Azle, Texas
Encyclopedia
Azle is a city
in Parker
and Tarrant
counties in the U.S. state
of Texas
. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,947.
Popular tourist attractions include marine sports at Eagle Mountain Lake
such as swimming, fishing and boating.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 22.9 sqkm, of which 22.8 sqkm is land and 0.04 sqkm, or 0.20%, is water.
, in the northwest corner of Tarrant County; the town extends partly into Parker County and Wise County. The first recorded settlement at the site occurred in 1846, when a young doctor named James Azle Steward moved into a cabin
built by a Dutchman
named Rumsfeldt. Other settlers came and established themselves near the local streams, Ash Creek, Silver Creek, and Walnut Creek. Steward helped establish the first cemetery, Ash Creek. The oldest graves there are those of Dave Morrison (1849–1874) and W. P. Gregg (1833–1874). The first post office
opened in 1881, and the town took the name of O'Bar, in honor of the man who obtained the postal service. A short time later in 1883, the name was changed at the request of Steward, who donated the land for a townsite, in order to have the town named Azle. The community's economy was based on agriculture
. Multiple crops were grown, including wheat
, corn
, peanut
s, sorghum
, and cotton
. Watermelon
s, cantaloupe
s, peach
es, plum
s, and pear
s were also produced. Dairy farming
became important in the early decades of the twentieth century, when local milk
products were sold to creameries
in Fort Worth. The population of Azle grew steadily, and by 1920, the census recorded 150 residents. By 1933, State Highway 34 (later State Highway 199), had reached Azle from Fort Worth, greatly improving transportation capabilities between the town and the city. Also, Eagle Mountain Lake
was formed by a dam
on the Trinity River
, east of Azle.
In the late 1930s, electricity
was supplied to Azle and the surrounding countryside. The population grew between 1940 and 1960 from 800 to 2,696. It was 5,822 by 1980. After the 1930s, agriculture gradually declined; fields were converted from wheat and corn production to housing development
s. Manufacturing
increased, and in 1984, Azle had 26 businesses. In 1985, the population was estimated at more than 7,000. The town's proximity to Fort Worth and its position as the "Gateway to Eagle Mountain Lake" have made Azle a popular place to live. In 1990, the population was 8,868. The population grew to 9,600 by 2000.
of 2000, there were 9,600 people, 3,716 households, and 2,701 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,170.8 people per square mile (452.0/km²). There were 3,957 housing units at an average density of 482.6 per square mile (186.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.90% White, 0.22% African American, 0.66% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.41% from other races
, and 1.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.20% of the population.
There were 3,716 households out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples
living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $43,304, and the median income for a family was $51,660. Males had a median income of $37,522 versus $26,998 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $20,817. About 6.9% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.
The City of Azle is served by the Azle Independent School District
. The Azle High School Math/Science
and Journalism
teams combined won the 2005 UIL State Academic Meet championship with a total of 110 points. In 2003, 2007, and 2009 the Marching Green Pride band of Azle directed by Dr. Ross Grant advanced to the State Marching competition in San Antonio. In November 2011, the Marching Green Pride, under the direction of Shawn Murphy, placed 18th out of 244 4A marching bands in the state of Texas.
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in Parker
Parker County, Texas
As of the census of 2003, there were 98,495 people, 31,131 households, and 24,313 families residing in the county. The population density was 98 people per square mile . There were 34,084 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
and Tarrant
Tarrant County, Texas
Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, it had a population of 1,809,034. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County is the sixteenth most populous county in the United States and the third most populous in Texas. The county is named in honor...
counties in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,947.
Popular tourist attractions include marine sports at Eagle Mountain Lake
Eagle Mountain Lake
Eagle Mountain Lake is a freshwater lake in North Texas. The lake was created by damming the West Fork of the Trinity River and sits below Lake Bridgeport and above Lake Worth . The lake dam was finished on October 24, 1932. In 1965, the District voters approved a bond issue to allow the District...
such as swimming, fishing and boating.
Geography
Azle is located at 32°53′34"N 97°32′12"W (32.892653, -97.536789).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 22.9 sqkm, of which 22.8 sqkm is land and 0.04 sqkm, or 0.20%, is water.
