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 The Adopt-a-Highway program, and the very similar Sponsor-a-Highway, are promotional campaigns undertaken by U.S. states, provinces and territories of Canada, and some national governments outside North America to encourage volunteers to keep ...

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 U.S. Route 69 (US 69) is a major north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's southern terminus (as well as ...

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 The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

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 The Texas Rose Festival, a three-day event held annually in Tyler, Texas, celebrates the role of the rose-growing industry in the local economy. The festivities, taking place during the third weekend of October, draw thousands of tourists to the cit ...

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 Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completio ...

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 Synthesizers.com is an American company based in Tyler, Texas, founded by engineer Roger Arrick (also a designer of robots), which manufactures analog modular synthesizers for music and sound-effect creation. Products Synthesizers.com modular syn ...

. 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 Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

, and Walmart. Tyler is also home to the

Caldwell Zoo The Caldwell Zoo is an zoo located in the city of Tyler, Texas. It features animals from all over the world. The Caldwell Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquar ...

and

Broadway Square Mall Broadway Square (also referred to as Broadway Square Mall) is a shopping mall located in Tyler, Texas. The mall primarily serves the city of Tyler and the surrounding East Texas area. One of only two major malls in East Texas, the mall serves vis ...

History

Legal recognition of Tyler was initiated by an act of the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

on 11 April 1846. The Texas government created Smith County and authorized a county seat. The first plat designated a 28-block town site centered by a main square within a tract acquired by Smith County on 6 February 1847. The new town was named for President John Tyler, who advocated for the annexation of Texas by the United States. A log building on the square's north side served as a courthouse and public meeting hall until a brick courthouse displaced it in . On 29 January 1850, Tyler was incorporated. Early religious and social institutions included the First Baptist church and a Methodist church, a Masonic lodge and an Odd Fellows lodge, and Tyler's first newspaper. Though Tyler's early economy from – was based on agriculture, it was also well-diversified during this period. Logging was a second major industry, while complementary manufacturing included metalworking, milling wood, and leather tanning. As the seat of Smith County, the town also benefited from government activity. The local agricultural economy relied on slave labor before the Civil War. In 1860, the population of enslaved people in Smith County was 4,982, the 4th most in east Texas. By 1860, Tyler held over 1,000 enslaved persons, which represented 35 percent of the town's population. There was strong support for secession and the

Confederacy Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

within Tyler, as a high percentage of its residents voted for secession and many of its men joined the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. The town was secure enough for the Confederate States of America to establish the largest ordinance plant in Texas. In 1870, Bonner and Williams established Tyler's first bank. Though both the Texas and Pacific Railroad and the International Railroad (Texas) eschewed routes through Tyler, the town gained an important rail connection when the Houston and Great Northern built a branch line in 1874. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, fruit orchards emerged as an important business in the regional economy. Eighty percent of the county's agricultural revenue derived from cotton as it persisted as the dominant crop in the first decades of the twentieth century. Peaches were the principal fruit crop as the county fruit tree inventory surpassed one million by 1900. Disease struck the peach trees, though, and local farmers moved toward growing roses by the 1920s. Twenty years later, most of the U.S. rose supply originated in the Tyler area. On 29 October 1895, an African American suspect named Robert Henry Hillard was burned at the stake in the Smith County Courthouse Square for the alleged murder of a nineteen-year-old white woman.E. R. Bills. ''Black Holocaust: The Paris Horror and a Legacy of Texas Terror''. Fort Worth, Texas: Eakin Press, 2015 Denied a trial and due process, Hillard was taken from law enforcement personnel by a white mob. Hillard's executioners were never punished. Later, two entrepreneurs combined photographs from the actual lynching with others staged with actors and sold the 16-image production as a stereographic set. One of the original sets sits in the United States Library of Congress. In 1912, Dan Davis, an African-American man suspected of attacking a sixteen-year-old white girl named Carrie Johnson, was burned at the stake in the Smith County Courthouse Square. In , the University of Texas system established the University of Texas at Tyler and

opened in . By 1980, the population grew to 70,508 and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tyler and East Texas Islamic Society were established in the following years. During the

2010 East Texas church burnings In January and February 2010, 10 churches were burned in East Texas. Two local men, Jason Bourque and Daniel McAllister, were arrested, pleaded guilty and were jailed indefinitely. Timeline * January 1 – Little Hope Baptist Church, Canton – ...

, two Tyler churches were destroyed, and historic preservation city planning began in 2016 as the population increased and the city continued development.

Geography

Tyler is located at and is above sea level. The city of Tyler is in the Southern United States, in Northeast Texas. It is sometimes considered part of the wider Ark-La-Tex region where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. The city is approximately from Longview; from Marshall; from Dallas; from Texarkana; from the state capital of

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

; and from

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. Tyler is the county seat of Smith County, and is surrounded by many suburban communities, including Whitehouse, Lindale, New Chapel Hill,

Bullard Bullard is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alan Bullard (born 1947), British composer * Bill Bullard Jr. (1943-2020), American politician * Charles W. Bullard, 19th-century American criminal * David Bullard (born 1952), Sout ...

