Lewisville is a city in Denton County, Texas in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2000 census the city had a total population of 77,737. With strong population growth continuing into the new millennium, the U.S. Census Bureau gives a 2008 population estimate of 101,624. Lewisville is one of the oldest incorporated cities (incorporated in 1925) in the northern area of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, but it remained a small rural town with just a few thousand people as late as the early 1970s.

History

One of the earliest paleo-indian sites in North America is found in Lewisville, TX, dating back to 1100 B.C.

The earliest white settlement in what is now Lewisville occurred in the 1840s. Basdeal Lewis purchased the land around which Lewisville would be formed and named the town after himself.

Growth was very slow during the 19th century, with population rising to only about 500 by 1900. The settlement did boast several agriculture-related industries, including a grist mill, a cotton gin, and a livery stable and feed mill. In 1885 the building currently housing the Greater Lewisville Community Theater was constructed on the city's principal thoroughfare, Main Street. It remains Lewisville's oldest standing structure.

Lewisville High School opened in 1897, and in 1909 the first bank robbery in Denton County history occurred at the First National Bank of Lewisville. In 1925 residents voted to incorporate the area as a city. Lewisville slowly grew with its first automobile dealership and traffic light appearing over the next two decades. The single signal light, at the intersection of Main and Mill Streets, remained the only one in the city until the 1970s. Another notable bank robbery occurred in 1934 at the First National Bank, this time engineered by Raymond Hamilton of the Barrow gang (minus leaders Bonnie and Clyde, who had visited the city earlier that year).

Construction of the Lewisville Dam began in 1948 and concluded six years later, which expanded the Garza-Little Elm Reservoir into the current 30,000-acre Lewisville Lake. Population growth began to accelerate, and the 1970 census counted 9,264 residents. In 1963 Lewisville became one of the first Texas cities to integrate its school system, with the first two African-American graduates from Lewisville High School in 1965 and a third in 1966. The growth was mainly west of Downtown Lewisville and kept moving further west with houses replacing farms.

In September 1969 the city hosted the Texas International Pop Festival on Labor Day weekend, with Janis Joplin, B.B. King and Led Zeppelin performing. Just 13 days after Woodstock the festival drew over 250,000 rock and jazz fans.

In 1962, an episode of the television series "Route 66," Love is a Skinny Kid (2/25), starring Tuesday Weld was filmed on location entirely in Lewisville. The plot of the story revolved around a town that was "evil" so the show's legal department advised a change of the name. In this episode, Lewisville became "Kilkenny."

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport opened in 1974, and the population of cities like Lewisville and Flower Mound, north of the airport, began to explode. The census figures tell the story: 24,273 in 1980, 46,521 in 1990, and 77,737 in 2000. Rapid growth continues, though the city has tried to maintain a small-town ambiance. Recently town home developments have started to become popular with limited space west of Interstate 35. Now that most of West and South Lewisville is filled in with development all the way to Flower Mound and Coppell now the development is looking East towards Carrollton and The Colony where development is still sparse but quickly growing as the higher-income Castle Hills addition is being developed. However, most of East Lewisville is in the Little Elm Fork flood plain so development will be more limited.

In 2008 Lewisville politicians began debating the idea of declaring English as the official language of Lewisville.

Geography

Lewisville is located at (33.038316, -97.006232) , at an elevation of about 550 ft (165 m).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 42.3 square miles (109.7 km²), of which, 36.8 square miles (95.3 km²) of it is land and 5.5 square miles (14.3 km²) of it (13.08%) is water. It is bounded to the east mainly by Carrollton, to the south by Coppell, to the west by Flower Mound and to the north by Highland Village and Lewisville Lake.

Although physical geography is not extremely varied in North Texas, significant geographical features include Lewisville Lake itself, the Elm Fork of the Trinity River and two local tributaries of the Elm Fork, Prairie Creek and Timber Creek. Vista Ridge, in the southeast corner of Lewisville, is a small plateau upon and around which a bustling retail area has grown.

