Lewisville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Denton County with portions extending into Dallas County. As one of the Mid-Cities within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the 2020 census reported a population of 111,822.
Originally called Holford's Prairie, Lewisville dates back to the early 1840s. The arrival of the town's first railroad in 1881 engendered its initial growth, and the expansion of the area's transportation infrastructure spurred further development in the early part of the 20th century. Lewisville incorporated in 1925, and when construction of Lewisville Lake was completed in the 1950s, the city began to expand rapidly.
Lewisville's proximity to Lewisville Lake has made it a recreational hub of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The area's transportation infrastructure has evolved around the I-35 Corridor along Interstate 35E. The diversity of its population and industry such as multiple landfills, has created a stable economic climate. Lewisville Independent School District provides most of the area's public education programs.
History
Settlement
In 1841, the Republic of Texas chartered the Peters Colony Land Grant Company (named for William Smalling Peters, publisher of the song "Oh! Susanna") to settle the North Texas area. In 1844, John W. King and his wife settled on the east side of the prairie, where the city now lies. Baptist settlers from Platte County, Missouri, settled on the west side; among them were John and James Holford, who named the area Holford's Prairie. Further south, Presbyterians established a church and called it Flower Mound. In the confusion over land ownership after the Hedgcoxe War, Basdeal Lewis purchased Holford's Prairie in 1853 and renamed it after himself.
In 1845, the Fox family, which owned about a dozen slaves, buried a slave child called Melinda on the family farm, which eventually became the town's cemetery for black residents. Named Fox–Hembry Cemetery, the plot still exists today. After it had fallen into disrepair, local residents and businesses gathered to restore it in 2011. Though Abraham Lincoln was not on the ballot in the area for the 1860 Presidential election, residents of Lewisville (listed as "Hollforts" on election results) still gave John C. Breckinridge only a 44–31 majority over an electoral fusion option.
During Reconstruction, Lewisville became home to Denton County's first cotton gin. Built in 1867, it could produce up to three bales per day. The Thirteenth Texas Legislature chartered the Dallas and Wichita Railroad (later the Missouri–Kansas–Texas) on terms requiring 20 miles of track to be in running order by July 1, 1875. Lewisville paid the company $15,000 to come to the city, with a promise of another $5,000 on completion. The company fulfilled the deal by completing the railroad tracks to a point just south of Lewisville on the morning of the deadline, and the line began running full-time in 1881. Republicans in the Fourteenth Texas Legislature passed a law on April 30, 1874, prohibiting alcohol within two miles of the town. Many residents ignored the law, however, and the city retained as many as 17 saloons at one point. The population of the unincorporated town was 500 in 1888.
Progress
alt=Photograph of an old theater sign on a rustic building.|thumb|upright|The building currently housing the Greater Lewisville Community Theater, built in 1885, is the oldest standing structure in Lewisville.
On January 15, 1925, residents voted by a margin of 17 votes to incorporate Lewisville, which established its official boundaries as a city. By 1930, Lewisville's population had increased to 853, making it the fourth-most populous municipality in Denton County (behind Denton, Sanger, and Pilot Point).
Because the city's economy had become diversified before the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Lewisville was relatively well insulated from the Great Depression. Many residents, including business leaders, nevertheless supported the New Deal programs of Franklin D. Roosevelt. By 1936, the Works Progress Administration operated a cannery in the city to provide temporary jobs for unemployed residents. As an extension of the Good Roads Movement, which had been prominent in Denton County since the early 1910s, residents formed the Good Roads Committee of Lewisville to lobby state and federal officials for funding to create better streets. Lewisville celebrated the paving of the U.S. Route 77 between Denton and Dallas in 1931 with a "Coming Out of the Mud" ceremony. The new pavement closed the "Lewisville Gap" between the two cities, a stretch of dirt road through the city that often became too muddy for travel.
The new road also led indirectly to the downfall of the area's public transportation system. Between 1925 and 1932, the Texas Interurban Railway, an electric commuter rail service that ran from Dallas to Denton, operated a station in Lewisville. Business leaders in the Lewisville Chamber of Commerce welcomed the service at the time, proudly citing the city's progressive citizenship. The area's low population density could not sustain the venture, however, and in 1932, the line went out of business and immediately halted service.
