1.9 |area_total_sq_mi = 30.4 |area_land_sq_mi = 29.7 |area_water_sq_mi = 0.7 <!-- Population --> |population_as_of = [[United States Census, 2000|2000]] |population_footnotes = |population_total = 52913 |population_density_km2 = 687.9 |population_density_sq_mi = 1781.7 <!-- General information --> |timezone = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]] |utc_offset = -6 |timezone_DST = CDT |utc_offset_DST = -5 |elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m = 24 |elevation_ft = 79 |latd = 29 |latm = 34 |lats = 58 |latNS = N |longd = 95 |longm = 32 |longs = 22 |longEW = W <!-- Area/postal codes & others --> |postal_code_type = [[ZIP code]]s |postal_code = 77459, 77489 |area_code = [[Area code 281|281]] |blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]] |blank_info = 48-48804{{GR|2}} |blank1_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID |blank1_info = 1374972{{GR|3}} |website = |footnotes = }} [[Image:MoCity.JPG|thumb|right|Missouri City]] [[Image:MCSign.JPG|thumb|right|Missouri City Limit]] [[Image:MissouriCity.JPG|thumb|right|Missouri City sign]] [[Image:QuailValleyLarge.JPG|thumb|right|Quail Valley is a golf course community in Missouri City]] [[Image:QVCC.JPG|thumb|right|The Quail Valley Country Club]] [[Image:ElDorado.JPG|thumb|right|The El Dorado golf course (which has been closed)]] [[Image:Riverstone.JPG|thumb|right|Riverstone is an upscale master planned community in Missouri City's extra territorial jurisdiction]] '''Missouri City''' is a city located in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Texas]] within the {{nowrap|[[Greater Houston|Houston&ndash;Sugar Land&ndash;Baytown]]}} metropolitan area. The city is mostly in [[Fort Bend County, Texas|Fort Bend County]] with a small portion within [[Harris County, Texas|Harris County]]. As of the 2000 [[U.S. Census]], the city had a total population of 52,913 (though a 2005 estimate placed the population at 62,345). == 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 (32 km) of rail line that stretched from [[Harrisburg, Texas|Harrisburg]] (now [[Houston]]) to Stafford's Point (now [[Stafford, Texas|Stafford]]). It was the first [[railroad]] to begin operating in [[Texas]], and the first standard gauge [[railroad]] west of the [[Mississippi River]]. The [[rail transport|railway]] continued its extension westward until, in 1883, it linked with its eastward counterpart, completing the Sunset Route from [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] to [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]]. Today, the route of the BBB&C (now owned by the [[Union Pacific Railroad]]) is still an important and heavily operated [[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, Missouri|St. Louis]], he named it ''"Missouri City"''. Its first ''actual'' settlers were from [[Arlington, Texas]] near [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]] and [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]]. The [[town|settlement]] was officially registered in [[Texas]] in 1894, and began to take shape as a [[railroad]] town along [[U.S. Highway 90 Alternate (Texas)|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 [[Roman Catholic church|Catholic church]] was built in 1913, but was destroyed by a [[hurricane]] in 1915. The new church built to replace it stood until 1990. [[Petroleum|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, Texas|Fort Bend County]] to make use of [[natural gas]]. With the benefit of a [[railroad]], Missouri City had already been home to [[commuting|commuters]] who, by [[train]], commuted to adjacent towns like [[Stafford, Texas|Stafford's Point]] and [[Sugar Land, Texas|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 [[commuting|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, Texas|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 [[incorporation (municipal government)|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, Texas|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, Texas|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, Texas|Houston]]. Many of them made the subdivisions of Missouri City home. This influx occurred after an economic downturn caused property values and interest rates to drop. Teal Run and other unincorporated areas east of Highway 6 became ethnically diverse before neighborhoods farther west. Movement by black families has been characterized by neighborhood hopping, whereby families who can afford to move go to majority white neighborhoods, ostensibly to escape possible negative influences to their children. As a result of the influx, some white families moved to different communities and neighborhoods in a response known as '[[white flight]]'. (White Flight usually further decreases property values, whereby a neighborhood is no longer seen as desirable to a significant segment of the population, and therefore worth less. Low income families tend to fill the void left by whites, and the process starts over again when minority members of the community once again seek a better neighborhood to live in.) Many of the newcomers were employees within nearby Houston work centers (e.g., [[Texas Medical Center]], [[Greenway Plaza]]). A lot of Middle Class African Americans call Missouri City home. In 2000, it was named a model city for Middle-class African Americans by [[Black Entertainment Television|Black Entertainment Television (BET)]]. The Missouri City area's recent residential developments include the upscale, master-planned community of Lake Olympia, adjacent to Quail Valley in the Missouri City corporate limits, and the nearby unincorporated area of [[Sienna Plantation, Texas|Sienna Plantation]], situated south of [[State Highway 6 (Texas)|State Highway 6]], on and around land once occupied by plantations where, among other things, [[sugarcane]] and [[cotton]] were harvested. ==Transportation== Missouri City is served by [[U.S. Highway 90 Alternate (Texas)|US 90A]], [[Texas State Highway Beltway 8|Beltway 8]] (Sam Houston Tollway) and [[FM 2234]] (Texas Parkway). Other nearby highways are [[U.S. Highway 59 (Texas)|US 59]], [[Texas State Highway 6|State Highway 6]] and [[Interstate 610 (Texas)|Interstate 610]]. Although it does not have public transportation in the city limits