Taylor, Texas
Encyclopedia
Taylor is a city in Williamson County
Williamson County, Texas
Williamson County is a county located on both the Edwards Plateau to the west, consisting of rocky terrain and hills, and Blackland Prairies in the east consising of rich, fertile farming land, The two areas are roughly bisected by Interstate 35...

, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 13,575 at the 2000 census; it was 15,191 in the 2010 census estimate. Taylors largest employers include the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Durcon Inc, and the T. Don Hutto Residential Center
T. Don Hutto Residential Center
The T. Don Hutto Residential Center is a guarded, fenced-in, multi-purpose center currently used to detain non-US citizens awaiting the outcome of their immigration status. The center is located at 1001 Welch Street in the city of Taylor, Texas, within Williamson County...

, an immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

 control center, which opened in Taylor in May 2006.

In 2006, the Taylor Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) published a "Community Report" which noted - according to information compiled by the Ampersand Agency for the TEDC - that the City needed better code enforcement across the city, giving the city a "facelift" to look clean and neat. The report also noted that old and dilapidated buildings should be torn down to improve the consistancy of the housing market, that streets needed repair, and that effort should be made to add more consumer-based businesses.

Some of the issues of the TEDC Community Report - for example, the conditions of many of the streets, and improving Taylor's physical appearance - are considered as "long term objectives" in the City of Taylor Budget Message (fiscal year 2010-11), but the same document states "very little emphasis has been placed on expanding existing or adding new programs or making significant additional capital investments despite the fact that the needs certainly exist".

The condition of many of Taylor's streets has been an issue for decades. An article in the Taylor Daily Press (April, 2010) reported: "In 1948, three men ran in a City of Taylor election as 'The Peoples Ticket.' In a letter to the voting public, L.D. Hammack, Louis Kincl and R.E. Kollman told the community: 'Let’s get better streets as soon as possible.' Their concerns echo the same ones we hear today: improving and paying for Taylor’s dilapidated streets and aging infrastructure."

In 2005, approximately twenty percent (20%) of the buildings considered as "contributing resources" to the Taylor Downtown Historic District were vacant. The percentage of vacancies of historic buildings may have increased since 2005, with the Kincl building - one of the listed "contributing resources" - having been vacated in 2010.

Residential building permits have been declining in Taylor since 2007. In 2006, a total of 128 permits were issued with a value of $14,198,300. In fiscal year 2007-08, permits dropped by 64 and 7,295,100 less in value. Once again dropping in fiscal year 2008-09 by 11 and $951,065 less in value. In the 2009, 31 residential permits were issued with a total value of $2,724,698. For 2010 it is anticipated that 18 residential permits will be issued with an estimated value of $1,624,921. Additionally, commercial permits and growth has remained flat since 2008-09, and sales tax revenue has been declining since fiscal year 2007-08 and continues to be flat.

History

In 1876 the Texas Land Company auctioned lots in anticipation of the arrival of the International-Great Northern Railroad
International-Great Northern Railroad
The International – Great Northern Railroad was a railroad that operated in the U.S. state of Texas. It was created on September 30, 1873, when International Railroad and Houston and Great Northern Railroad merged....

 when Taylor was founded that year. The city was named after Edward Moses Taylor, a railroad official, under the name Taylorsville which officially became Taylor in 1892. Immigrants from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 and other Slavic states, as well as from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, helped establish the town. It soon became a busy shipping point for cattle, grain, and cotton.

By 1878 the town had 1,000 residents and thirty-two businesses, twenty-nine of which were destroyed by fire in 1879. Recovery was rapid, however, and more substantial buildings were constructed. In 1882 the Taylor, Bastrop and Houston Railway reached the community, and machine shops and a roundhouse serviced both rail lines. In 1882 the town was incorporated with a mayor-council form of city government, and in 1883 a public school system replaced a number of private schools.

By 1890 Taylor had two banks and the first savings and loan
Savings and loan association
A savings and loan association , also known as a thrift, is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgage and other loans...

 institution in Texas. An electric company, a cotton compress, and several newspapers were among the new enterprises. A water line from the San Gabriel River
San Gabriel River (Texas)
The San Gabriel River is a river that flows through central Texas. The San Gabriel River is formed in Georgetown, Texas by the confluence of the North Fork San Gabriel and the South Fork San Gabriel, both of which originate in Burnet County. There are two major impoundments of the river: Lake...

, a 100-man volunteer fire department, imported and local entertainment, and an annual fair made noteworthy news items by 1900.

Since 1900, Taylors population growth has averaged approximately 128 new residents per year, based on an estimated population of 1100 in the year 1900, and the population in 2010 of 15191, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Between the years 2000 and 2010, the population grew 11.9%, from 13575 to 15191, about 1.2% per year.

Taylor is also the hometown of Bill Pickett
Bill Pickett
Willie M. "Bill" Pickett was a cowboy and rodeo performer.Pickett was born in the Jenks-Branch community of Travis County, Texas. He was the second of 13 children born to Thomas Jefferson Pickett, a former slave, and Mary "Janie" Gilbert. Pickett had 4 brothers and 8 sisters...

, Tex Avery
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...

, K.C. Jones, and birthplace of former Texas governor Dan Moody
Dan Moody
Daniel James Moody, Jr. , was a Democratic political figure, originally from Taylor, Texas, USA. He served as the 30th Governor of Texas between 1927 and 1931, and is best remembered as a reformer and an opponent of the Ku Klux Klan...

.

Geography

Taylor is located at 30.572371°N 97.416546°W (30.572371, -97.416546), about 9 miles east of Hutto
Hutto, Texas
Hutto is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. The population was 1,250 at the 2000 census; it had grown to 7,401 in the 2005 census estimate and had reached 17,120 by January 2008....

 and 8 miles south of Granger. Taylor is about 29 miles northeast of Austin.

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 13.6 square miles (35.1 km²), of which, 13.5 square miles (35.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.22%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 15,191 people and approximately 5,300 households in the city. The population change between 2000 and 2010 was 11.9% (while the overall population change for the State of Texas was 20.6%).

The racial makeup of the city was 71.7% White, 10.2% African American, 1.2% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 42.8% of the population.

7.7% of the population was under 5 years old, 27.5% were under 18 years old, and 11.9% were 65 years old or older.

The percent of high school graduates at age 25+ between the years 2005 and 2009 was 75.9%. The percentage of the population having a bachelor's degree or higher, age 25 or more, between the years of 2005 and 2009 was 17.6%.

The Per-Capita Income of $18,859 was lower than the State average of $24,318, and the Median Household Income of $41,814 was lower than the State average of $48,199. The percentage of persons living at or below the poverty level in 2009 as 15.4%.

Education

As of 2011, Taylor Independant School District is ranked 634th of 953 Texas school districts, and Taylor High School is ranked 850th of 1517 Texas public high schools, placing both the school district and the high school in the bottom one-third of Texas schools. 17.6% of Taylors population has an educational level of bachellors degree or higher, somewhat lower than the 25.4% Statewide average.

Transportation

  • Taylor (Amtrak station)
    Taylor (Amtrak station)
    The Taylor Amtrak station is a train station in Taylor, Texas, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. The unstaffed station consists of a small pavilion with picnic tables and shares a plot of land with a Union Pacific Yard Office.Of the 19 Texas stations served by...

    The Amtrack station at Taylor is a platform only, with no restrooms, no ticket office, no lounge, no ATM and no WiFi.

External links

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