HIGHLAND PARK, TEXAS

'Highland Park' is a town located in central Dallas County, Texas (USA).
The population was 8,842 at the 2000 census. Located on State Highway 289 and U.S. Route 75 (North Central Expressway), four miles north of downtown Dallas (USA).
It is the 41st wealthiest city in the United States and the 19th wealthiest city with a population of over 1,000. Highland Park is the 4th wealthiest location in Texas by per capita income.
Highland Park is bordered on the south, east and west by Dallas and on the north by University Park. Highland Park and University Park together comprise the Park Cities.
Addresses in University Park use "Dallas, Texas" as the city designation; addresses do not have "University Park, Texas" designations [1].
Highland Park is also home to the Highland Park Village shopping center.

Contents

History

Geography

Demographics

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Highland Park Independent School District

Dallas Independent School District

Colleges and universities

Public libraries

Popular Media

References

External links

History

The land now known as Highland Park was purchased in 1889 by a group of investors from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known as the 'Philadelphia Place Land Association', for an average price of $377 an acre, with a total of $500,000. Henry Exall, an agent, intended to develop the land along Turtle Creek, as 'Philadelphia Place', exclusive housing based on parkland areas in Philadelphia. He laid gravel roads, and dammed Turtle Creek, forming Exall Lake, before the Panic of 1893 brought a blow to his fortunes, halting development. Afterwards, he began a horse breeding farm. In the 1890s, Exall Lake was a common picnic destination for Dallas residents.
In 1906, John Armstrong (the former partner of Thomas Marsalis, the prominent developer of Oak Cliff), sold his meatpacking business, and invested his money in a portion of the former Philadelphia Place land, to develop it under the name of 'Highland Park'. He chose this name as it was located on high land that overlooked downtown Dallas. Wilbur David Cook, the landscape designer who had planned Beverly Hills, California, and George E. Kessler, who had previously planned Fair Park and most of downtown Dallas, were hired to design its layout. Notably, twenty percent of the original land was set aside for parks. A second development in Highland Park was developed in 1910.
In 1913, Highland Park petitioned Dallas for annexation, but was refused. The 500 residents voted to incorporate on November 29 1913, and incorporation was granted in 1915, when its population was 1100. The first mayor of Highland Park was W. A. Fraser. A third and fourth development were added to the town and 1915 and 1917, respectively. In 1919, the city of Dallas sought to annex Highland Park, beginning a lengthy controversy that lasted until 1945. J W Bartholow led the fight to resist the annexation. The final major land development occurred in 1924. In 1931, Highland Park Village was constructed, the first shopping center of its kind in the United States.
Due to its location near Dallas, Highland Park had, by the early 1930s, developed a moderately large (8,400) population, with a few businesses. Eventually the school districts and newspapers of Highland Park and University Park were combined. In the 1940s, after the failure to annex Highland Park, Dallas began annexing the land surrounding it. Reaching a population high of just under 13,000 in the late 1950s, Highland Park afterwards grew only by building houses on the remaining vacant lots, and by the destruction of old buildings. Since 1990, Highland Park has maintained strict zoning ordinances. Known for its quality housing, the town still has many parks running along Turtle Creek and is home to the Dallas Country Club.

Geography

Highland Park is located at (32.830178, -96.801103).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.8 km² (2.2 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the the most recent census, there are 8,842 people, 3,585 households, and 2,412 families residing in the town. The population density is 1,524.1/km² (3,948.0/mi²). There are 3,759 housing units at an average density of 647.9/km² (1,678.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 97.27% White, 0.90% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.83% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.77% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race are 2.73% of the population.
In terms of formal education, Highland Park is Texas' second best educated city, after its neighbor University Park, with 76.6% of adults age 25 or older holding an associate degree or higher, and 74.7% of adult residents possessing a baccalaureate degree or higher.
There are 3,585 households out of which 33.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.6% are married couples living together, 5.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% are non-families. 29.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.6% have someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.46 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the town the population is spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 42 years. For every 100 females there are 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 82.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $149,389, and the median income for a family is $200,000. Males have a median income of $100,000 versus $43,594 for females. The per capita income for the town is $97,008. About 1.6% of families and 3.4% of the population is below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 0.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Highland Park Independent School District

Most of the city (areas east of Roland Avenue) is served by the Highland Park Independent School District. The HPISD portion is served by Highland Park High School in nearby University Park, which was ranked as the 16th best high school in the United States by the Jay Mathews Challenge Index used by ''Newsweek'' ^[1].

Dallas Independent School District

A minuscule portion of Highland Park (areas west of Roland Avenue) is zoned to Dallas Independent School District.
DISD schools that serve western Highland Park include Maple Lawn Elementary School, Rusk Middle School, and North Dallas High School.

Colleges and universities

The Northeastern corner of Highland Park is adjacent to Southern Methodist University, located in University Park.
Dallas County Community College District operates nearby community colleges.

Public libraries

The Highland Park Public Library is located at 4700 Drexel Drive in the Highland Park Town Hall.

Popular Media

Highland Park is the setting for the 2005 legal thriller ''The Color of Law'' by Mark Gimenez. Also many movies, books, and a soon-to-be-aired TV show have been written about life at Highland Park High School.

References

1. The Complete List of the 1,000 Top U.S. Schools Newsweek / MSNBC

External links

★ City of Highland Park

★ Highland Park Public Library

★ Highland Park Neighborhood Information