Waxahachia

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Waxahachia
Nickname : The Gingerbread City, Crape Myrtle Capital of Texas
Ellis County Courthouse
Ellis County Courthouse
Location in Texas
Waxahachie (Texas)
Waxahachia
Waxahachia
Basic data
Foundation : 1850
State : United States
State : Texas
County : Ellis County
Coordinates : 32 ° 24 ′  N , 96 ° 51 ′  W Coordinates: 32 ° 24 ′  N , 96 ° 51 ′  W
Time zone : Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 )
Residents : 36,807 (as of 2018)
Population density : 355.6 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 106.6 km 2  (approx. 41 mi 2 ) of
which 103.5 km 2  (approx. 40 mi 2 ) is land
Height : 170 m
Postcodes : 75165, 75167, 75168
Area code : +1 972
FIPS : 48-76816
GNIS ID : 1349560
Website : www.waxahachie.com
Mayor : David Hill

Waxahachie ( pronunciation: / ˌwɒksəˈhætʃi / ) is a city with City status and the seat of the county seat of Ellis County in the state of Texas in the United States . At the last official census in 2010 , Waxahachie had 29,621 inhabitants, for 2018 the population was estimated at 36,807.

geography

Entrance sign

Waxahachie is located on Interstate-35 highway and the intersection of US Routes 77 and 287 , 25 miles south of downtown Dallas . The city is part of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex . Neighboring towns and villages are Red Oak in the north, Pecan Hill in the northeast, Ike and Boyce in the east, Reagor Springs in the southeast, Howard , Nash , Forreston and Five Points in the south, Boz-Bethel and Maypearl in the southwest, and Sardis and Oak Leaf in the north-west. Lake Waxahachie is located in the southern part of the city .

etymology

There are several theories about the origin of the name of the city of Waxahachie. The place name most likely comes from an unspecified Native American language and is derived from a name for buffalo ( bison ). Alibamu , the language of the Alabama that migrated to the area in the 1840s and 1850s , is mentioned as a possible language of origin . Their name waakasi hachi can be roughly translated as the path of the calves . Furthermore, it is assumed that the city of Waxahachie is related to the river Waxahatchee Creek in Alabama, the name of which comes from the Muskogee language and is composed of their terms for cow and river .

There is another explanation of the place name, according to which it comes from the Wichita language. From this the term waks'ahe: ts'i is known, which means something like "fat wild cat ".

history

Waxahachie town center

The city of Waxahachie was founded in August 1850 on the land of settler Emory W. Rogers, who had moved to the area from Lawrence County , Alabama in 1846 . The settlement grew very quickly from the beginning and a courthouse was built in the same year. In addition, a general store and a post office opened in the first year. In 1851 Waxahachie received a Methodist Church . Three more sacred buildings were added before the start of the Civil War . The first school opened in 1860, followed by Marvin College ten years later . On April 28, 1871, Waxahachie was officially incorporated as a Village . On June 14, 1875, construction began on a railway line to nearby Garrett . The line was completed in September 1879. It was mainly used to transport cotton extracted in Waxahachie. In 1881 the line was taken over by the Houston and Texas Central Railway , which extended the line to Fort Worth .

In the period that followed, many businesses developed in the city, including cottonseed oil mills , textile factories and banks. In 1876 the Methodist Episcopal Church South founded a high school in Waxahachie; this was sold to the city in 1884. In the same year, however, the Marvin College closed its operations for financial reasons. Between 1880 and 1890 the population rose from 1,354 to 3,500, two years later the 4,000-inhabitant mark was exceeded. In 1895 the Ellis County Courthouse was completed, which is known nationwide due to its architectural style built in the Richardsonian Romanesque . In 1899 there were already over 100 companies in Waxahachie, and the economy was largely determined by the cotton industry. Shortly after the beginning of the 20th century, Trinity University moved from Tehuacana to Waxahachie. In 1912 the city was connected to the power grid. A hospital was built in March 1921. In 1926, Waxahachie had a public school district with one high school and four elementary schools that taught 250 children.

After the Great Depression , the demand for cotton decreased, which resulted in the closure of many businesses. This had fewer economic consequences for Waxahachie due to its convenient location and the advent of the automobile. When Waxahachie was officially declared a city in 1933, 8,042 people lived there. In 1942 Trinity University moved from Waxahachie to San Antonio . The buildings used by the university were moved into the following year by today's Southwestern Assemblies of God College . In 1988, Waxahachie was selected as the location for the Superconducting Super Collider particle accelerator, which would have been one of the largest particle accelerators in the world with a circumference of over 87 kilometers. Construction began in 1991 before the project was discontinued two years later due to excessive costs, at which point 23.5 kilometers of the tunnel had already been completed. In 1997, the city was awarded the title Crape Myrtle Capital of Texas by the Texas State Legislature .

