Keller, Texas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Keller, Texas
City
Keller Town Hall
Flag
Location within Tarrant County and Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Tarrant
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
Area
• Total	18.50 sq mi (47.92 km2)
• Land	18.45 sq mi (47.79 km2)
• Water	0.05 sq mi (0.13 km2)
Elevation	656 ft (200 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	47,006
• Estimate  (2021)	50,000
• Density	2,558.69/sq mi (987.92/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	76248, 76262, 76180
Area code(s)	817 682
FIPS code	48-38632
GNIS feature ID	2410172
Website	CityOfKeller.com

Keller is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the big Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area. In 2020, about 45,776 people lived in Keller. This makes it the 78th most populated city in Texas.

In the early 1850s, settlers came to this area. Keller became a stop on the Texas and Pacific Railway. People chose to live here because it was close to the Trinity River for water. There was also plenty of good farmland. Keller officially became a city on November 16, 1955.

Today, Keller is mostly a residential city. This means many people live here. It has over 300 acres of land set aside for 11 park sites. There are also more than 26 miles of trails for hiking and biking.

The Story of Keller

Early Days: Before Keller Was a Town

Keller is in the western part of the Cross Timbers region in northeast Tarrant County. This area was settled by pioneers from the Peters Colony in the 1840s. In the mid-1840s, families from Missouri were among the first to settle here. They built their homes near the start of Big Bear Creek.

The Mount Gilead Baptist Church was started on July 13, 1850. In 1859, Native Americans burned the small log church. This church was also the only schoolhouse in that part of the county until around 1910.

Mount Gilead Baptist Church was established in 1850

The area was called 'Double Springs' because of two large springs. These springs were about half a mile north of the Mt. Gilead Baptist Church. In the early 1870s, Double Springs had a cotton gin and a gristmill. It also had a blacksmith shop and several stores. In 1896, an artesian well was drilled in Keller. The Double Springs later filled with dirt and were lost. They were found again in 1984. Today, Samantha Springs produces over 200,000 gallons of water every day.

How Keller Was Established

The Texas and Pacific Railway line was finished in June 1881. This railway connected Fort Worth and Texarkana. The first train ran on this track on May 9, 1881. The tracks followed parts of the old Chisholm cattle drive trail. New towns grew up along the railway. The Keller we know today was one of them.

On July 19, 1881, H.W. Black, a druggist from Tarrant County, set aside 40 acres of land. This land was for a new town site called Athol. It was about 14 miles northeast of Fort Worth. The land was made public for streets and alleyways. Settlers moved to the new village. Less than a year later, the town's name changed from Athol to Keller. This was to honor John C. Keller, a foreman on the railroad. The streets were named, and many still have their original names from 1881. Streets going north and south are Lamar, Main, and Elm. Those running east and west are Price, Taylor, Hill, Vine, Bates, Olive, and Pecan.

Keller Today

New homes are being built in Keller as the city grows. It is becoming harder to expand its borders. In 1980, Keller had 4,555 people. Today, nearly 45,000 people call Keller home.

The city has many facilities. These include Keller Town Hall and the Keller Public Library. There is also the Keller Senior Activities Center. The city's recreation and aquatic center is called The Keller Pointe. Keller also updated its police station. This building now includes a Regional Jail and an Animal Adoption Center. It also has a 911 dispatch center called NETCOM. This center helps the cities of Keller, Colleyville, Southlake, and Westlake.

The Keller Independent School District serves many students. It has 39 campuses and over 34,000 students. Students in Keller ISD go to 23 different elementary schools. They also attend 12 different intermediate/middle schools and 5 different high schools. Most of the schools are in northeast Fort Worth. This means the school district is much larger than the city of Keller itself. The school district's area is 51 square miles. This makes it the third-largest land area in Tarrant County. The number of students in the district has doubled in the last 10 years. It is expected to double again soon. This makes it one of the fastest-growing school districts in Texas.

In 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau listed Keller as one of the "Nation's Richest Cities." It was ranked number 45 for cities with over 20,000 people. The average household income was $141,364.

Where is Keller?

Keller is located in Texas. It has a total area of about 18.4 square miles (47.8 square kilometers). Keller is east of Interstate 35W. It is also south of Highway 114 and Alliance Gate Freeway.

Cities Around Keller

Here are some cities near Keller. They are in either Denton or Tarrant County.

	Fort Worth	Roanoke (6 miles)	Southlake (6 miles)
	Fort Worth		Southlake (6 miles)
		Keller
	Watauga (7 miles)	North Richland Hills (8 miles)	Colleyville (8 miles)

Keller's Climate

The weather in Keller has hot, humid summers. Winters are usually mild to cool. Keller has a humid subtropical climate. This means it gets a lot of rain and has warm temperatures for most of the year.

People in Keller

In 2020, the city of Keller had 45,776 people. There were 16,383 households and 13,148 families living in the city. Keller is a diverse community with people from many different backgrounds.

Education in Keller

The Keller Independent School District (KISD) is very large. It has 39 schools and teaches more than 34,000 students. Students living in Keller attend many different schools within KISD. Most of these schools are actually in northeast Fort Worth. This means the school district covers a much bigger area than just the city of Keller.

How Keller Connects

Keller is known as a "bedroom community." This means many people live here and travel to other cities for work. It does not have any major interstate highways running through it. U.S. Route 377 runs along Keller's western edge. Davis Boulevard (FM1938) goes through Keller from north to south. Keller Parkway (FM 1709) also runs through the city.

In 2004, Verizon Communications started its FiOS network in Keller. This was the first place in the country to get this super-fast fiber-optic internet service. Verizon replaced old copper wires with new optical fibers. Service began in 2005.

Keller is often ranked as a very safe city. This is based on crime statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Famous People From Keller

Many interesting people have lived in Keller! Here are a few:

• Taylor Ball, an actor known for the TV show Still Standing
• Jeff Banister, who managed the Texas Rangers baseball team
• Joel Bolomboy, a basketball player who played for the Utah Jazz
• Nolan Frese, a football long snapper for the Seattle Seahawks
• Garrett Hartley, a football placekicker for the New Orleans Saints
• Sheldon Neuse, a professional baseball player
• Michelle Royer, who was Miss Texas USA and Miss USA 1987
• Debby Ryan, an actress known for the TV show Jessie
• Zack Sanchez, a Canadian football cornerback
• Austen Jewell Smith, an Olympic medalist in sports shooting
• Hank Thompson, a country music entertainer
• Jack Mull, a baseball player

See also

In Spanish: Keller (Texas) para niños