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Tyler, Texas
City of Tyler
Tyler May 2016 42 (People's Petroleum Building and Plaza Tower).jpg
TylerCityHall1.JPG
Tyler May 2016 01 (D. K. Caldwell Auditorium).jpg
Tyler May 2016 35 (Smith County Courthouse).jpg
Tyler May 2016 43 (KLTV).jpg
Clockwise from top: Downtown, Caldwell Auditorium, the KLTV headquarters, Smith County Courthouse, City Hall
Official logo of Tyler, Texas
Nickname(s): 
Rose City, Rose Capital, Rose Capital of America
Motto(s): 
A Natural Beauty
Location in Smith County and the state of Texas
Location in Smith County and the state of Texas
Country  United States
State  Texas
County Smith
Founded 1846
Named for John Tyler, 10th U.S. president
Area
 • City 57.97 sq mi (150.15 km2)
 • Land 57.45 sq mi (148.81 km2)
 • Water 0.52 sq mi (1.34 km2)
Elevation
544 ft (165 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • City 107,441
 • Estimate 
(2021)
109,619
 • Rank US: 281st
 • Density 1,862.10/sq mi (718.95/km2)
 • Urban
130,247 (US: 247th)
 • Metro
216,080 (US: 200th)
Demonym(s) Tylerite
Time zone UTC−6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
757xx
Area code(s) 430, 903
FIPS code 48-74144
GNIS feature ID 1348998
U.S. routes US 69.svg US 271.svg
Major state highways Texas 31.svg Texas 64.svg Texas 110.svg Texas 155.svg Texas Loop 323.svg Toll Texas 49 new.svg
Primary airport Tyler Regional Airport

Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the 33rd most populous city in Texas and 299th in the United States. It is the principal city of the Greater Tyler metropolitan statistical area, which is the 198th most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. and 16th in Texas after Waco and the College Station–Bryan areas, with a population of 233,479 in 2020.

The city is named for John Tyler, the tenth President of the United States. In 1985, the international Adopt-a-Highway movement began in Tyler. After appeals from local Texas Department of Transportation officials, the local Civitan International chapter adopted a two-mile (three kilometer) stretch of U.S. Route 69 to maintain. Drivers and other motorists traveling on this segment of U.S. 69 (between Tyler and nearby Lindale) will see brown road signs that read, "First Adopt-A-Highway in the World".

Tyler is known as the "Rose Capital of America" (also the "Rose City" and the "Rose Capital of the World"), a nickname it earned from a long history of rose production, cultivation, and processing. It is home to the largest rose garden in the United States, a 14-acre public garden complex that has over 38,000 rose bushes of at least 500 different varieties. The Tyler Rose Garden is also home to the annual Texas Rose Festival which attracts thousands of tourists each October.

As Northeast Texas and Smith County's major economic, educational, financial, medical and cultural hub, Tyler is host to more than 20,000 higher-education students; the University of Texas at Tyler; a university health science center; and regional hospital systems. It is also the headquarters for Brookshire Grocery Company, Cavender's, Southside Bank, and Synthesizers.com. Other corporations with major presence within the city and surrounding area include AT&T, T-Mobile US, Cricket Wireless and Metro by T-Mobile, Chase Bank, BBVA, Best Buy, and Walmart. Tyler is also home to the Caldwell Zoo and Broadway Square Mall.

Geography

Tyler skyline
Tyler skyline

Tyler is located at 32°20′03″N 95°18′00″W / 32.334249°N 95.299927°W / 32.334249; -95.299927 at 544 feet (166 m) above sea level. Tyler is surrounded by many smaller cities, including Whitehouse, Lindale, New Chapel Hill, Bullard, Edom, Brownsboro, and Chandler.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 54.4 square miles (140.8 km2), of which, 54.2 mi2 (140.5 km2) of it is land and 0.1 mi2(0.3 km2²) of it is covered by water.

Climate

Weather chart for Tyler
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
3.3
 
57
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3.7
 
64
41
 
 
4
 
72
49
 
 
3.7
 
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4.5
 
84
63
 
 
3.7
 
90
70
 
 
2.2
 
93
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2.6
 
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72
 
 
3.3
 
88
67
 
 
5.1
 
78
56
 
 
4.5
 
67
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4.8
 
58
40
temperatures in °F
precipitation totals in inches
source: Weather.com / NWS

Tyler experiences weather typical of East Texas, which is unpredictable, especially in the spring. All of East Texas has the humid subtropical climate typical of the American South.

