Dayton, Texas
Encyclopedia
Dayton is a city in Liberty County
, Texas
, United States
. The population was 7,242 at the 2010 census.
, the city has a total area of 11 square miles (28.5 km²), all of it land.
of 2010, there were 7,242 people, 2,663 households and 1,893 families in the city. The racial makeup of the population was 70.4% white, 18.2% black or African American, 1.3% Asian, 7.9% from other races and 2.2% from two or more races. 13.8% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 5,709 people, 2,129 households, and 1,517 families residing in the city. The population density
was 517.1 people per square mile (199.7/km²). There were 2,371 housing units at an average density of 214.8 per square mile (82.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.08% White, 19.69% African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.67% from other races
, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.53% of the population.
There were 2,129 households out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples
living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.0% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,401, and the median income for a family was $47,250. Males had a median income of $39,075 versus $21,068 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $16,139. About 16.3% of families and 21.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.6% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.
in southwestern Liberty County
, was first called West Liberty and was considered part of the original town of Liberty, founded in 1831. The Trinity River
divided the two parts of the town: Liberty was on its east bank, and West Liberty was on a hill three miles west of the river. A new road and a ferry directly connected the two. Both parts of the town were located on the four-league Mexican
land grant appropriated for the capital of the old municipality of Santísima Trinidad de la Libertad, which later became known as Liberty. The postmaster of West Liberty from March 25, 1839, through September 15, 1841, was A. Thouvenin, probably the same man as Arnold Thouvenin, who obtained a quarter-league Mexican land grant in Polk County in April 1835. The West Liberty post office was apparently discontinued after a few years. Land was designated for a school in 1847. The schoolhouse was accepted on December 31, 1853, by the board of trustees of the Corporation of the Town of Liberty. Also in 1853, A. N. B. Thompson was authorized to survey and plat the town of West Liberty. During the Civil War
, thirty-three ladies of West Liberty wrote to Governor Francis R. Lubbock in January 1863, petitioning him to relieve Mr. Sol Andrews of his military duties so that he might continue his vocation of manufacturer of looms and spinning wheels, as cloth for clothing was desperately needed.
Sometime after 1854, West Liberty also became known as Day's Town, for I. C. Day, a wealthy landowner who resided just to the south of the town on the Munson league. The flag stop for the Texas and New Orleans Railroad, completed in 1860, was known variously as West Liberty, Days Station, and Dayton Station. The name Dayton was applied to the local post office in 1877, though the official name of the town remained West Liberty until the mid-1880s. In 1885 Dayton reported a population of sixty, and in 1890 a post office, a school, and two churches served its 239 residents. The single room schoolhouse has been preserved by the historical society.
Lumbering and cattle raising were the chief industries until James E. Berry helped establish a drainage system to make rice a major crop. American Rice Growers Association, and Seaberg Rice Industrial campus still harvest rice crops coming from as far as the Anahuac areas of SouthEast Texas.
Texas governor Marion Price Daniel, Sr.
, was born in Dayton on October 10, 1910; his brother Bill Daniel
, governor of the United States
Territory of Guam
from 1961 through 1963, was born in Dayton on November 20, 1915. The Daniel brothers were grandsons of General Sam Houston
that had led victory for the Republic of Texas independence in 1836. By 1910, the town had a bank, two cotton gins, a weekly newspaper, and 2,500 inhabitants. Dayton was recorded as an incorporated municipality on May 3, 1911. The mayor was W. M. Babcock, and aldermen were W. T. Jamison, J. H. Marshall, J. A. Coleman, and J. D. Spear. Town records indicate that the community was reincorporated in 1925. Oil development during the 1920s brought new industries. By 1940 Dayton reported 1,207 residents and seventy businesses and was listed as a railroad center. The population increased steadily from 3,367 in 1965 to 6,201 in 1988. In 1989 the largest school population in the county made the Dayton Independent School District
the major employer in the city. At that time Dayton operated under a mayor-council form of city government. In 1990 Dayton had a population of 5,151, and in 2000 the population was 5,709.
(TDCJ) operates the Dayton District Parole Office in Dayton. In addition, the TDCJ operates some correctional facilities near Dayton in an unincorporated area
in Liberty County
. The L.V. Hightower Unit
prison and the Dempsie Henley Unit
and Lucille G. Plane Unit
jails are 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Dayton.
The United States Postal Service
operates the Dayton Post Office.
and Houston and east into East Texas
to Beaumont
and onward to Louisiana
. SH 321
connects Dayton to Cleveland
. Within the city of Dayton, SH 321 is referred to as North Cleveland Street, passing through residential Dayton as a four-lane urban highway, before narrowing back down to a two-lane rural State Highway going north to Cleveland. SH 146 provides Dayton with a connection to Baytown
, and FM 1960
connects Dayton to the northern reaches of Houston as well as Humble
and Huffman
.
