Rockwall, Texas

Rockwall is a city in Rockwall County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Dallas. It is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The population was 17,976 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Rockwall County^[3]. Rockwall County is the second wealthiest county in the state of Texas in terms of median income. The majority of its residents enjoy a relatively high standard of living. The name Rockwall is derived from a naturally jointed geological formation, which has the appearance of an artificial wall.

History

The area of Rockwall was originally occupied by Caddo Indians. Creek Indians moved to the area in early 1800s. The origin of Rockwall also is related to the selection of its name. In 1851, as the first Anglo-American settlers moved to the area, they started to dig wells. During the digging, they found large underground rock walls that were initially believed to be manmade. Later study of the wall-like features by geologists and archaeologists found them to be jointed, natural sandstone dikes that had intruded Cretaceous marl.^[4][5] The town was established April 17, 1854 and named after these natural rock walls. While originally part of Kaufman County, in 1873, Rockwall County was formed with Rockwall being the county seat. The current mayor is Bill Cecil. Bill Cecil was elected Mayor in May 2005 after serving over 5 years on the Rockwall City Council. Bill currently serves on a number of city subcommittees which include Finance, Customer Centered Culture (C3) and Lake Rockwall Estates (LRE) and is the Chair of the Harbor Tax Incentive Financing (TIF)Board. He also serves as the Chair of the Rockwall County Emergency Services Corporation and dedicates a great deal of time supporting the Arts and Historic Preservation in our community. He retired from the Air Force Reserves in December 2002 as a Lieutenant Colonel after 39 years of regular and reserve service. He also retired in June 2005 from the Department of Defense as Director of the Defense Contract Management Office at Bell Helicopter after 32+ years with the Defense Contract Management Agency. He is a graduate of Langston University and majored in Business and Administrative Management as well as post graduate credit from the Defense Systems Management College in defense systems management.

Geography

Rockwall is located at 32°55′12″N 96°27′35″W / 32.92°N 96.45972°W (32.920014, -96.459715)^[6].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.6 square miles (58.7 km²), of which, 22.3 square miles (57.7 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) of it (1.63%) is water.

Rockwall is on the east shore of Lake Ray Hubbard. It is on State Highways 205 & 740, north of Interstate 30.

Demographics

Rockwall has the distinction of being the smallest county in Texas but one of the top five fastest growing counties in the United States. As of the 2006 census by the North Texas Central Council of Governments, the city had a population of 29,500.

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 17,976 people, 6,605 households, and 5,158 families residing in the city. The population density was 806.9 people per square mile (311.5/km²). There were 7,089 housing units at an average density of 318.2/sq mi (122.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.35% White, 3.00% African American, 0.38% Native American, 1.39% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.57% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.44% of the population.

There were 6,605 households out of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.8% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.9% were non-families. 18.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $65,411, and the median income for a family was $75,121. Males had a median income of $55,370 versus $35,139 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,843. About 3.2% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public Schools

The city is served by the Rockwall Independent School District. There are two high schools in Rockwall. The older is Rockwall High School and the newer is Rockwall-Heath High School built in 2005.

Higher Education

The city is home to the Higher Education Center at Rockwall, which is part of the community college district, Collin College. The campus is the District's first campus outside of Collin County itself. Texas A&M University-Commerce holds classes at the Center.

Transportation

Rockwall is served by the following highways that run through the city:

• Interstate 30
• U.S. Highway 67 (runs concurrent with Interstate 30)
• State Highway 66
• State Highway 205
• State Highway 276
• Farm to Market 552
• Farm to Market 740

Ralph M. Hall Rockwall Airport serves general aviation flights.

Sports

The city is home to the Dallas Diesel, a football team in the North American Football League. The Diesel enter the 2007 season in July as the defending league champions. Zac Leatherwood is the well-known quarterback in their county that led them to their victory.

Rockwall offers many different sports complexes as well as activities. For example, Lake Ray Hubbard offers fun in the sun^{[citation needed]} with different boating marinas as well as jet skis and countless others.

Rockwall also offers 22 different [Golf Courses][1] within 17 miles from the center of Rockwall. There are many great courses to choose from.

Notable residents

• Jason Castro - Top 12 contestant on American Idol (season 7)
• Michael Castro - American Idol (season 8) contestant
• Cliff Harris - Accomplished professional football safety who played for the Dallas Cowboys.
• Alex Jones - Radio talk show host who grew up in Rockwall during the 1980s and early 1990s.
• Mason Musso - Lead singer and guitarist in Metro Station
• Mitchel Musso - Actor most notable for portraying character Oliver Oken in Hannah Montana
• Larry Lea - Former televangelist, ministry was based in Rockwall during the 1980s and early 1990s
• Reginald Williams - Author of the best selling science fiction book "The Time Travelers Academy"
  • Citation needed - Although a source of controversy, this is generally accepted to be factual

Trivia

• In 2006, Rockwall County was the fastest growing county in the United States by population.
• The highest point in Rockwall is at 591 ft. at the First Baptist Church.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
3. ^ . National Association of Counties. . Retrieved 2008-01-31.
4. ^ Monroe, J.N., 1950, Origin of the clastic dikes in the Rockwall area, Texas. Field and Laboratory. v. 18, no. 4, pp. 133-143.
5. ^ Ellwood, B.B., J. Payne, and G.J. Long, 1989, The Rockwall, Texas: A study of unusual natural magnetic effects in geoarcheological surveys produced by mineral oxidation. Geoarchaeology. v. 4, no. 2, pp. 103-118.
6. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

External links

• The City of Rockwall Home Page
• Planet Rockwall ~ Online Magazine & Directory for Rockwall, TX
• Headlines about Rockwall, Rowlett and Heath from The Dallas Morning News

Categories: Dallas • Fort Worth Metroplex | Rockwall County, Texas | Cities in Texas | County seats in Texas