On April 25, 1934, Raymond Hamilton of the Barrow gang robbed the First National Bank of Lewisville. Residents chased him to Howe, Texas, where he was captured at a roadblock and transferred to Dallas County Jail.
Growth
Lewisville's rapid growth began when construction of the Garza–Little Elm Dam finished in 1954, expanding the Garza–Little Elm Reservoir into what is now Lewisville Lake. The city adopted a home-rule charter for a council–manager style of municipal government in 1963, becoming one of only a few home-rule cities in Texas with a population less than 5,000. In September 1969, 13 days after Woodstock, the city hosted the Texas International Pop Festival, which drew over 150,000 spectators and featured performances by Janis Joplin, B.B. King, and Led Zeppelin. In 2011, the Texas Historical Commission dedicated a historical event marker at the Hebron A-train station in Lewisville to commemorate the event.
When Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport opened to the south of the city in 1974 and Vista Ridge Mall opened at the intersection of Interstate 35E and Round Grove Road in 1989, Lewisville began to undergo rapid suburban growth. Its population increased from 24,273 in 1980 to 46,521 in 1990, making it the 40th-most populous city in Texas. In the early 1990s, the Lewisville Chamber of Commerce marketed the city with the slogan "City of Expanding Horizons". Its population reached 77,737 in 2000, 95,290 in 2010, and 111,822 in 2020. In November 2021, the city completed the annexation of the Castle Hills development, located northeast of the city, into its boundaries, adding almost 3000 acres and 18,000 residents.
Geography
Lewisville has a total area of , of which is covered by water. It lies at the southern end of Denton County and the northern end of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, in the eastern part of the Cross Timbers region of Texas between the Texas Blackland Prairies and the Grand Prairie. Vista Ridge, a small plateau, is in the southeastern corner of Lewisville, and the lowest part of Denton County, at , is found in the city. Lewisville sits above the Barnett Shale, a geological formation containing a large quantity of natural shale gas.
Water constitutes about 14% of the city's total area, including Lewisville Lake, the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, and two local tributaries of the Elm Fork - Prairie Creek and Timber Creek. A riparian zone encompasses a portion of the city in the southeast. The intersection of the Elm Fork and Lake Lewisville has given rise to a delta at the southern end of the lake, extending south. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has labeled much of the area surrounding the delta as "Zone AE", meaning the area is subject to 100-year flood precautions.
Climate
Lewisville's climate is classified as humid subtropical. Its Köppen climate classification is Cfa, which means it has a temperate climate, does not have a dry season, and has a hot summer. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Lewisville is in a hardiness zone of 8a. The city is seldom affected by extreme weather, but Hurricane Carla in 1961 brought winds and caused swells on Lewisville Lake. During heavy rains, Timber Creek can overflow its banks, and on rare occasions, flood some of the surrounding homes. The National Weather Service defines no official borders for Tornado Alley, but Lewisville is considered to be in it.
Demographics
As of the 2020 census, 111,822 people lived in Lewisville.
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Lewisville city, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!
!% 2000
!% 2010
!
|-
|White alone (NH)
|53,706
|47,280
|style='background: #ffffe6; |40,675
|69.09%
|49.62%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |36.37%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|5,628
|10,370
|style='background: #ffffe6; |17,282
|7.24%
|10.88%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |15.45%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|399
|.347
|style='background: #ffffe6; |345
|0.51%
|0.36%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.31%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|2,990
|7,325
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,534
|3.85%
|7.69%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |11.21%
|-
|Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|22
|59
|style='background: #ffffe6; |69
|0.03%
|0.06%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.06%
|-
|Other Race alone (NH)
|89
|220
|style='background: #ffffe6; |512
|0.11%
|0.23%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.46%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|1,104
|1,906
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,552
|1.42%
|2.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.07%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|13,799
|27,783
|style='background: #ffffe6; |35,853
|17.75%
|29.16%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |32.06%
|-
|Total
|77,737
|95,290
|style='background: #ffffe6; |111,822
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 43,926 households, 24,536 families, and the median age was 33.5 years; 23.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 9.3% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.3 males age 18 and over.