History
Azle is on State Highway 199, 16 miles (25.7 km) northwest of downtown Fort WorthFort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, in the northwest corner of Tarrant County; the town extends partly into Parker County and Wise County. The first recorded settlement at the site occurred in 1846, when a young doctor named James Azle Steward moved into a cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
built by a Dutchman
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
named Rumsfeldt. Other settlers came and established themselves near the local streams, Ash Creek, Silver Creek, and Walnut Creek. Steward helped establish the first cemetery, Ash Creek. The oldest graves there are those of Dave Morrison (1849–1874) and W. P. Gregg (1833–1874). The first post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
opened in 1881, and the town took the name of O'Bar, in honor of the man who obtained the postal service. A short time later in 1883, the name was changed at the request of Steward, who donated the land for a townsite, in order to have the town named Azle. The community's economy was based on agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. Multiple crops were grown, including wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s, sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
, and cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
. Watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
s, cantaloupe
Cantaloupe
"Rockmelon" redirects here, for the band see Rockmelons. See also Cantaloupe .Cantaloupe refers to a variety of Cucumis melo, a species in the family Cucurbitaceae which includes nearly all melons and squashes. Cantaloupes range in size from...
s, peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
es, plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s, and pear
Pear
The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
s were also produced. Dairy farming
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
became important in the early decades of the twentieth century, when local milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
products were sold to creameries
Creamery
In a dairy, the creamery is the location of cream processing. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has had some cream returned to the skimmed milk....
in Fort Worth. The population of Azle grew steadily, and by 1920, the census recorded 150 residents. By 1933, State Highway 34 (later State Highway 199), had reached Azle from Fort Worth, greatly improving transportation capabilities between the town and the city. Also, Eagle Mountain Lake
Eagle Mountain Lake
Eagle Mountain Lake is a freshwater lake in North Texas. The lake was created by damming the West Fork of the Trinity River and sits below Lake Bridgeport and above Lake Worth . The lake dam was finished on October 24, 1932. In 1965, the District voters approved a bond issue to allow the District...
was formed by a dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
on the Trinity River
Trinity River (Texas)
The Trinity River is a long river that flows entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. It rises in extreme north Texas, a few miles south of the Red River. The headwaters are separated by the high bluffs on the south side of the Red River....
, east of Azle.
In the late 1930s, electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
was supplied to Azle and the surrounding countryside. The population grew between 1940 and 1960 from 800 to 2,696. It was 5,822 by 1980. After the 1930s, agriculture gradually declined; fields were converted from wheat and corn production to housing development
Subdivision (land)
Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...
s. Manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
increased, and in 1984, Azle had 26 businesses. In 1985, the population was estimated at more than 7,000. The town's proximity to Fort Worth and its position as the "Gateway to Eagle Mountain Lake" have made Azle a popular place to live. In 1990, the population was 8,868. The population grew to 9,600 by 2000.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 9,600 people, 3,716 households, and 2,701 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,170.8 people per square mile (452.0/km²). There were 3,957 housing units at an average density of 482.6 per square mile (186.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.90% White, 0.22% African American, 0.66% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.41% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.20% of the population.
There were 3,716 households out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $43,304, and the median income for a family was $51,660. Males had a median income of $37,522 versus $26,998 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $20,817. About 6.9% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Schools:- Azle High School
- Santo J. Forte Junior High
- Azle Junior High
- W.E. Hoover Elementary (5-6)
- Azle Elementary (Rock School) (5-6)
- Walnut Creek Elementary
- Liberty Elementary
- Silver Creek Elementary
- Eagle Heights Elementary
- Cross Timbers Elementary
The City of Azle is served by the Azle Independent School District
Azle Independent School District
Azle Independent School District is a public school district based in Azle, Texas . The district covers northwestern Tarrant County, northeastern Parker County, and a small portion of southern Wise County....
. The Azle High School Math/Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and Journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
teams combined won the 2005 UIL State Academic Meet championship with a total of 110 points. In 2003, 2007, and 2009 the Marching Green Pride band of Azle directed by Dr. Ross Grant advanced to the State Marching competition in San Antonio. In November 2011, the Marching Green Pride, under the direction of Shawn Murphy, placed 18th out of 244 4A marching bands in the state of Texas.