Overview
Waxahachie is a city in Ellis County, Texas (USA). The population was
21,426 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ellis County.GR6
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
106.6 km² (41.2 mi²). 103.5 km² (40.0 mi²) of it is land and 3.1 km² (1.2
mi²) of it (2.91%) is water.
History
Waxahachie, the county seat of Ellis County, is on Interstate Highway 35E
and U.S. Highway 287, thirty miles south of Dallas in the central part of
the county. The name comes from an Indian word meaning "cow" or "buffalo"
and is also the name of a local creek. Waxahachie was established as the
seat of the new county in August 1850 on land donated by Emory W. Rogers, a
pioneer settler. Rogers, J. D. Templeton,qv W. H. Getzendaner, B. F.
Hawkins, and J. H. Spalding were among the first settlers in the community,
which began with just over 100 residents and grew rapidly from the start. In
1850 the first county courthouse was built, and a general store and the post
office opened. Other businesses and residences soon followed. Local
residents had organized a Methodist church in the spring of 1849 at Rogers's
home. The first church building was constructed in 1851 on land owned by
Rogers. Before the Civil Warqv four churches-Methodist, Baptist, Cumberland
Presbyterian, and "Old School" Presbyterian-existed in Waxahachie. The
community's first school of any consequence, the Waxahachie Academy, was
established in 1860 and operated for thirty-seven years. A system of free
public schools soon developed. The community's first bank, owned by J. W.
Ferris H.P. Sims and W. H. Getzendaner, began operation on July 1, 1868. The
first newspaper, the Waxahachie Argus, began publication in 1870. The town
has continued to support at least one newspaper since that time. Waxahachie
was incorporated on April 28, 1871, and adopted a mayor-alderman form of
government. Four years later the state legislature granted a corporate
charter to the investors in the Waxahachie Tap Railroad to construct and
operate a rail line to Garrett, twelve miles east. Ground was broken for the
line on June 14, 1875; construction was completed, and the line was in
operation in September 1879. Within one year of its completion the road
transported over 5,000 bales of cotton from Waxahachie and carried over 140
carloads of lumber into the community. The arrival of additional rail lines
during succeeding decades combined with the county's growing agricultural
production to accelerate prosperity and rapid growth. The Civil War and
Reconstructionqv seemed to have little effect on the development of
Waxahachie.
By 1880 the population stood at 1,354. The following year the Waxahachie Tap
was absorbed by the Houston and Texas Central Railway, which extended the
line, and thus the town's connections, to Fort Worth. Six years later the
Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad built through Waxahachie. In 1876 the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, had founded a high school called Marvin
College in Waxahachie; in 1884 the church sold the institution to the town
for use as one of six free public schools. That year Waxahachie had ninety
businesses. By 1899 it had over 100 businesses, including an electric light
factory. Its population rose from 3,500 in 1890 to 4,000 in 1892, and by
1892 four banks and three weekly newspapers operated in the community. The
mule-drawn Waxahachie Street Railroad provided public transportation. The
population reached 4,215 in 1900. In 1900 and 1901 a cotton textile mill,
capitalized at $100,000, began operation. The finished plant had 204 looms
and 9,000 spindles and used 4,000 bales of cotton a year to produce
single-filling duck and toweling cloth. The plant doubled its capacity in
1907, but, like many of the plants constructed during the South's "cotton
mill campaign" of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it
eventually became unprofitable and closed down.
Trinity University moved to Waxahachie from Tehuacana in 1902 and operated
there until 1942. The Nicholas P. Sims Public Library opened on April 5,
1905, on land donated by W. H. Getzendaner. The library began from Judge O.
E. Dunlap's collection. The Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway completed
construction through Waxahachie in 1907. Five years later the completion of
an electric interurban line from Dallas through Waxahachie to Waco further
increased the town's transportation facilities. By 1920 Waxahachie had a
population of 7,958 and 200 businesses, including three banks, three
cottonseed oil mills, five cotton gins, and two daily and two weekly
newspapers. Local manufacturing plants in 1926 included cotton textile
mills, a garment factory, a broom factory, and an ice and ice cream factory.
Besides Trinity University, a high school and four elementary schools,
served 250 students. In 1933, when the town was incorporated, it had a
population of 8,042 persons and 280 businesses.