, Edom, Brownsboro, Kilgore, Flint, and

Chandler Chandler or The Chandler may refer to: * Chandler (occupation), originally head of the medieval household office responsible for candles, now a person who makes or sells candles * Ship chandler, a dealer in supplies or equipment for ships Arts ...

. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and is covered by water. Tyler is the principal city of the Greater Tyler metropolitan area, and a principal city in the Tyler–Longview area, a

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...

of the Tyler and Longview metropolitan and combined statistical areas.

Cityscape

Tyler has a modest skyline and downtown area. Its downtown has a unique rustic architecture, mainly in Art Deco and neoclassical styles. Many architectural structures in central Tyler date from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Modernist and postmodernist era structures are also present throughout the cityscape. Central Tyler is anchored by Brick Streets Historic District and Charnwood Residential Historic District, areas characterized by dense retail, restaurants, nightlife, and historic landmarks. Brick Streets Historic District is the largest geographic area of Tyler. It encompasses 29 blocks and primarily consists of buildings constructed in the 1900s. The district area is predominantly residential though it sometimes serves as a mix-use district. Brick Streets Historic District has brick-paved streets and stone-lined drainage channels. Nearby, Charnwood is Tyler's first historic district. It comprises 12 blocks of late 19th and early 20th century architecture.

Climate

Tyler experiences weather typical of East Texas, which is unpredictable, especially in the spring. All of East Texas has the

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

typical of the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain,

hail Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...

, damaging winds and tornadoes occur in the area during the spring and summer months. Summer months are hot and humid, with maximum temperatures exceeding an average of 91 days per year, with high to very high relative average humidity. The record high for Tyler is , which occurred in . The record low for Tyler is , which occurred on 18 January 1930 and again on 16 February 2021 during the February 2021 North American cold wave.

Demographics

With a population of 2,423 at the

1880 United States census The United States census of 1880 conducted by the Census Bureau during June 1880 was the tenth United States census.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. When the U.S. Census Bureau released population estimates for 2021, Tyler was estimated to have a population of 107,192 as of July 1, 2021. 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. Overall, the city of Tyler is more affordable than nearby Dallas. A predominantly

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...

community, the city of Tyler had a

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

of $52,294 and

mean income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

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.

Race and ethnicity

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 105,995 people, 37,114 households, and 23,081 families residing in the city. 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 The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, 60.5% of the population identified as White Americans; by the 2018

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...

, they made up an estimated 49.4% of the total population. Since the 2020 census, Black and African Americans,

Asian Americans Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

multiracial Americans Multiracial Americans are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed race ancestry who self-identify with just one group culturally and socially (cf. the one-drop rule). In the 2010 Unite ...

, and people of some other racial or ethnic identity increased to form a total of 55,210 residents against the city's 50,785 non-Hispanic whites. At least 24,023 Tylerites were

Hispanic or Latino American Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

of any race as of 2020.

Religion

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception - Tyler, Texas 01

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 The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, 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 Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

. 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 The REC Diocese of Mid-America, with the Convocation of the West and Western Canada, is a Reformed Episcopal Church and an Anglican Church in North America diocese, since its foundation in 2009. The REC Diocese of Mid-America is distinct from a di ...

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) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

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.

Economy

Tyler, TX, Chamber of Commerce office IMG 0543

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. McWane, Inc. is one of the world's largest manufacturers of iron water works and plumbing products and one of America's largest privately owned companies. The company manufactures a host of different products including ductile iron pipe and fit ...

that produces soil and utility pipe products; Trane Technologies Inc., formerly a unit of American Standard Companies, which manufactures

air conditioners Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

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 A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

); 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 An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

for the

oil and gas industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest ...

; 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:

Recreation and tourism

Caldwell Zoo, Tyler, TX, Photo 2 IMG 0548

Annually, the

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 A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

, the coronation of the Rose Queen, and other civic events. The Rose Museum features the history of the Festival. Tyler is also home to

, several local museums, Lake Palestine, Lake Tyler, and numerous golf courses and country clubs. A few miles away in

Flint, Texas Flint is an unincorporated community in southeastern Smith County, Texas, United States. It lies along FM 2493, south of the city of Tyler, the county seat of Smith County. Its elevation is 522 feet (159 m). Although Flint is uninco ...

is The WaterPark @ The Villages, a year-round, indoor water park. There is also an "Azalea Trail" in Tyler, which consists of two officially designated routes within the city that showcase homes or other landscaped venues adorned with

azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

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. Tyler State Park, a few miles north of the city limits, attracts visitors with opportunities to camp, canoe, and paddle boat on the lake. Other available pastimes include

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

king,

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...