Transportation

• Interstate 35E
• State Highway 121 Toll Road
• Farm to Market Road 407 (Justin Road)
• Farm to Market Road 1171 (Main Street)
• Farm to Market Road 3040 (Round Grove Road)
• Farm to Market Road 3504 (Mill Street)

Lewisville voted to become a member of the Denton County Transportation Authority in September 2003. It is currently served with Commuter Express coach service to Denton and downtown Dallas. In 2010 Old Town Station and Hebron Station will open as commuter rail stations on DCTA's A-train.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 77,737 people, 30,043 households, and 19,828 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,112.8 people per square mile (815.8/km²). There were 31,764 housing units at an average density of 863.3/sq mi (333.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.2% White, 7.4% African American, 0.7% Native American, 3.9% Asian, 8.3% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.8% of the population.

There were 30,043 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 41.2% from 25 to 44, 16.1% from 45 to 64, and 4.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $54,771, and the median income for a family was $63,719. Males had a median income of $41,058 versus $31,705 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,703. About 3.9% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local Government

According to the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city’s various funds had $147.2 million in Revenues, $95.7 million in expenditures, $673.6 million in total assets, $134.5 million in total liabilities, and $153.6 million in cash and investments.

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:

City Department	Director
City Manager	Claude E. King
City Secretary	Julie Heinze
City Attorney	Ron Neiman
Municipal Judge	Brian Holman
Assistant City Manager – Development	Steven L. Bacchus
Assistant City Manager – Administrative Services	Donna Barron
Budget and Research Director	Gina Thompson
Community Development Director	Eric Ferris
Community Relations and Tourism Director	James Kunke
Economic Development Director	Nika Reinecke
Finance Director	Lauren Crowley
Fire Chief	Richard Lasky
Human Resources Director	Melinda Galler
Information Technology Services Director	Larry Buchanan
Parks and Recreation Director	Robert Monaghan
PoliceChief	Russell Kerbow
Public Services Director	Carole Bassinger

Economy

According to the City's 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	Vista Ridge Mall	2,000
2	Lewisville Independent School District	1,592
3	EMC Mortgage Corp.	1,394
4	Fidelity Investments	1,200
5	Wal-Mart	951
6	Lewisville Medical Center	831
7	Nationstar Mortgage	786
8	HSBC	680
9	City of Lewisville	676
10	SYSCO Foods	625

Education

Most of the city is served by the Lewisville Independent School District. Portions are served by the Coppell Independent School District. Four private Christian schools are also located in Lewisville.

Local notes

Lewisville's growth is due in part to its proximity to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, a few miles to the city's south. Lewisville served for a time as the corporate headquarters for food distributor Fleming Foods, before the company ran into financial problems and relocated, as well as for Grandy's. Vista Ridge Mall is an important and expanding shopping center for Lewisville and surrounding communities. Lewisville Lake borders the city to the north; Lake Grapevine is located near its southern boundary.

Among well-known natives of the city are Walt Garrison, former Dallas Cowboys fullback, Chad Campbell of the PGA Tour, Sports expert Bob Sturm of KTCK 1310 AM's The BaD Radio Experience, young actor Cody Linley, a professional Mixed Martial Artist for the WEC Marcus Hicks and Dave Mitchell, Miami radio personality. GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing, a professional sports car racing team in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, is based in Lewisville. Mayday Pest Control is also based in Lewisville. In 2006 the city received local bus service for the first time as a member of the Denton County Transportation Authority.

References

1. Handbook of Texas Online - LEWISVILLE SITE Retrieved 2009-11-09.
2. " Lewisville to debate English as the city's official language." The Dallas Morning News. October 6, 2008.
3. City of Lewisville CAFR Retrieved 2009-07-20
4. City of Lewisville CAFR Retrieved 2009-07-20
5. City of Lewisville CAFR Retrieved 2009-07-20

External links

• Lewisville official website