Though population growth slackened during the years of the Great Depression
and World War II,qv the reversal was not lasting. The town's number of
businesses decreased from 280 in 1933 to 212 in 1945, but its population
actually increased to 8,655. This increase was no doubt connected to the
local agricultural, commercial, and industrial economic foundation. Although
Trinity University left the town in 1942, its grounds were occupied the
following year by the Southwestern Bible Institute, which moved to
Waxahachie from Enid, Oklahoma. This institution later changed its name to
Southwestern Assemblies of God College and became coeducational. A branch of
Navarro College is also located in Waxahachie. Between 1952 and 1964
Waxahachie had a population increase from 11,196 to 13,712. Local businesses
continued to number around 300. Although the population declined slightly
from its high of 15,720 in 1968 to 13,452 in 1977, the town became
increasingly industrialized. A cottonseed oil mill, feed and poultry
processing plants, and clothing, furniture, and fiberglass manufacturers all
operated in the community. In the late 1980s Waxahachie had 336 businesses,
including the Waxahachie Daily Light and radio station KBEC.
Waxahachie has been nicknamed the Gingerbread City because of the
architecture of several beautiful homes and buildings remaining from before
1900. A yearly tour known as the Gingerbread Trail includes Victorian-style
houses with gingerbread carpentry, the most popular architectural style, as
well as combinations with Queen Ann's, Classic Renaissance, or Roman Doric
revival. The red sandstone and granite Victorian courthouse, designed by
James Riely Gordonqv and completed in 1897, graces the town's square. The
Nicholas P. Sims Library (1905) and the octagonally shaped Chautauqua
Auditorium (1902) are examples of the 300 Waxahachie structures listed on
the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1980s four movies were
filmed in Waxahachie-Places in the Heart, 1918, and Tender Mercies (all
1985) and The Trip to Bountiful (1986). The town is home to the Ellis County
Historical Museum and Gallery and also hosts the annual Scarborough
Renaissance Faire and an annual Christmas parade and tour of homes. In 1990
Waxahachie had a population of 18,168.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 21,426 people, 7,325 households, and
5,398 families residing in the city. The population density was 207.0/km²
(536.1/mi²). There were 7,909 housing units at an average density of
76.4/km² (197.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.45% White, 17.10%
African American, 0.76% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 9.33% from other
races, and 1.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were
19.74% of the population.
There were 7,325 households out of which 36.1% had children under the age of
18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a
female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families.
21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone
living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18,
13.3% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who
were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100
females there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
were 90.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $43,213, and the median
income for a family was $50,048. Males had a median income of $32,597 versus
$23,838 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,003. About
10.5% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line,
including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.
Name
The first syllable is pronounced "wahks", not "wax" as is often the case.
Also, the official Native American meaning of the name is "cow creek" or
"buffalo creek" and is not the name of a Native American tribe which is a
common misconception.
Economy
The city is home to Southwestern Assemblies of God University. Waxahachie is
also widely known for being the site of the now-defunct Superconducting
Super Collider.
It is also locally known for its elaborate Richardsonian Romanesque
courthouse, considered by many to be among the most beautiful of Texas's
older courthouses. The town also features many examples of Victorian
architecture and Gingerbread homes, several of which have been converted
into bed and breakfasts. The city's annual Gingerbread Trails festival
features tours of many of these homes.
Additionally, Waxahachie has a growing reputation of being a "little
Hollywood." The Academy-Award winning films "Places in the Heart" starring
Sally Field and John Malkovich, "Tender Mercies" starring Robert Duvall, and
"Walking Tall: The Payback" were filmed in Waxahachie. The long-running
television series Walker, Texas Ranger starring Chuck Norris was filmed in
Waxahachie.
Employment opportunities in the city are highly oriented toward industry:
Owens Corning Fiberglas, Georgia-Pacific, and neighboring Texas Industries
and Holcim. Positions for these companies are mainly filled through the
Texas Workforce Commission which has an office in the city.
Among the larger non-industrial employers in the city are Baylor Medical
Center and The Waxahachie Independent School District?
Education
Waxahachie is served by the Waxahachie Independent School District. The
district, recently identified as a rapidly growing district, has begun
construction on several new campuses. There are currently five elementary
campuses, two middle school campuses, a ninth grade center, and two high
schools. Waxahachie Global High School, a T-STEM school emphasizing
instruction in science, math and technology in a small-learning-community
environment, opened on August 27, 2007. Two additional schools are currently
under construction and are expected to be finished for the 2008 school year.
WISD aims to offer all of its students a well-rounded education and offers
AP and Dual Credit courses as well as varied vocational courses. Waxahachie
High School is classified as 4A and offers a range of extracurricular
activities to its students, including football, men's and women's
basketball, men's and women's soccer, baseball, softball, golf, tennis,
concert and marching band, drama, choir, drill team, and dozens of academic
teams and clubs. Several of the school's programs have achieved national
recognition in recent years.
The area is also served by several private schools offering K-12 education.
Two post-secondary educational institutions have campuses in the city of
Waxahachie. Navarro College, a junior college located in Corsicana, TX, has
a branch in Waxahachie. Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a
private four-year university affiliated with the Assemblies of God offering
accredited undergraduate and graduate degrees.