itself, it is part of the service area of [[Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas|METRO]]. METRO operates the Missouri City Park and Ride located on Beltway 8 and Fondren Road and is served by express bus route 163 Fondren to [[Sharpstown, Houston, Texas|Sharpstown]] and [[Downtown Houston]] and route 170 Missouri City Express to [[Texas Medical Center]] (where it terminates with a [[METRORail]] station there).Kids on the Go USA.Inc, also serves as a major children transporting service throughout the Fort Bend County Area ==Geography== Missouri City is located at {{coor dms|29|34|58|N|95|32|22|W|city}} (29.582799, -95.539423){{GR|1}}. According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of 30.4&nbsp;square miles (78.8&nbsp;[[km²]]), of which, 29.7&nbsp;square miles (76.9&nbsp;km²) of it is land and 0.7&nbsp;square miles (1.9&nbsp;km²) of it (2.37%) is water. ==Demographics== As of the [[census]]{{GR|2}} of 2000, there were 52,913 people, 17,069 households, and 14,645 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was 1,781.7 people per square mile (687.9/km²). There were 17,481 housing units at an average density of 588.6/sq&nbsp;mi (227.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 44.29% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 38.35% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.20% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 10.60% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.04% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 4.46% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 2.06% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 10.88% of the population. There were 17,069 households out of which 48.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.2% were non-families. 11.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.36. In the city the population was 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 were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males. According to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $79,132, and the median income for a family was $85,138.[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=16000US4845744&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US48%7C16000US4845744&_street=&_county=missouri+city&_cityTown=missouri+city&_state=04000US48&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=160&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2006_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=] Males had a median income of $51,013 versus $36,786 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $27,210. About 2.4% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over. ==Communities== * [[DeWalt, Missouri City, Texas|DeWalt]] * [[Trammels, Missouri City, Texas|Trammels]] ==Points of interest== Missouri City is home to the much of the Houston area's "antenna farm" for radio and television outlets. These include: *[[Senior Road Tower]] *[[Fox-TV Tower|KRIV-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]] ==Education== ===Primary and secondary schools=== ====Public schools==== 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]]. ====Fort Bend Independent School District==== The district operates the following schools within the Missouri City limits. * Elementary Schools ** E. A. Jones Elementary School ** Glover Elementary School ** Hunters Glen Elementary School ** Lantern Lane Elementary School ** Lexington Creek Elementary School ** Palmer Elementary School ** Quail Valley Elementary School **Sienna Crossing Elementary School **Scanlan Oaks Elementary School * Middle Schools ** Lake Olympia Middle School ** Missouri City Middle School ** Quail Valley Middle School ** Garcia Middle School ** Kista McKallife Middle School ** Sartarsha Middle School ** First Colony Middle School ** Fort Settlement Middle School * High Schools ** [[Elkins High School (Texas)|Elkins High School]] ** [[Hightower High School]] ** [[Thurgood Marshall High School (Missouri City, Texas)|Thurgood Marshall High School]] ** Bush High School ** Clements High School ** Willowridge High School ** Austin High School ** Dulles High School ** Kempner High School ** Travis High School In addition to the schools within the city limits, a small portion of Fort Bend Missouri City is also served by Dulles Middle School and [[Dulles High School (Sugar Land, Texas)|Dulles High School]], both in [[Sugar Land, Texas|Sugar Land]]. Some areas of Missouri City are served by other schools. 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. =====Houston Independent School District===== The Harris County portion of Missouri City is zoned to schools located in the city limits of [[Houston, Texas|Houston]]. The Harris County portion is zoned to [http://es.houstonisd.org/belles Kate Bell Elementary School] (places south of [[Beltway 8]]) and [http://es.houstonisd.org/grosses Jenard M. Gross Elementary School] (places north of Beltway 8), [http://ms.houstonisd.org/welchms Louie Welch Middle School], and [[Westbury High School (Houston)|Westbury High School]]. ===Colleges and universities=== The entire city is served by the [[Houston Community College System]]. ===Public libraries=== Missouri City is served by the Missouri City Branch of the [[Fort Bend County Libraries]] system. ==Postal service== The [[United States Postal Service]] operates the Missouri City Post Office at 1902 Texas Parkway, 77489-9998. The central portion of Missouri City is in zip code 77489, while the southern portion is in 77459, and the northeast portion is in 77071. Also, Missouri City's Extraterritorial Jurisdiction extends into portions of 77481, 77545, 77583 and 77469. ==Notable people== *[[Crystle Stewart]] - [[Miss Texas USA]] 2008, [[Miss USA]] 2008 ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.ci.mocity.tx.us/ City of Missouri City] {{Mapit-US-cityscale|29.582799|-95.539423}} {{Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown MSA}} {{Harris County, Texas}} {{Fort Bend County, Texas}} {{Texas}} [[Category:Cities in Texas]] [[Category:Fort Bend County, Texas]] [[Category:Greater Houston]] [[Category:Missouri City, Texas]] [[de:Missouri City (Texas)]] [[nl:Missouri City (Texas)]] [[pt:Missouri City (Texas)]] [[vo:Missouri City (Texas)]]