The 2020 census recorded the following racial composition:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 46,844 || 41.9%
|-
| Black or African American || 17,699 || 15.8%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 1,339 || 1.2%
|-
| Asian || 12,638 || 11.3%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 86 || 0.1%
|-
| Some other race || 15,747 || 14.1%
|-
| Two or more races || 17,469 || 15.6%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 35,853 || 32.1%
|}
By the 2020 census, its racial and ethnic makeup was 36.37% non-Hispanic White, 15.45% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 11.21% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.46% some other race, 4.07% multiracial, and 32.06% Hispanic or Latino American of any race. 11.3% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. At 2010's census, 29.2% of the population was considered to be of Hispanic or Latino origin.
Children under 18 lived in 35.5% of the households. The average household size was 2.53 persons and the average family size was 3.21 persons. The median age was 30.9 years. Between 2007 and 2011, the median income for a Lewisville household was $56,811, and per capita income was $28,144. About 9.6% of the population was below the poverty line, as compared to 17% for Texas as a whole.
2000 census
The 2000 census recorded 77,737 people in Lewisville. It has over 7 miles of hiking trails as well as opportunities for fishing, kayaking, and canoeing. LLELA serves as the centerpiece for the city's Green Centerpiece Master Strategy, which aims to preserve the natural spaces around Lake Lewisville and establish the city as a major recreation destination within the DFW metro area.
Lewisville is also a major hub of the Northern Golf Corridor of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Located on the city's southeast edge, the Lakes at Castle Hills is a Jay Morrish-designed course which opened in the late 1990s; critics have rated the course highly, praising its amenities and difficulty level. Lake Park Golf Course, near Lewisville Lake, is noted for its beginner-friendly design. The nine-hole, Lake Park Executive course opened in 1994. Lewisville is also home to professional golfer Chad Campbell, winner of the 2003 Tour Championship.
In 2011, the Lewisville Park Board proposed a new master plan for the city's parks and recreation facilities. It specifies a major overhaul of the city's trail system, including of off-street trails, of enhanced sidewalks, of bicycle routes, a paddling trail down the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, and 31 major and minor trailheads throughout the area, many of which would connect to other trail networks. The plan includes numerous crossings of Interstate 35E for pedestrian and bicyclist safety. In March 2012, the Park Board began reviewing a new master plan to address the next ten years of park development in the city.
Education
{| class="wikitable" id="toc" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align:center" cellspacing="5"
|-
! colspan="4" |Lewisville educational attainment
|-
! style="width:40%;" |
! style="width:20%;" |Lewisville
! style="width:20%;" |Texas
! style="width:20%;" |United States
|-
|High school graduate or higher||86.7%||80.4%||85.4%
|-
|Bachelor's degree or higher||29.7%||26.1%||28.2%
|-
! colspan="4" |Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007–2011 American Community Survey
|}
Lewisville Independent School District operates the area's public school system, including Lewisville High School. Four of the district's middle schools feed into two high school feeder campuses; since the 2011–2012 school year, the Killough and Harmon campuses have served the city's ninth- and tenth-grade students, while the main campus at the intersection of FM 1171 (Main Street) and Valley Parkway is used primarily for eleventh- and twelfth-grade students. The district also operates the Technology Exploration and Career Center, with two locations (East and West), along with conducting a night high school in Lewisville.
According to American Community Survey results from 2007 to 2011, 86.7% of the city's population aged 25 or older had graduated from high school, 29.7% held a bachelor's degree or higher, and 8.4% held a graduate or professional degree. The survey estimated that 24,879 Lewisville residents over the age of three were enrolled in schools.
In addition there are two private schools located in Lewisville: Explorations Preparatory School and Lakeland Christian Academy.
Founders Classical Academy, a charter school operated by Lewisville-based ResponsiveEd, is also located in Lewisville.
Government
alt=A box beam from the World Trade Center South Tower on display at the Lewisville Fire Department offices as a memorial to the service members who died as a result of the September 11 attacks|thumb|upright|A [[box beam from the World Trade Center South Tower stands on display in front of the Lewisville Fire Department offices as a memorial to those who died as a result of the September 11 attacks.]]