The record high for Tyler is 115 °F (46 °C), which occurred in 2011. The record low for Tyler is −3 °F (−19 °C), which occurred on January 18, 1930.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1880 2,423
1890 6,908 185.1%
1900 8,069 16.8%
1910 10,400 28.9%
1920 12,085 16.2%
1930 17,113 41.6%
1940 28,279 65.2%
1950 38,968 37.8%
1960 51,230 31.5%
1970 57,770 12.8%
1980 70,508 22.0%
1990 75,450 7.0%
2000 83,650 10.9%
2010 96,900 15.8%
2020 105,995 9.4%
U.S. Decennial Census
2018 Estimate
Racial and ethnic composition 2020 2018 2010 2000
White n/a 70.06% n/a n/a
—Non-Hispanic 52.4% 49.4% 60.51% 62.14%
African Americans 23.1% 21.8% 24.75% 26.50%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 22.7% 22.2% 21.17% 15.66%
Asian Americans 2.9% 3.4% 1.90% 0.98%
Pacific Islander 0.1% 0.02% 0.03% 0.04%
Two or more races 9.6% 2.0% 2.04% 1.63%

With a population of 2,423 at the 1880 United States census, the city of Tyler grew to become the most populous city in Northeast Texas, and 33rd most populous in Texas as of 2020. Having a census-tabulated citywide population of 105,995 at the 2020 census, its metropolitan statistical area became the largest in the region, followed by the Longview metropolitan area. The Tyler metropolitan area had 233,479 residents in 2020, and the Tyler–Longview area had an estimated population of 371,015 in 2018.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has also diversified from being historically dominated by non-Hispanic whites to being increasingly multiracial. Immigration and white flight over the 20th century have contributed significantly to this area's demographic readjustment. At the 2010 United States census, 60.5% of the population identified as White Americans; by the 2018 American Community Survey, they made up an estimated 49.4% of the total population. Since the 2020 census, Black and African Americans, Asian Americans, multiracial Americans, and people of some other racial or ethnic identity increased to form a total of 49,655 residents against the city's 55,594 non-Hispanic whites. At least 24,023 Tylerites were Hispanic or Latino American of any race as of 2020.

Among the city's growing population, there were 46,320 households and 43,733 housing units. Of the units at the 2019 American Community Survey, 37,504 were occupied and the majority were single-unit detached homes. Tylerites had a home-ownership rate of 51.7%, and renters occupied 48.3% of the housing units from 2014 to 2019's census estimates. Owner-occupied housing units had a median cost of $164,700, and the median cost with a mortgage was $1,408 while houses without a mortgage had a median cost of $487; renters paid a median of $1,011 a month, and 1,148 rental-units had no rent paid among the population.

A predominantly middle-class community, the city of Tyler had a median income of $52,294 and mean income of $75,349. Families had a median income of $66,579; married-couple families $85,181; and non-family households $32,263. Down from a poverty rate of 16.7% in 2018, approximately 12.6% of the population lived at or below the poverty line in 2019.

Religion

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception - Tyler, Texas 01
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tyler

Sperling's BestPlaces determined 73.2% of Tylerites and the surrounding area identified as religious or spiritual as of 2020. As part of the Bible Belt, Protestant Christianity is the largest religious group, followed by Roman Catholic Christianity. According to the study, 31.1% of Tylerite Christians identified as Baptist, primarily affiliated with the Texas Baptists, Southern Baptist Convention, National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc, National Baptist Convention of America, and Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. The Roman Catholic community of Tyler and its metropolitan area have been primarily served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tyler. Following, 6.6% of the population were Methodists, mainly affiliated with the United Methodist Church and African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Pentecostals formed the fourth-largest Christian group in Tyler (5.2%) and the largest Pentecostal bodies within the area as of 2020 are the Assemblies of God USA and the United Pentecostal Church, prominent Trinitarian and Oneness Pentecostal denominations. An estimated 1.2% of the religiously affiliated population were Latter-day Saints. Of the Christian population, 0.9% identified as Anglicans or Episcopalians, 0.7% Presbyterian, and 0.6% Lutheran. Roughly 13.6% of Tylerites are of another Christian faith including the Eastern Orthodox Church and Jehovah's Witnesses.

