Overview
Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas County (USA), with a significant
overlap into Tarrant County, and a minor overlap into Ellis County. As of
the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 127,427 (145,600 as of
2005). Incorporated as "Grand Prairie" in 1909, the community was
first recognized as Dechman in 1863.
From his home in Birdville, Alexander McRae Dechman learned he could trade
his oxen and wagons for land in Dallas County. In 1863, he bought 2391/2
acres on the east side of the Trinity River and 100 acres of timber land on
the west side of the river for a broken down wagon, oxen team and $200 in
Confederate money. He tried to establish a home on the property, but ran
into difficulties, so returned his family to Birdville before joining the
Civil War. In 1876 he filed a town plat consisting of 50 acres with Dallas
County.
After the war, he returned to Birdville for two years before selling that
farm in 1867 and moving to Houston, where Yellow Fever broke out causing the
family to settle in Bryan.
In 1876, Dechman traded half his "prairie" property to T&P Railroad to
ensure the railroad came through the town. The railroad named the depot "Dechman"
prompting its namesake to relocated his home from Bryan to Dechman. His son
Alexander had been living in Dechman and operating a trading post and farm.
The post office was opened in 1877 under the name "Deckman" rather than "Dechman"
because the U.S. Post Office couldn't read the writing on the form completed
to open the post office.
The name of the town changed to Grand Prairie later in 1877. Legend has it
that the town was renamed after a famous female actor stepped off the train
and exclaimed "My, what a grand prairie!" Dechman sold the remainder of his
Grand Prairie land in 1890 and apparently moved to Waxahachie. He is buried
in historic Greenwood Cemetery in Dallas. Grand Prairie incorporated as a
city in 1909.
There were 43,791 households out of which 41.3% had children under the age
of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 13.7%
had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were
non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.5%
had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.38.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.5% under the age of 18,
10.1% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who
were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100
females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $46,816, and the median
income for a family was $51,449. Males had a median income of $35,300 versus
$28,184 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,978. About
8.7% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line,
including 15.2% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.
Approximately 65% of Grand Prairie's K-12 student population attends
schools in the Grand Prairie Independent School District, which celebrated
its 100-year anniversary in the 2002-2003 school year. The remaining 35% of
Grand Prairie's student population reside and therefore attend schools in
the following districts in descending order: Arlington ISD, Mansfield ISD,
Cedar Hill ISD, Irving ISD, and the Midlothian ISD. Population dynamics
indicate that it is plausible that by 2015, the majority of City of Grand
Prairie residents will not reside in the Grand Prairie ISD. This is due to
the rapid development and population growth of the city's population south
of I-20 and west of Carrier parkway. Most of these areas of the City of
Grand Prairie reside in the Arlington and Mansfield ISD attendance
boundaries.
In Texas, school district boundaries do not always follow city and county
boundaries because all aspects of the school district government apparatus,
including school district boundaries, are separated from the city and county
government.
GPISD - Grand Prairie Independent School District
The high schools in the district are Grand Prairie High School and South
Grand Prairie High School.
AISD - Arlington Independent School District
The Arlington ISD has the second highest portion of Grand Prairie's K-12
student population. 6 Arlington ISD Elementary schools are within the city
limits of Grand Prairie. Grand Prairie residents in the Arlington ISD are
located generally west of the Dallas-Tarrant County boundary and north of
the intersection of Camp Wisdom and Lake Ridge in Southwest Grand Prairie.
One of the Arlington High Schools, James Bowie High, has more Grand Prairie
residents than Arlington residents that are students at the school.