Mesquite, Texas

Mesquite is a suburb of Dallas, in Dallas County and Kaufman County, Texas (USA). As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 124,523; it was 129,902 in the 2005 census estimate. The city is home to Professor Aaron M Clark, the Mesquite Championship Rodeo, the "Rodeo Capital of Texas," and to computer video game producer id Software, creators of Doom and Quake. Mesquite is also home to the 2001 5A Division I State Champion Mesquite Skeeters high school football team.

History

The city was created on May 22, 1873 by A.R. Alcott, a Texas & Pacific Railway engineer, who purchased land along the Texas & Pacific line outside of Dallas. The railroad, which ran from Dallas to Shreveport, began stopping at the newly-created town shortly thereafter and the city began to grow around the railroad. The city was officially incorporated on December 3, 1887.

Mesquite prospered in the late 19th to the early 20th century and became a growing farming community, growing cotton, hay, corn and sugar and using the railroad line to ship the raw goods. The town remained predominantly agrarian until after World War II, when the boom in suburbs also took root in Mesquite as new subdivisions were created. The population exploded, growing from 1,696 in the 1950 census to 27,526 in 1960 and 55,131 in 1970.

In 1958, the Mesquite Championship Rodeo was established and in 1959, Big Town Mall was constructed, the first enclosed shopping mall in the Southwest.

By 1970, LBJ Freeway (I-635) was constructed, connecting Mesquite to its neighbors, Garland to the north and Balch Springs to the south. Also in the 1970s, Town East Mall was constructed. The mall was used by director Ron Howard to film portions of the movie "Cotton Candy" in 1978. Its associated traffic and shops would continue to grow the town. By the 1990 census, the town had grown to 101,484 people, nearly twice the population twenty years earlier.

In 1986, the Mesquite Arena (now named Resistol Arena) opened its doors for the Mesquite Championship Rodeo. By 1998, the facility was expanded to include a Convention Center, Exhibition Hall and a Hampton Inn & Suites.

Geography

Location of Mesquite, Texas

Location of Mesquite, Texas

Mesquite is located at 32°46′58″N 96°36′36″W (32.782878, -96.609862)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 112.6 km² (43.5 mi²). 112.5 km² (43.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.12%) is water.

Education

Mesquite Independent School District takes students in most of Mesquite. A portion of Mesquite is served by Dallas Independent School District. The minuscule Kaufman County portion is served by Forney Independent School District.

The Mesquite ISD portion is served by several high schools: Mesquite High School, North Mesquite High School, West Mesquite High School, Poteet High School, and John Horn High School.

Transportation

Mesquite is served by a private airport, the Mesquite Metro Airport. The airport is strictly non-commercial, accommodating mostly private propellor planes and small jet airplanes. The airport includes only one major runway.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 124,523 people, 43,926 households, and 32,900 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,107.3/km² (2,868.1/mi²). There were 46,245 housing units at an average density of 411.2/km² (1,065.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.54% White, 13.32% African American, 0.60% Native American, 3.75% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.43% from other races, and 2.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.66% of the population.

There were 43,926 households out of which 43.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.5% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 33.9% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $50,424, and the median income for a family was $56,357. Males had a median income of $37,756 versus $29,905 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,890. About 5.0% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Constructions

• Mesquite Tower, a lattice tower of unusual design.
• Town East Tower is the tallest inhabited building in Mesquite, standing seven stories high.

External links

• Official website

• Mesquite from the Handbook of Texas Online