The Anglican or Episcopalian community are divided between the Episcopal Church in the United States and Anglican Church in North America. The Episcopal Church USA-affiliated Episcopal Diocese of Texas has congregations in Tyler. The Anglican Church in North America also has congregations in Tyler and its metropolitan area. The Diocese of Mid-America is the ACNA's diocese in Tyler, consisting of one church as of 2020. This diocese is also a member of the Reformed Episcopal Church. Presbyterian and Lutheran bodies operating in the area include the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Presbyterian Church in America, and the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) and North American Lutheran Church. The Eastern Orthodox community is served by the Orthodox Church in America's Diocese of the South with its headquarters in nearby Dallas.

Per Sperling's BestPlaces, approximately 0.1% of the city's population affiliated with Judaism compared to the state average of 0.2%, and 0.4% of the area identified as Muslims. The area's Islamic community is affiliated with the East Texas Islamic Society.

Recreation and tourism

Annually, the Texas Rose Festival draws thousands of tourists to Tyler. The festival, which celebrates the role of the rose-growing industry in the local economy, is held in October and features a parade, the coronation of the Rose Queen, and other civic events. The Rose Museum features the history of the Festival. Tyler is home to Caldwell Zoo, several local museums, Lake Palestine, Lake Tyler, and numerous golf courses and country clubs. A few miles away in Flint, TX is The WaterPark @ The Villages, a year-round, indoor water park. There is also an "Azalea Trail" in Tyler, which are two officially designated routes within the city that showcase homes or other landscaped venues adorned with azalea shrubs. The Azalea Trail also is home to the long-standing tradition of the Azalea Belles. The official greeters of the Azalea Trail are known as the Azalea Belles, young women from the Tyler area who dress in antebellum gowns. The belles are chosen each year from area high schools or home school families, and it is an honor to be chosen. Tyler State Park, a few miles North of Town is where visitors can camp, canoe, and paddle boat on the lake. Other activities include picnicking, camping, boating (motors allowed – 5 mph speed limit), boat rentals, fishing, birding, hiking, mountain biking, hiking trails, lake swimming (in unsupervised swimming area), and nature study. The Smith County Historical Society operates a museum and archives in the old Carnegie Library. The East Texas State Fair is held annually in Tyler. Lake Tyler was the location of the HGTV Dream Home contest in 2005. The 6,500 square feet (600 m²) house briefly boosted tourism and interest in the community. It subsequently was sold at public auction in January, 2008, for 1.325 million dollars.

Historical

Smith County Historical Society, Tyler, TX IMG 0498
The Smith County Historical Society building is located across the street from the Tyler Public Library.

Tyler has a Cotton Belt Railroad Depot Museum located near the Chamber of Commerce office.

The Smith County Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was founded in 1959 by individuals and business firms dedicated to discovering, collecting, and preserving data, records, and other items relating to the history of Smith County, Texas. The Society operates a museum and archives, which is located in the former Carnegie Public Library building in downtown Tyler. Permanent museum exhibits include life-size dioramas with Smith County history topics ranging from Caddo Indians to the 20th century. Other items from the society's collections are showcased in revolving, temporary exhibits. The society's archival library contains historical artifacts of Smith County, including newspapers, city directories, school records, photographs, maps, historical papers, rare books, and much more. The archives are open to the public for research on a limited schedule with volunteer staff on duty. The society is also the official caretaker of Camp Ford Historic Park.

Camp Ford was the largest Confederate Prisoner of War camp west of the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. The original site of the camp stockade is a public historic park managed by the Smith County Historical Society. The park contains a kiosk, paved trail, interpretive signage, a cabin reconstruction, and a picnic area. It is located on Highway 271, 0.8 miles (1.3 km) north of Loop 323.

Transportation

TylerPRAirport
Aerial photo of Tyler Pounds Regional Airport

The most common form of transportation is the motor vehicle. Tyler is a nexus of several major highways. Interstate 20 runs along the north edge of the city going east and west, U.S. Highway 69 runs north–south through the center of town and State Highway 64 runs east–west through the city. Tyler also has access to U.S. Highway 271, State Highway 31, State Highway 155, and State Highway 110. Loop 323 was established in 1957 and encircles the city, which has continued to grow outside of this loop. Loop 49 is a limited access "outer loop" around the city and currently runs from State Highway 110 south of Tyler to US 69 northwest of Tyler near Lindale. Loop 124 is 1.524 mi (2.453 km) in length.

