Midlothian is a city in northwest

Ellis County, Texas Ellis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2020, its population was estimated to be 192,455. The county seat is Waxahachie. The county was founded in 1849 and organized the next year. It is named for Richard Ellis, pre ...

, United States. The city is southwest of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. It is the hub for the

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

industry in

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wo ...

, as it is the home to three separate cement production facilities, as well as a steel mill. The population of Midlothian grew by 121% between 2000 and 2010, to a population of 18,037.

History

In the early 1800s, settlements began to take place in the area that became Ellis County, but full colonization of this area was slow until 1846, when Sam Houston finalized peace treaties between several of the indigenous inhabitants of the region and the Republic of Texas. The earliest inhabitants of this area were the

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe indigenous to present-day Oklahoma. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the federally recognized Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. ...

people, but other tribes also hunted in this area, including the Anadarko,

Bidai The Bidai were a tribe of Atakapa Native Americans in the United States, Indians from eastern Texas.Sturtevant, 659 History Their oral history says that the Bidai were the original people in their region.Kickapoo, and

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

peoples. The future Ellis County area of the young Republic of Texas was known as the

Peters Colony Peters ColonyHarry E. Wade, "PETERS COLONY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/uep02), accessed May 15, 2015. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. (Peters' Colony ...

, named for a

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

-based land grant company consisting of English and American investors. The young Republic empresario grant program encouraged settlements in North Texas in 1857. The few settlers who lived in this region trapped animals and sold their pelts, and traded goods with the natives. The majority of Ellis County's original settlers came from the southern half of the United States. They arrived with their cultural and educational traditions, their methods of farming and care for farm animals, and for a few, their slaves. Some of the earliest settlers of the area were the families of William Alden Hawkins and Larkin Newton, who moved to the area in 1848. For Hawkins to claim his of land from the Peters Colony group, he was required to build a house on the property he chose along the mouth of Waxahachie Creek before July 1, 1848. The structure was built before the required deadline, and the land near the present-day Hawkins Spring went to the Hawkins family. For Larkin Newton, who moved his wife Mary and their eight children from

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, the same requirement was given. Larkin met the due date and became owner of his 640-acre claim. In 1903, William Alden Hawkins' grandson William Larkin Hawkins purchased land and built the William L and Emma Hawkins House, now listed as a

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL) is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the U.S. state of Texas. RTHL is a legal designation and the highest honor the st ...

. Ellis County was officially established by the Texas Legislature on December 20, 1849, in a bill sponsored by General Edward H. Tarrant, a popular Texas Ranger and Indian gunfighter during this period. Organized in February 1850, the county was carved out of Navarro County and likely named for Richard Ellis. In 1883, the name "Midlothian" was accepted by the local population. According to local legend, the area was named Midlothian when the Chicago, Texas, and Mexican Central railroads, which eventually connected

and Cleburne, arrived in the area and a homesick Scottish train engineer stated that the local countryside reminded him of his homeland in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, and the location served as the midpoint between Dallas and Cleburne, and between Ennis and Fort Worth. With the coming of the railroad, Midlothian grew and was incorporated in April 1888. One of the oldest churches in the city, the First United Methodist Church, was built in 1902, followed by the First Presbyterian Church, constructed in 1913. The Midlothian Cemetery contains headstones dating back to the 1870s. The St Paul Cemetery also stands outside of the city.

Geography

Midlothian is located in northwestern Ellis County at (32.480169, –96.989350). Adjacent cities are Cedar Hill to the north, Grand Prairie to the northwest,

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

to the southwest,

Waxahachie Waxahachie ( ) is the seat of government of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. Etymology Some sources state that the name means "cow" or "buffalo" in an unspecified Native American language. One possible ...

to the southeast, and Ovilla to the northeast. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, in 2010 the city had a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.28%, is covered by water. Midlothian's extraterritorial jurisdiction includes another .

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, Midlothian has a humid subtropical climate, ''Cfa'' on climate maps.