( motors allowed – 5 mph speed limit), boat

rentals Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the Tenement (law), tenant pays a flat rental amount and the land ...

, fishing, birding, hiking,

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

, hiking trails, lake swimming (in unsupervised swimming area), and

nature study The nature study movement (alternatively, Nature Study or nature-study) was a popular education movement that originated in the United States and spread throughout the English-speaking world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 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. Harvey Convention Center, the largest building at Tyler's fairgrounds is slated for demolition in August 2021. Lake Tyler was the location of the

HGTV Dream Home The HGTV Dream Home is the American cable network Home & Garden Television (HGTV)'s annual project house and sweepstakes, held since 1997. The sweepstakes commences with a January 1 television special showcasing the fully furnished, custom-built h ...

contest in 2005. The house helped to boost tourism and interest in the community and surrounding areas. It was subsequently sold at

public auction In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

in January 2008, for .

Historical

Tyler has a

Cotton Belt Railroad The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", is a former Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Ten ...

Depot Museum near the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

office. Individuals and business firms dedicated to discovering, collecting, and preserving data, records, and other items relating to the history of Smith County, Texas, founded The Smith County Historical Society, a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

non-profit organization, in 1959. The society operates a museum and archives in the former Carnegie Public Library building in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Tyler. Permanent museum exhibits include life-size dioramas of Smith County history, with topics ranging from the 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, and rare books. 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 Camp Ford was a POW camp near Tyler, Texas, during the American Civil War. It was the largest Confederate-run prison west of the Mississippi.

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 A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived ...

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 on Highway 271, north of Loop 323.

Sports

College and university teams

* University of Texas at Tyler Patriots (NCAA Division II) * Texas College Steers (HBCU) * Tyler Junior College Apaches (NJCAA)

Baseball teams

Tyler Elbertas The Tyler Elbertas was a South Central League baseball team based in Tyler, Texas, United States that played in 1912. They were the first known professional baseball team based in Tyler and until 1924, were the only team to ever come out of that ci ...

(1912) *

Tyler Trojans The Tyler Trojans were a minor league baseball team based in Tyler, Texas that played on-and-off from 1924 to 1950. The team played in the East Texas League (1924–1926, 1931, 1936–1940, 1946, 1949–1950), Lone Star League (1927–1929, 1947– ...

(1924–1929, 1931, 1935–1940, 1946–1950) * Tyler Sports (1932) * Tyler Governors (1933–1934) *

Tyler East Texans The Tyler East Texans were a minor league baseball team that played in the Big State League from 1951 to 1953. It was based in the United States city of Tyler, Texas. Under manager Bill Capps in 1952, the team won the league championship. It reac ...

(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 Tyler Football Club is a Semi-Pro American Soccer club based in Tyler, Texas that plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and United Premier Soccer League (UPSL), both who are fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. History Ab ...

(2016–Present)

Disc golf

* Tyler features fifteen

disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

courses and seven leagues, and the surrounding area features a total of thirty-six courses and seventeen leagues. For these reasons, users of the disc golf app

UDisc UDisc () is a disc golf app for scorekeeping, statistics, and discovery for smartphones and tablet computers running the Android or iOS operating system. The app is also compatible with Android's Wear OS and Apple Watch Apple Watch is a li ...

ranked Tyler as the third best disc golf destination in Texas and second best in the United States.

Government

Local government

According to the city's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $87.7 million in revenues, $101.7 million in expenditures, $49.2 million in total assets, $12.3 million in total liabilities, and $17.6 million in cash in investments. * McDonald Lorance, 1846 * William Bartlett, * ? * Oscar Burton, * Zeb J. Spruiell, * ? * Murph Wilson, 1967 * ? * Jack H. Halbert, 1970–1976 * ? * Norman Shtofman, 1982–1984 * Smith Reynolds, Junior *

Kevin Eltife Kevin Paul Eltife (born March 1, 1959) is an American businessman and former politician from Tyler, Texas. A Republican, served in the Texas Senate from 2004 through 2017. He was sworn in on August 15, 2004, after winning a special election to r ...

* Joey Seeber, 2002–2008 * Barbara Bass, 2008–2014 * Martin Heines, 2014–2020 * Don Warren, 2020–present The Northeast Texas Public Health District is a political subdivision under the State of Texas established by the City of Tyler and Smith County. In place for nearly 70 years, the Health District became a separate entity in 1994, with an administrative Public Health Board. With a stated vision "To be the Healthiest Community in Texas", the district has a full-time staff of over 130 employees. The Health District has a broad range of services and responsibilities dedicated to their mission: "To Protect, Promote, and Provide for the Health of Our Community."