Public transportation

Tyler May 2016 22 (Tyler Transit)
Tyler Transit shuttle

Tyler Transit provides customers with public transportation service within the City of Tyler. The buses run daily, excluding Sundays and holidays. Tyler Transit offers customers the option to purchase tickets, tokens, or passes at the Tyler Transit office, at 210 E. Oakwood Street inside the Cotton Belt Railroad Depot at the main transfer point. The City of Tyler paratransit service is a shared-ride, public transportation service. Requests for service must be made the day before the service is needed. Trips can be scheduled up to 14 days in advance. ADA compliant paratransit service is provided to all origins and destinations within the service area defined as the city limits of Tyler. Greyhound Lines bus service is available through a downtown terminal.

Air

Tyler Pounds Regional Airport offers service to and from Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport and Denver International Airport via American Eagle and Frontier, respectively. While American Eagle provides service with Embraer ERJ-135 and ERJ-145 regional jets, Frontier operates with Airbus A320 mainline jet aircraft, Europe's own equivalent to the Boeing 737. General Aviation services are provided by two fixed-base operators, Johnson Aviation and the Jet Center of Tyler.

Train

Tyler was the hub for a series of short-line railroads which later evolved into the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, better known as "The Cotton Belt Route," with the city last being a stop on the unnamed successor to the Morning Star between St. Louis and Dallas. This line later became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which itself merged with the Union Pacific Railroad, which continues to serve the city today with freight traffic. No passenger train service to Tyler has occurred since April 1956, but Amtrak's Texas Eagle runs through the city of Mineola, a short distance north of Tyler.

Walkability

A 2014 study by Walk Score ranked Tyler with a walkability score of 32 (out of 100) with some amenities within walking distance.

Places of worship

Tyler is the home of many churches, including five large congregations in downtown, the Marvin United Methodist Church, Dayspring United Methodist Church, West Erwin Church of Christ, First Baptist Church, and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Tyler is also the seat of Catholic Diocese of Tyler, which is particularly noteworthy for its St. Joseph the Worker Parish, one of the few churches in America dedicated to the exclusive use of the Traditional Latin Mass. The parish is staffed by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. The city also is the home of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a 100 plus year sanctuary recently renovated and declared a historic and heritage site by the Catholic Diocese of Tyler. The Saint Peter Claver Parish located in central Tyler, is the second largest Catholic Church in Tyler and was dedicated to St. Peter Claver, a Franciscan Priest that assisted the black slaves in Brasil during the slave trade to South America. There is also a Nazarene church on Old Bullard Rd called Tyler First Church Of The Nazarene.

Tyler has three United Pentecostal Churches the largest of them is Tyler Tabernacle located just outside of Loop 323. The Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic church in East Tyler is also a major center of gathering. The St Peter and Paul Chapel, a Catholic church, is located next to the Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Regional Catholic School was constructed and dedicated in 2011 and holds masses in English and Spanish with a significant number of other services offered to all Tyler and neighboring residents. The city's largest church, Green Acres Baptist Church, is located on Troup Highway in southeast Tyler. Tyler is also home to two reformed Baptist churches, Sylvania Church and Living Acts Church, both of which are located in the south Tyler area. Additionally, Tyler has two Jewish houses of prayer, Ahavath Achim, which associates itself with Conservative Judaism and Beth El which adheres to Reform Judaism. Tyler is also home to East Texas Islamic Society, established in 1988, which includes an Islamic house of worship and an Islamic school for children. There is also a Unitarian, Universalist Fellowship on Old Omen Road and Cross Brand Cowboy Church at 11915 FM-2015 Tyler, Texas.

Two Tyler churches were destroyed during the 2010 East Texas church burnings.

Notable events

  • Fragments of the Space Shuttle Columbia landed near Tyler in 2003, following the breakup of it in the atmosphere.
  • On the evening of 2009, a fire engulfed a number of historic buildings in downtown Tyler. Eight different fire departments responded to the fire.
  • The 1982 Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe, which prohibited denying schooling to immigrant children, originated in the Tyler Independent School District.

