Keller, Texas

Keller, Texas
City
Keller Town Hall
Location within Tarrant County and Texas
Coordinates: 32°55′39″N 97°14′10″W / 32.92750°N 97.23611°W / 32.92750; -97.23611Coordinates: 32°55′39″N 97°14′10″W / 32.92750°N 97.23611°W / 32.92750; -97.23611
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Tarrant
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
• City Council	Mayor Mark Mathews Debbie Bryan Armin Mizani Ed Speakmon Eric Schmidt Bill Hodnett Rick Barnes
• City Manager	Mark Hafner
Area
• Total	18.4 sq mi (47.8 km2)
• Land	18.4 sq mi (47.8 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	709 ft (216 m)
Population (2016)
• Total	44,050
• Density	2,400/sq mi (920/km2)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	76248, 76262, 76180
Area code(s)	817
FIPS code	48-38632[1]
GNIS feature ID	1338994[2]
Website	CityOfKeller.com

Keller is a suburban city in Tarrant County, Texas in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Keller advertises itself as "successfully balancing big-city comforts with small-town charm." The city has a population density of 2,200 people per square mile and land accompanied by its town hall, municipal service center, and recreation and aquatic center. According to the 2010 census, the city's population is 39,627, making Keller the 74th most populated city in Texas.

In the early 1850s, settlers established Keller and the town became a stop on the Texas and Pacific Railway. The settlers settled around the wooded region in Keller, because of Keller’s location to the Trinity River, water supply, and land. On November 16, 1955, Keller became incorporated.

Keller is mostly residential, featuring more than 300 acres (120 ha) of developed land for 11 park sites and 23 miles of hiking and biking trails.^[3] The Keller Independent School District has 39 campuses serving more than 34,000 students.

History

Before Establishment

Keller is in the western fringe of the Eastern Cross Timbers in north Tarrant County comprised part of the frontier of the Peters Colony settlers of the 1840s. In about 1845, the area was first settled by a group of families from Missouri that homesteaded near the head-waters of Big Bear Creek. Mount Gilead Baptist Church was established on July 13, 1850. In 1859 the little log church was burned in an Indian raid. It served as the only schoolhouse in that part of the county until about 1910.^[4]

Mount Gilead Baptist Church was established in 1850

The area became known as ‘Double Spring’ for the two large springs approximately ½ mile north of Mt. Gilead Baptist Church. In the early 1870s, the Double Springs area had a cotton gin, a grist mill, a blacksmith shop and several stores. John C. Keller established the site for the railroad depot and in 1896 an artesian well was drilled in Keller; the Double Springs filled with silt over time and eventually were plugged and lost until rediscovery in 1984. Today ‘Samantha Springs,’ produces more than 200,000 gallons of water per day.^[5][6]

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 , 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. It rated Keller as one of the 100 "Best Places to Live" in the United States for 2011, ranked number 93. 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.

Geography

Keller is located at 32°55′39″N 97°14′10″W / 32.92750°N 97.23611°W / 32.92750; -97.23611 (32.927533, −97.235995).^[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.4 square miles (47.8 km²). Keller is east of Interstate 35W, 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.^[8]

	Fort Worth	Roanoke (6 miles)	Southlake (6 miles)
	Fort Worth		Southlake (6 miles)
		Keller
	Watauga (7 miles)	North Richland Hills (8 miles)	Colleyville (8 miles)

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Keller has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.^[9]

Demographics

As of the census^[1] 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.^[12] 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.

According to the city’s 2013-2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city’s various funds had $76.2 million in revenues, $58.6 million in expenditures, $307.6 million in total assets, $99.3 million in total liabilities, and $49.4 million in cash and investments.^[13]

4th of July at Keller town hall

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:^[14]

The lake side of Keller’s town hall

The Keller Police Department serves the City of Keller and the Town of Westlake. The current Chief of Police is Mike Wilson. The police department shares a 9-1-1 dispatch center, regional jail, regional animal services and adoption center with neighboring cities of Southlake, Colleyville, and Westlake. The Keller Police Department also provides all law enforcement services for the Town of Westlake. The department consists of a five service divisions: patrol, traffic, investigations, confinement, and administrative.

