LANCASTER, TEXAS

'Lancaster' is a city in Dallas County, Texas (USA). As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 25,894 (though a 2006 estimate placed the city's population at 33,550).
Lancaster is a suburb of Dallas and is part of the Best Southwest area, which includes Lancaster, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, and Duncanville.

Contents

Geography

History

Demographics

Government

Education

External links

References

Geography

Lancaster is located at (32.602236, -96.774990).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 75.9 km² (29.3 mi²). 75.9 km² (29.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.03% is water.

History

Founded in 1852 and incorporated in May 1866, Lancaster was one of the first incorporated communities in Dallas County. It was named after Lancaster, Kentucky, the founder's home town, via Lancaster, Pennsylvania and then to the Original Lancaster in England.
In 1994 the majority of Lancaster's historic Town Square was destroyed by a tornado and was never completely rebuilt.
On February 27, 1934, Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow (Bonnie & Clyde), of the Barrow Gang, robbed the Lancaster (Texas) Bank (R.P. Henry & Sons Bank) that was at the town square. Bonnie Parker waited in the getaway car while Clyde and Raymond Hamilton walked in and walked out with over $6,000.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 25,894 people, 9,182 households, and 6,895 families residing in the city. The population density was 341.3/km² (884.0/mi²). There were 9,590 housing units at an average density of 126.4/km² (327.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 37.63% White, 53.00% African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.58% from other races, and 1.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.59% of the population. As of the 2000 census, Lancaster is the largest African American-majority city in Texas.^[2]
There were 9,182 households out of which 40.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 20.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.22.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.5% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 85.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $43,773, and the median income for a family was $48,498. Males had a median income of $33,406 versus $30,653 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,731. About 6.1% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The City of Lancaster is a home-rule city with a council-manager form of government. Under this type of local government, the day-to-day management of the city is directed by a city manager. The city manager is appointed by the city council and serves as chief administrative officer for the city. Rickey C. Childers is the current city manager of Lancaster.
The seven-member city council consists of the mayor, who represents the city as a whole and is elected at-large, and six members elected in single-member districts. Council members serve two-year terms (the positions of Mayor as well as Districts 2, 4, and 6 are up for election in even-numbered years; Districts 1, 3, and 5 are up for election in odd-numbered years).

'Current City Council Members'
Mayor	Joe Tillotson
District 1	Carol Strain-Burk
District 2	C.R. "Dick" Headen
District 3	Susan Anderson
District 4	James Daniels
District 5	Clyde Hairston
District 6	Kimberly Lankford

Education

Lancaster is served mainly by the Lancaster Independent School District and to a lesser extent by the Dallas Independent School District. Lancaster ISD operates nine campuses (one High School, one Middle School, and seven Elementary Schools) with a total enrollment of approximately 6,000 students.
The Dallas ISD portion was served by the Wilmer-Hutchins Independent School District before Dallas ISD took over the district (Lancaster ISD was given the first option to take over WHISD but declined). Students living in this area are zoned to Birdie Alexander Elementary School, D.A. Hulcy Middle School, and David W. Carter High School.
There are three private schools in the city - Berne Academy, Cedar Valley Christian Academy, and Victory Christian Academy.
Cedar Valley College, which is part of the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD), is also located in Lancaster.

External links

★ City of Lancaster

★ Lancaster Economic Development Corporation

★ Lancaster Chamber of Commerce

★ Lancaster Historical Society

References

1. Lancaster Chamber of Commerce - Our Community. Retrieved 4 July 2006.
2. List of U.S. communities with African American majority populations – Wikipedia.