Due to the architecture of many buildings of the 19th century , which were sometimes decorated and ornate , the city's nickname The Gingerbread City was created.

Attractions

Waxahachie has over 70 historic buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places list in Ellis County, Texas . The Ellis County administration building is best known. There are also six Historic Districts in Waxahachie .

  • Saint Paul's Episcopal Church

  • Strickland-Sawyer House

  • JS Berry House

  • WB Moore House

  • Erwin House

Demographic data

Population development
Census Residents ± in%
1880 1354 -
1890 3076 127.2%
1900 4215 37%
1910 6205 47.2%
1920 7958 28.3%
1930 8042 1.1%
1940 8655 7.6%
1950 11.204 29.5%
1960 12,749 13.8%
1970 13,452 5.5%
1980 14,624 8.7%
1990 18,168 24.2%
2000 21,426 17.9%
2010 29,621 38.2%
US Decennial Census

At the 2010 census, Waxahachie had 29,621 residents, an increase of 8195 people, or 38.2 percent, over the 2000 United States Census . 57.0 percent of Waxahachie's residents were white (excluding Hispanics or Latinos), 14.2 percent African American , 0.5 percent Asian, 0.1 percent Native American, and 0.1 percent of other races. 2.2 percent of the city's residents were of multiple origins and a total of 25.9 percent of residents reported being Hispanic or Latino. There were a total of 7,235 households, of which 36.1 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them and 9.3 percent of the households had seniors over 65 years of age. In terms of age, the residents of Waxahachie were distributed among 26.9 percent minors, 13.3 percent between 18 and 24 years, 28.0 percent between 25 and 44, 19.4 percent between 44 and 65 and 12.3 percent of the residents were older than 65 years. The median age was given as 32 years.

For 2018, the population of Waxahachie was estimated at 36,807. 7.2 percent of the population were younger than five years, 26.1 percent were under 18 and 12.8 percent were older than 65 years. 59.9 percent of all residents were white (excluding Hispanics or Latinos), 13.2 percent African American, and 0.7 percent each were Asian and Native American. 3.8 percent said they had multiple races and 25.4 percent identified themselves as Hispanics or Latinos.

In 2000, the median income per household was $ 43,213 and the median income for a family was $ 50,048. 12.8 percent of the population lived below the poverty line , of which 19.3 percent were under 18 and 11.1 percent over 65 years old. In 2018, the median income was $ 62,986. A total of 15.2 percent of the residents of Waxahachie have no health insurance.

13.7% of today's residents can be traced back to immigrants from Germany.

education

Southwestern Assemblies of God University campus formerly used by Trinity University

Waxahachie is part of the Waxahachie Independent School District . This currently includes ten elementary schools (including one pre-school), three middle schools or junior high schools and two high schools. In the 2015/16 school year, 8,107 pupils were taught in the schools in this school district. There are also three private schools with a Christian-religious focus.

From 1902 to 1942, Trinity University was based in Waxahachie. Their buildings are now used by the Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU). The private university is supported by the Pentecostal organization Assemblies of God . The College Navarro College also has a campus in Waxahachie.

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

People connected to the city

  • Ronnie Dawson (1939-2003), rockabilly singer, grew up in Waxahachie
  • Chris Adams (1955-2001), British wrestler, lived in Waxahachie

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ US Postal Service - ZIP Codes
  2. ^ David Hill named new mayor of Waxahachie. In: waxahachietx.com , May 13, 2019, accessed April 17, 2020.
  3. ^ A b Margaret L. Felty: History of Waxahachie. Texas State Historical Association, accessed April 17, 2020.
  4. ↑ Our Waxahachie Heritage - How did Waxahachie get its name? Waxahachie Sun, March 5, 2019, accessed April 17, 2020.
  5. ^ History of Waxahachie. In: waxahachiecvb.com , accessed April 17, 2020.
  6. ^ History of Waxahachie's Development. In: downtownwaxahachie.com , accessed April 18, 2020.
  7. ^ History and Information. In: waxahachie.com , accessed April 18, 2020.
  8. ↑ Information on the 2010 Census in the American Factfinder. The site is no longer available as of March 31, 2020.
  9. ↑ Quick Facts for Waxahachie, TX. In: census.gov , accessed April 17, 2020.
  10. ^ Search for: Waxahachie city, TX. In: census.gov , accessed April 17, 2020.
  11. ↑ Waxahachie, Texas. In: city-data.com , accessed April 17, 2020.
  12. ↑ 2015-16 Texas Academic Performance Report. In: tea.texas.gov, p. 18 (PDF), accessed on April 18, 2020.

Web links

Commons : Waxahachie, Texas  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files