Liberty County, Texas
Liberty County is a county located in Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,643. Its county seat is Liberty.-Geography:According to the U.S...
, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 7,242 at the 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited 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 11 square miles (28.5 km²), all of it land.
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 2010, there were 7,242 people, 2,663 households and 1,893 families in the city. The racial makeup of the population was 70.4% white, 18.2% black or African American, 1.3% Asian, 7.9% from other races and 2.2% from two or more races. 13.8% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
As of the census
Census
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 5,709 people, 2,129 households, and 1,517 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 517.1 people per square mile (199.7/km²). There were 2,371 housing units at an average density of 214.8 per square mile (82.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.08% White, 19.69% African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.67% 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 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.53% of the population.
There were 2,129 households out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% 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, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.0% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,401, and the median income for a family was $47,250. Males had a median income of $39,075 versus $21,068 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 $16,139. About 16.3% of families and 21.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.6% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.
History
Dayton, on U.S. Highway 90 six miles west of LibertyLiberty, Texas
Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Liberty County, Texas, United States and a part of the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 8,033 at the 2000 census....
in southwestern Liberty County
Liberty County, Texas
Liberty County is a county located in Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,643. Its county seat is Liberty.-Geography:According to the U.S...
, was first called West Liberty and was considered part of the original town of Liberty, founded in 1831. 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....
divided the two parts of the town: Liberty was on its east bank, and West Liberty was on a hill three miles west of the river. A new road and a ferry directly connected the two. Both parts of the town were located on the four-league Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
land grant appropriated for the capital of the old municipality of Santísima Trinidad de la Libertad, which later became known as Liberty. The postmaster of West Liberty from March 25, 1839, through September 15, 1841, was A. Thouvenin, probably the same man as Arnold Thouvenin, who obtained a quarter-league Mexican land grant in Polk County in April 1835. The West Liberty post office was apparently discontinued after a few years. Land was designated for a school in 1847. The schoolhouse was accepted on December 31, 1853, by the board of trustees of the Corporation of the Town of Liberty. Also in 1853, A. N. B. Thompson was authorized to survey and plat the town of West Liberty. During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, thirty-three ladies of West Liberty wrote to Governor Francis R. Lubbock in January 1863, petitioning him to relieve Mr. Sol Andrews of his military duties so that he might continue his vocation of manufacturer of looms and spinning wheels, as cloth for clothing was desperately needed.
Sometime after 1854, West Liberty also became known as Day's Town, for I. C. Day, a wealthy landowner who resided just to the south of the town on the Munson league. The flag stop for the Texas and New Orleans Railroad, completed in 1860, was known variously as West Liberty, Days Station, and Dayton Station. The name Dayton was applied to the local post office in 1877, though the official name of the town remained West Liberty until the mid-1880s. In 1885 Dayton reported a population of sixty, and in 1890 a post office, a school, and two churches served its 239 residents. The single room schoolhouse has been preserved by the historical society.
Lumbering and cattle raising were the chief industries until James E. Berry helped establish a drainage system to make rice a major crop. American Rice Growers Association, and Seaberg Rice Industrial campus still harvest rice crops coming from as far as the Anahuac areas of SouthEast Texas.
Texas governor Marion Price Daniel, Sr.
Price Daniel
Marion Price Daniel, Sr. , was a Democratic U.S. Senator and the 38th Governor of the state of Texas. He was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to be a member of the National Security Council, Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness, and Assistant to the President for Federal-State...
, was born in Dayton on October 10, 1910; his brother Bill Daniel
Bill Daniel
William Partlow Daniel , was a Governor of Guam and Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives...
, governor of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Territory of Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
from 1961 through 1963, was born in Dayton on November 20, 1915. The Daniel brothers were grandsons of General Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
that had led victory for the Republic of Texas independence in 1836. By 1910, the town had a bank, two cotton gins, a weekly newspaper, and 2,500 inhabitants. Dayton was recorded as an incorporated municipality on May 3, 1911. The mayor was W. M. Babcock, and aldermen were W. T. Jamison, J. H. Marshall, J. A. Coleman, and J. D. Spear. Town records indicate that the community was reincorporated in 1925. Oil development during the 1920s brought new industries. By 1940 Dayton reported 1,207 residents and seventy businesses and was listed as a railroad center. The population increased steadily from 3,367 in 1965 to 6,201 in 1988. In 1989 the largest school population in the county made the Dayton Independent School District
Dayton Independent School District
Dayton Independent School District is a public school district based in Dayton, Texas .The district serves the cities of Dayton, Dayton Lakes, Kenefick, and some unincorporated areas including Eastgate, Stilson, and the northern half of Old River-Winfree...
the major employer in the city. At that time Dayton operated under a mayor-council form of city government. In 1990 Dayton had a population of 5,151, and in 2000 the population was 5,709.