Sister cities

Economy

Venue Building, Tyler, TX IMG 0469
People's Petroleum building in downtown Tyler
Tyler, TX, Chamber of Commerce office IMG 0543
Chamber of Commerce office in downtown Tyler

In addition to the city's role in the rose-growing industry, Tyler is the headquarters for Brookshire Grocery Company, which operates Brookshire's, Fresh, Super 1 Foods, and Spring Market supermarkets in the Ark-La-Tex and parts of Dallas–Fort Worth. The company's main distribution center is in south Tyler, while SouthWest Foods, a subsidiary that processes dairy products, is just northeast of the city.

The city and metropolitan area also has a growing manufacturing sector including: Tyler Pipe, a subsidiary of McWane Inc. that produces soil and utility pipe products; Trane Technologies Inc., formerly a unit of American Standard Companies, which manufactures air conditioners and heat pumps (this plant was originally built in 1955 by General Electric); Delek Refining, an Israeli-owned oil refinery formerly La Gloria Oil and Gas Co (a Crown Central Petroleum subsidiary); PCSFerguson, an operating company of Dover Corporation that specializes in equipment for the measurement and production of natural gas using the plunger lift method; DYNAenergetics Tyler Distribution Center, part of DYNAenergetics USA, which manufactures perforating equipment and explosives for the oil and gas industry; and Vesuvius USA, a manufacturer of refractory ceramics used in the steel industry.

According to the city's 2012–2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's top ten employers were:

# Employer # of Employees
1 Trinity Mother Frances Health System 3,775
2 UT Health - Tyler 3,153
3 Brookshire Grocery Company 2,599
4 Tyler Independent School District 2,468
5 Trane Technologies 1,500
6 SuddenLink 1,500
7 Walmart 1,311
8 The University of Texas at Tyler 1,121
9 UT Health - Tyler (north campus) 925
10 Tyler Junior College 862

Sports

College and university teams

Uttgbball
UT Tyler women's basketball team
  • University of Texas at Tyler Patriots (NCAA Division II)
  • Texas College Steers (HBCU)
  • Tyler Junior College Apaches (NJCAA)

Baseball teams

  • Tyler Elbertas (1912)
  • Tyler Trojans (1924–1929, 1931, 1935–1940, 1946–1950)
  • Tyler Sports (1932)
  • Tyler Governors (1933–1934)
  • Tyler East Texans (1950–1953)
  • Tyler Tigers (1954–1955)
  • Tyler Wildcatters (1994–1997)
  • Tyler Roughnecks (2001)

Football

  • East Texas Twisters (2004)

Road races

  • Fresh 15 Road Race (Annual)

Soccer

  • Tyler FC (2016–Present)

Education

John Tyler High School (Photo 2), Tyler, TX IMG 0554
John Tyler High School
Tyler May 2016 58 (Caldwell Elementary School Arts Academy)
Caldwell Elementary School Arts Academy

Colleges and universities

Tyler's higher education institutions include the University of Texas at Tyler and the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, both part of the University of Texas System, as well as Texas College, the city's only HBCU, and Tyler Junior College.

Primary and secondary schools

Public primary and secondary education for much of the city is provided by the Tyler Independent School District, which includes high schools Tyler High School (previously known as John Tyler High School) and Tyler Legacy High School (previously known as Robert E. Lee High School), as well as Tyler ISD Early College High School, Premier High School of Tyler, a public charter school (Cumberland Academy). Several Tyler schools offer international baccalaureate and advanced placement programs.

Tyler is also home to the University of Texas at Tyler University Academy at Tyler, a K–12 public charter operated by the University of Texas at Tyler since 2012 that offers university courses to students in grades 9–12.

Portions of incorporated Tyler are served by surrounding school districts. These include sections of southeast Tyler, served by the Whitehouse Independent School District, and some sections in the east which are served by the chapel Hill Independent School District.

Private schools

There are also private schools in Tyler, including Grace Community School (Texas), All Saints Episcopal School, Seventh-day Adventist Church School, King's Academy Christian School, Kingdom Life Academy (in the same building but not affiliated with King's Academy), Christian Heritage School, East Texas Christian Academy, and Good Shepherd Reformed Episcopal School. The Brook Hill School in nearby Bullard, TX is also served by the Tyler Independent School District. The Tyler Catholic School System of the Catholic Diocese of Tyler consists of St. Gregory Cathedral School and Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Regional Catholic Middle and High School.

Images for kids

See also

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