State government

Tyler May 2016 35 (Smith County Courthouse)

Tyler is represented in the Texas Senate by Republican Bryan Hughes, District 1, and in the Texas House of Representatives by Republican Matt Schaefer, District 6. The Texas Twelfth Court of Appeals is in Tyler. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Region I Parole Division Office and the Tyler District Parole Office in Tyler.

Federal government

The two U.S. senators from Texas are Republicans John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. Tyler is part of Texas's 1st congressional district, which is currently represented by Republican Louie Gohmert. The United States Postal Service operates several post offices in Tyler, including Tyler,

Azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

, Southeast Crossing, and the South Tyler Annex.

Education

John Tyler High School (Photo 2), Tyler, TX IMG 0554

Tyler May 2016 58 (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 The Health Science Center at UT Tyler (UT Tyler HSC) refers to the health science education branch of the University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler) academic campus on U.S. Highway 271. UT Tyler HSC was chartered in 1977 by the University of Texas ...

, 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 Tyler High School, formerly known as John Tyler High School, is a public, co-educational secondary school in Tyler, Texas. It is part of the Tyler Independent School District and serves 9th through 12th grade. In 2020, the Tyler I. S. D. 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 Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

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 The Whitehouse Independent School District is a school district in Whitehouse, Texas, Whitehouse, Texas, United States. In addition to Whitehouse, the district also serves some of the southeast Tyler, Texas, Tyler. In 2009, the 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 The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

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.

Media

Tyler has 24 media outlets and one newspaper. There are many others in the surrounding area.

Newspaper

* Tyler Morning Telegraph

Television

Radio

AM stations

FM stations

Healthcare

Hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

s in Tyler include UT Health Tyler,

Trinity Mother Frances Health System CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health System is a non-profit regional health care provider based in Tyler, Texas that operates eight hospitals and 82 clinic locations in East Texas. History In the early 1930s, the Sisters of The Holy Family of ...

, UT Health North Campus Tyler, and Texas Spine & Joint Hospital. There are also many clinics including the Direct Care Clinic.

Transportation

The most common form of transportation is the

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on Track (rail transport), rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of pe ...

. Tyler is a nexus of several major highways.

Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with Interstate 10, I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with Interstate 95, I-95 in Flo ...

runs along the north edge of the city going east and west,

U.S. Highway 69 U.S. Route 69 (US 69) is a major north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's southern terminus (as well a ...

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 U.S. Route 271 (US 271, US-271) is a north–south United States highway. Never a long highway, it went from bi-state route (Arkansas and Oklahoma) to a tri-state route (Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas). Its southern terminus is in Tyler, ...

, 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 in length.

Public transportation

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

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 Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...

bus service is available through a downtown terminal.

Air

Tyler Pounds Regional Airport offers service to and from

Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American ...

and

Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , it is the largest airport in ...

via American Eagle and

Frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...

, respectively. While American Eagle provides service with

Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace manufacturer that produces commercial, military, executive and agricultural aircraft, and provides aeronautical services. It was founded in 1969 in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, where i ...

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 The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", is a former Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Ten ...

, better known as "The Cotton Belt Route," with the city last being a stop on the unnamed successor to the ''

Morning Star Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to: Astronomy * Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise ** See also Venus in culture * Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...

'' between St. Louis and Dallas. This line later became part of the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

, 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.

Notable events

* Fragments of the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' landed near Tyler in 2003, following the

breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the termination of a relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a brea ...

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 ''Plyler v. Doe'', 457 U.S. 202 (1982), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States struck down both a state statute denying funding for education of undocumented immigrant children in the United States and an independent school distr ...

, which prohibited denying schooling to immigrant children, originated in the Tyler Independent School District. * The

Tyler courthouse shooting On February 24, 2005, a man shot his ex-wife and son outside the courthouse in Tyler, Texas, then engaged police and court officers in a shootout. David Hernandez Arroyo, Sr. opened fire in front of the courthouse with a Type 56S rifle, killing ...

occurred in 2005, when David Arroyo fatally shot his ex-wife and a man in the Tyler Square inside the Smith County Courthouse.

Notable people

Sister cities

Tyler's sister cities are: *

Lo Barnechea Lo Barnechea is a commune located in the northeastern zone of Santiago de Chile, northeastern sector of the province of Santiago and its area corresponds to 48% of this province. Its urban boundaries are: to the north with Los Andes, Chile, Los An ...

, Chile * Jelenia Góra, Poland *

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, Costa Rica * San Miguel de Allende, Mexico * Yachiyo, Japan

Notes

References

External links

City Of Tyler Website
Official City Website {{Authority control Cities in Texas County seats in Texas Cities in Smith County, Texas Cities in the Ark-La-Tex County seats in the Ark-La-Tex Populated places established in 1846 History of Tyler, Texas