Since 1963, the City of Lewisville has operated as a home rule city with a council–manager style of municipal government. Residents elect six at-large members to serve on the City Council, including a mayor. Council elections in Texas are nonpartisan. Members are elected to three-year terms and are not term-limited. The mayor does not vote on issues that come before the council except in the case of a tie. There were three female mayors between 1985 and 2000, but no woman has served on the City Council since 2001. In 2011, the Fitch Group upgraded the city's general obligation bond rating from "AA+" to "AAA". Lewisville has the lowest municipal property tax rate in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. In the fiscal year 2012–2013, the city government's operating funds totaled $124,845,436.
The Lewisville Police Department had 27 sworn police officers in 1977, and the number had increased to 136 by 2007. As of 2015, the department included 229 full-time employees, four of whom were administrators. The Lewisville Fire Department included 146 full-time employees, six of whom were administrators. After the September 11 attacks, the fire department and its then chief, Rick Lasky, attracted national attention when they raised a large amount of donations for victims' families. As a reward, John Travolta, Joaquin Phoenix, and Robert Patrick visited the department in 2004 to promote the release of the film Ladder 49. In May 2011, Lewisville residents approved a sales tax increase to create two public safety districts. The revenue from the increase will fund investments in the city's police and fire departments, including new officers and vehicles, as well as a new fire station in the eastern part of the city.
Lewisville is in the 26th Congressional district in Texas, which is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Michael C. Burgess. As of 2023, the city is represented in District 12 of the Texas Senate by Tan Parker. The city is split between two Texas House of Representatives districts: District 63, represented by Ben Bumgarner, and District 65, represented by Kronda Thimesch. Lewisville is a voluntary member of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the purpose of which is to coordinate individual and collective local governments and facilitate regional solutions, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and enable joint decisions.
Transportation
alt=Photograph of a commuter rail stop.|thumb|left|The [[Old Town station (A-train)|Old Town A-train station in Old Town Lewisville, opened in 2011]]
The primary freeway running through Lewisville is Interstate 35E, which runs north–south through the city. Before it was built, US Highway 77 (now Mill Street) was the main through route, connecting the city with Denton to the north and Dallas to the south. In 1998, the Texas Department of Transportation carried out a Major Investment Study to examine the possibility of expanding the section of Interstate 35E between Interstate 635 and U.S. Route 380, the primary focus being an stretch from Texas State Highway 121 to the bridge crossing Lewisville Lake. The project is scheduled to add one general-purpose lane in each direction, in addition to a managed toll lane. The project is expected to allow the city to substantially renovate its portion of the I-35 Corridor. Construction on the first phase of the project is projected to begin in summer 2013 and finish in late 2016.
Texas State Highway 121, which runs along the Sam Rayburn Tollway, intersects with Interstate 35E in the southeastern edge of the city. Farm to Market Road 1171, known in the city as Main Street, runs east–west across the middle part of the city from Interstate 35E to Interstate 35W. Farm to Market Road 407 runs east–west across the northern part of the city. Lewisville also encompasses most of Farm to Market Road 3040, which runs east–west towards Carrollton and Flower Mound.
Lewisville residents voted in a special election held on September 13, 2003, to become a full member of the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA). The authority began running a regional bus service in November 2006. In 2011, the Old Town, Hebron, and Highland Village/Lewisville Lake stations opened as commuter stops along the route of the DCTA's A-train. The route continues north to Denton and south to Trinity Mills Station in Carrollton, where it connects with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Green Line to Dallas. DCTA also owns a Rail Operation and Maintenance Facility in Lewisville.
In September 2021, DCTA launched GoZone, an on-demand transit service in partnership with Via Transportation, throughout Denton County. In December 2021, fixed-route Lewisville Connect bus services ceased operating, with GoZone in place to cover transit throughout the city.
Notes
References
Academic articles
- Alt URL
Books
- Alt URL
Encyclopedias and almanacs
Magazine articles
Maps
Miscellaneous (speeches, interviews, videos)
Newspaper articles
Press releases
Reports
Websites
Further reading
External links
- City of Lewisville
- Lewisville interactive maps
- Lewisville Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Lewisville Chamber of Commerce
- Greater Lewisville Arts Council
- The Lewisville Texan Journal