Keller is a city located in the northeast portion of Tarrant County in the US State of Texas that is major suburb of Fort Worth and advertises itself as "successfully balancing big-city comforts with small-town charm". Its density of 2,200 people per square mile and plenty of natural land is complemented by its recently constructed town hall, municipal service center, and award-winning recreation and aquatic center. The 2010 census recorded its population as 39,627, which ranks modestly as 74th in the state.
Keller was settled in the early 1850s and became a stop on the Texas and Pacific Railway, named after John C. Keller, a foreman on the railroad. The wooded region around Keller attracted settlers because of the close proximity to the Trinity River, a supply of plentiful game and water, and the abundance of land for cattle raising and farming. Keller was incorporated on November 16, 1955.
Keller is primarily residential, home to very little industry, but features more than 300 acres of developed park land, 11 park sites and nearly 19 miles of hike and bike trails. [1] Nearly equidistant from Tarrant County College District in Fort Worth, The University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Woman's University and University of North Texas, both in Denton, the Keller Independent School District has 41 campuses serving more than 37,500 students. [2]
History
Establishment of Keller
The Texas and Pacific Railway between Fort Worth and Texarkana was completed in June 1881, and the first train ran on this track on May 9, 1881. With the advent of rail service, new villages were established all along the line. The Keller of today was one of them. On July 19, 1881, H.W. Black, a druggist of Tarrant County, set aside 40 acres (0.16 km2) out of the north end of the 62 acres (0.25 km2) deeded to him by A.C. Roberts (being a part of the Samuel Needham Survey) for a town site to be known as Athol, situated 14 miles (23 km) northeast of Fort Worth. The land was dedicated to the public for streets and alleyways, but title to the remainder of the 62 acres (0.25 km2) was held by Mr. Black. Settlers migrated to the new village, and before a year had passed the name of the town was changed from Athol to Keller, honoring John C. Keller, a foreman on the railroad. Streets were named and those in the original 40-acre (0.16 km2) site still carry the names given to them in 1881. Streets going north and south are Lamar, Main and Elm; those running east and west are Price, Taylor, Hill, Vine, Bates, Olive and Pecan.
Modern Keller
New residential development is gradually filling in open spaces, with neighboring towns affording no opportunity to expand its boundaries. The 1980 Census calculated Keller's population at 4,555; today, about 42,000 residents call Keller home. The city planned for its growth and has recently constructed a new town hall, municipal service center, and award-winning recreation and aquatic center known as The Keller Pointe. It has renovated and expanded its police facility, which houses the Regional Jail, Regional Animal Adoption Center and regional 911 dispatch center, completed a major expansion to the Keller Public Library [3], and constructed a new fire station (#4) for the southern portion of the city. The Keller Independent School District serves portions of the cities of Colleyville, Fort Worth, Haltom City, Hurst, North Richland Hills, Southlake, Watauga and Westlake, as well as the entire city of Keller. Its 51 square miles (130 km2) encompass the third-largest land area in Tarrant County. Enrollment in the school district has doubled during the past 10 years and is expected to do the same during the next decade, making it the ninth-fastest growing school district in Texas. Money magazine rated Keller as one of the 10 "Best Places to Live" in the United States for 2009, ranked number 7. [4] It rated Keller as one of the 100 "Best Places to Live" in the United States for 2011, ranked number 93. [5] The U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey listed Keller as one of the "Nation's Richest Cities" with a population over 20,000 in 2008, ranked number 59 with median household income of $114,542. Neighboring Southlake was ranked number 1. [6]
Geography
Keller is located at 32°55?39?N 97°14?10?W (32.927533, -97.235995). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.4 square miles (47.8 km²), all land. Keller is just east of Interstate 35W, while being situated just south of Highway 114 and Alliance Gate Freeway.
Surrounding Cities
Here is the list of cities surrounding The City of Keller, whom which are located in either Denton or Tarrant County.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 27,345 people, 8,827 households, and 7,856 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,483.0 people per square mile (572.6/km²). There were 9,216 housing units at an average density of 499.8 per square mile (193.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.74% White, 1.43% African American, 0.39% Native American, 1.77% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.18% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.51% of the population.