Government and infrastructure
The Texas Department of Criminal JusticeTexas Department of Criminal Justice
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is a department of the government of the state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails and private correctional facilities, funding and certain...
(TDCJ) operates the Dayton District Parole Office in Dayton. In addition, the TDCJ operates some correctional facilities near Dayton in an unincorporated area
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Liberty County
Liberty County, Texas
Liberty County is a county located in Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,643. Its county seat is Liberty.-Geography:According to the U.S...
. The L.V. Hightower Unit
L.V. Hightower Unit
The L. V. Hightower Unit is a prison in Texas, United States, within the Texas Department of Corrections system. It is named for Lockhart V. Hightower, former sheriff and county clerk of Liberty County....
prison and the Dempsie Henley Unit
Dempsie Henley Unit
Dempsie Henley Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice state jail for women located in unincorporated Liberty County, Texas. It is located on Texas State Highway 321, north of Dayton. The facility, on an approximately plot of land, is co-located with the Hightower Prison Unit and the Plane...
and Lucille G. Plane Unit
Lucille G. Plane Unit
Lucile Plane State Jail is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice state jail for women located in unincorporated Liberty County, Texas. It is located on Texas State Highway 321, north of Dayton. The facility, on an approximately plot of land, is co-located with the Hightower Prison Unit and the...
jails are 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Dayton.
The United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
operates the Dayton Post Office.
Highways
The major route traveling through Dayton is U.S. Highway 90, traveling west towards CrosbyCrosby, Texas
Crosby is a census-designated place in Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,714 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Crosby is located at ....
and Houston and east into East Texas
East Texas
East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...
to Beaumont
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
and onward to Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. SH 321
State Highway 321 (Texas)
State Highway 321, or SH 321, is a north–south highway in southeastern Texas, starting at US 90 in Dayton and ending at Loop 573 in Cleveland.In Cleveland, SH 321 is also known as Houston Street, providing the main street for downtown Cleveland...
connects Dayton to Cleveland
Cleveland, Texas
Cleveland is a city in Liberty County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,605 at the 2000 census.-History:In 1854, a church and convent was built by Father Peter La Cour near the town's present site...
. Within the city of Dayton, SH 321 is referred to as North Cleveland Street, passing through residential Dayton as a four-lane urban highway, before narrowing back down to a two-lane rural State Highway going north to Cleveland. SH 146 provides Dayton with a connection to Baytown
Baytown, Texas
Baytown is a city within Harris County and partially in Chambers County in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. state of Texas. Located within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, it lies along both State Highway 146 and Interstate 10. As of 2010, Baytown had an population of 71,802...
, and FM 1960
Farm to Market Road 1960
Farm to Market Road 1960 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas. Its western terminus is at an intersection with U.S...
connects Dayton to the northern reaches of Houston as well as Humble
Humble, Texas
Humble is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.As of the 2000 census, the city population was 14,579. The city shares a zip code with the small Houston neighborhood of Bordersville, although people who live in Bordersville still have Humble...
and Huffman
Huffman, Texas
Huffman is an unincorporated area of northeastern Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.-Location:The area is centered on Farm Roads 2100 and 1960, thirty miles northeast of Downtown Houston in the piney woods of southeastern Texas. Neva Williams, a...
.
Railroads
Dayton is the meeting point of two rail lines. One is a north/south Union Pacific (UP) line that comes out of Baytown called the UP Baytown Subdivsion. The other is the east/west UP Lafayette Subdivision line that roughly follows US 90. The BNSF has authority to operate its trains on the Baytown Subdivision from Dayton to just west of Baytown and has a rail yard just south of Dayton. Another rail line runs through the northern edge of the city, called the UP Beaumont Subdivsion. A study is being performed by the Texas Department of Transportation regarding a Dayton-to-Cleveland single mainline rail corridor consisting of approximately 40 miles of track connecting the UP Lufkin Subdivision and the BNSF Conroe Subdivision near Cleveland to the UPRR Baytown Subdivision south of Dayton.UFO Incident
Dayton was the site of a reported UFO incident on December 29, 1980,@ 9 P.M in which three people insist they were irradiated by a UFO.External links
- www.dayton-online.com - Dayton's Online Community.
- www.unsolved.com/Unexplained/UFO - Television show that had shown this UFO Incident.
- www.texasmonthly.com/ranch/ufo/dayton.php - More on this UFO incident.
- http://ufo.whipnet.org/xdocs/Cash.Landrum/Piney.Woods.html - another source concerning this UFO incident.