Keller Fire and Rescue

Keller Fire Rescue maintains three fire stations throughout the city. Firefighters and paramedics provide full-time services for Keller residents and, through mutual aid, neighboring cities. The fire department, like the police department, participates in a shared communications network with Southlake, Colleyville, and Westlake. (Unlike the police department, Keller Fire-Rescue does not serve Westlake as they maintain their own fire department.) The current Fire Chief is David Jones.

The City of Keller is a voluntary member of the North Central Texas Council of Governments association. The member's purpose is to coordinate individual and collective local governments, assist regional solutions, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and enable joint decisions.

State Representation

Republican Representative Giovanni Capriglione of District 98 and Republican Senator Kelly Hancock of District 9 represents Keller citizens in the Texas House of Representatives and in the Texas State Senate.

Federal Representation

Republican Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz represents Texas in the United States Senate. In the United States House of Representatives, Republican Representative Michael C. Burgess represents the 26th Congressional District of Texas.

Education

The Keller Independent School District serves Keller students. Students zoned to Keller ISD attend 23 different elementary schools, 12 different intermediate/middle schools, and 5 different high schools. Most of the schools within the district are located in northeast Fort Worth.^[15] Schools located in Keller ISD are:

Intermediate Schools (Grades 5-6):

• Bear Creek Intermediate School
• Chisholm Trail Intermediate School
• Parkwood Hill Middle School
• South Keller Intermediate School
• Timberview Middle School (Grades 5-8)
• Trinity Meadows Middle School

Middle Schools (Grades 7-8):

• Fossil Hill Middle School
• Hillwood Middle School
• Indian Springs Middle School
• Keller Middle School
• Timberview Middle School (Grades 5-8)
• Trinity Springs Middle School

High Schools (Grades 9-12):

• Central High School
• Fossil Ridge High School
• Keller High School
• Timber Creek High School
• New Directions 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.^[16] 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.^[17]

Notable 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^[18][19]
• Garrett Hartley, football placekicker, New Orleans Saints
• Phil Tullis, Founder, CEO and President of Sincere Management
• Michelle Royer, Miss Texas USA 1987, Miss USA 1987
• Debby Ryan, actress (Jessie)
• Hank Thompson, Country music entertainer ("The Wild Side of Life")
• Maea Teuhema (athlete), Louisiana State University football, started as a freshman at right guard. Named a true freshman All-American by ESPN.com

References

External links

• City of Keller official website
• Greater Keller Chamber of Commerce

Municipalities and communities of Tarrant County, Texas, United States
County seat: Fort Worth
Cities	Arlington Azle‡ Bedford Benbrook Blue Mound Burleson‡ Colleyville Crowley‡ Dallas‡ Dalworthington Gardens Euless Everman Forest Hill Fort Worth‡ Grand Prairie‡ Grapevine‡ Haltom City Haslet‡ Hurst Keller Kennedale Lake Worth Mansfield‡ Newark‡ North Richland Hills Pelican Bay Reno‡ Richland Hills River Oaks Saginaw Sansom Park Southlake‡ Watauga Westworth Village White Settlement
Towns	Edgecliff Village Flower Mound‡ Lakeside Pantego Trophy Club‡ Westlake‡ Westover Hills
CDPs	Briar‡ Pecan Acres‡ Rendon Eagle Mountain‡‡
Unincorporated communities	Alliance‡ Avondale Boss Eagle Acres Lake Crest Estates Lake Forest Lake Shore Estates
Historical communities	Belt Junction Bisbee Bransford Center Point Ederville Garden Acres Handley Johnsons Station
Ghost towns	Birds Dido
Footnotes	‡ This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties ‡‡ Previously considered a census-designated place