There were 8,827 households out of which 52.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 81.3% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 11.0% were non-families. 8.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.0% 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 3.30.
In the city the population was spread out with 33.7% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 34.7% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 4.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household was $107,518, and the median income for a family was $114,542. Males had a median income of $66,969 versus $34,661 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,986. About 1.0% of families and 1.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.
Government
City government
The City of Keller is a full-service city, providing police, fire and emergency services, parks and recreation, library, senior center, animal control, planning, building inspection, economic development, public works, street maintenance, water, wastewater, drainage, and solid waste disposal. Organized under the Council-Manager form of government, the Keller city council has seven representatives elected at-large and responsible for enacting local legislation, setting policies and adopting Keller's annual operating budgets. Keller City Hall is located at 1100 Bear Creek Parkway in Keller Town Center. The current mayor of Keller is Mark Mathews.
The city is served by the Keller Police Department. The current Chief of Police is Mark Hafner, who also serves as public safety director for the city and as the elected president of the Texas Police Chiefs Association. The police department shares a communications network, regional jail, and regional animal services and adoption center with neighboring cities Southlake, Colleyville, and Westlake. Police services for Westlake are also provided through contract by the Keller police.
The Keller Fire Department maintains three fire stations throughout the city. Firefighters and paramedics are employed full-time to provide both fire and ambulance services to Keller residents; through mutual aid, assistance is occasionally given to neighboring cities. The fire department, like the police department, participates in a shared communications network with Southlake, Colleyville, and Westlake. The current Fire Chief is David Jones.
State representation
Keller citizens are represented in the Texas House of Representatives by Republican Giovanni Capriglione, District 98, and in the Texas State Senate by Republican Kelly Hancock, District 9.
Federal representation
In the United States Senate the entire state is represented by Republicans John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. In the United States House of Representatives, Keller is in Congressional District 26, currently represented by Republican Michael C. Burgess.
Education
Keller is served by the Keller Independent School District while small portions of the city are in the Northwest Independent School District and Carroll Independent School District. Students zoned to Keller ISD attend 23 different elementary schools (grades K-4), 12 different intermediate/middle schools (grades 5-8), and five different high schools (grades 9-12). Most of the district's schools are located mostly in Northeastern Fort Worth Schools located in the City of Keller are:
Intermediate Schools (Grades 5-6):
- Bear Creek Intermediate School
- South Keller Intermediate School
Middle Schools (Grades 7-8):
- Indian Springs Middle School
- Keller Middle School
High Schools (Grades 9-12):
- Keller High School
- Keller Learning Center
Infrastructure
One source of Keller's bedroom-community serenity comes from having no contact with any interstate highways. U.S. Route 377, a north-south United States highway runs along Keller's western border, parallel to Interstate 35W. Davis Boulevard (FM1938), a north-south Farm to Market Road from North Richland Hills to Southlake, runs through Keller. Keller Parkway (FM 1709) runs from Interstate 35W in Fort Worth, where it is named "Golden Triangle Boulevard," to State Highway 114 (SH 114) in Southlake, where it is named "Southlake Boulevard."
In September 2004, Verizon Communications, launched their FiOS fiber-optic communications network; 9,000 customers in Keller, Texas, were the very first in the nation. Verizon replaced copper wires with optical fibers, commencing service in 2005.
Keller consistently scores as a very safe city, in United States cities by crime rate (40,000-60,000) in Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports statistics.
ArrayNotable people
- Taylor Ball, actor (Still Standing)
- Floyd D. Culbertson, Jr., attorney in Keller in the 1970s; mayor of Minden, Louisiana, 1940-1942; spent last years in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he died in 1989
- Garrett Hartley, football placekicker, New Orleans Saints
- Michelle Royer, Miss Texas USA 1987, Miss USA 1987
- Debby Ryan, actress (The Suite Life on Deck)
- Hank Thompson, Country music entertainer ("The Wild Side of Life")
- Barry Yandell, voice actor (FUNimation Entertainment)
References
External links
- City of Keller official website
- Greater Keller Chamber of Commerce
Interesting Informations
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