Demographics

Per 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 35,125 people, 10,462 households, and 8,817 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 census, the

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 362.5 people per square mile (76.6/km), with a total population of 18,037 people. The 6,138 housing units averaged 74.0 per square mile (28.6/km). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 88.5% White, 3.6% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.2% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 15.2% of the population. In 2020, its racial and ethnic makeup was 68.87% non-Hispanic white, 8.95% African American, 0.52% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.31% some other race, 4.14% multiracial, and 16.07% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Government

The city of Midlothian was incorporated in 1888, and on October 1, 1980, the city was granted a

home-rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

charter. Midlothian uses a council-manager form of government. The city council is composed of a mayor and six at-large council members elected by the citizenry.

Economy

Prior to 1929 and the Great Depression, a number of businesses flourished in the city. The two largest business enterprises centered around cotton and cattle-raising. The region was transformed in later years by the arrival of the cement industry. Midlothian became a prime area for cement quarrying due to the Austin Chalk Escarpment, a unique geological formation that runs north–south through the city. Three of the top-10 largest cement factories in the United States operate in the city: TXI (formerly Texas Industries),

Holcim Holcim is a Swiss-based global building materials and aggregates flagship division of the Holcim Group. The original company was merged on 10 July 2015 with Lafarge to form LafargeHolcim as the new company and renamed to Holcim Group in 202 ...

, and Ash Grove.

Gerdau Gerdau is the largest producer of long steel in the Americas, with steel mills in Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela. Currently, Gerdau has an installed capacity of 26 mill ...

Ameristeel, formerly Chaparral Steel, a large steel factory, is adjacent to TXI's cement plant. A large industrial park, Railport, is located along U.S. 67 on the southwestern side of the city. Railport is home to several distribution facilities including Target and

QuikTrip The QuikTrip Corporation, more commonly known as QuikTrip (QT), is an American chain of convenience stores based in Tulsa, Oklahoma that primarily operates in the Midwestern, Southern, and Southeastern United States as well as in Arizona. QuikT ...

. The north side of the city is host to MidTexas International Center's Auto Park, a large automobile distribution and processing center; and Texas Central Business Lines, a rail transload facility.

Top employers

According to Midlothian's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Education

Primary and secondary education

Primary and secondary education for the community is provided by the Midlothian Independent School District (MISD), which encompasses an area around . MISD conducts programs for kindergarten through grade 12 and employs roughly 850 employees. MISD has nine school campuses (six are elementary schools with grades K–5) with 461 teachers and an enrollment of 7,564 for the 2012–2013 school year. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16 to 1. MISD students have historically excelled in a number of extracurricular activities. At Midlothian High School, called the "Panthers", students have been awarded numerous times in agricultural problem-solvers competitions, and high-quality music organizations. The Midlothian High School baseball, soccer, and softball teams are often seen in the 5A playoff bracket. A $14,000,000 multipurpose athletic stadium was constructed in 2006. The second high school is Midlothian Heritage High School, as they compete in 4A for sports and extracurricular activities. They will be moved up to 5A for the 2022-2023 school year. Midlothian had two National Merit finalists in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Higher education

Higher education opportunities are also readily available in Midlothian. On April 25, 2012, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the establishment of a multi-institutional teaching center (MITC) in Midlothian known as the Midlothian Higher Education Center (MHEC). As one of only nine MITCs in Texas, the MHEC is a partnership consisting of Navarro College-Midlothian, Tarleton State University, Texas A&M University-Commerce, and University of North Texas-Dallas. The collaboration between the four institutions provides area students the ability to complete baccalaureate and graduate degree programs at Navarro College's Midlothian campus.

Transportation

Midlothian is located at the junction of U.S. Highway 67 and U.S. Highway 287. The city's location provides easy access to an important ground transportation network consisting of interstate highways, U.S. highways, and state highways that connects Dallas, Fort Worth, the rest of the Metroplex, and the state. In May 2015, Padera Lake, located three miles northwest of Midlothian, was full from torrential rains. Water overflowing and cracks in an earthen dam gave rise to concerns that failure was imminent. If the dam failed, U.S. Route 287 could have been flooded with up to 15 ft of water, and some severe flooding in the north-flowing direction towards Joe Pool Lake. Relief efforts included pumping water from behind the dam, and disaster was averted.

MidWay Regional Airport

Located east of Midlothian is MidWay Regional Airport (JWY). Jointly operated by the cities of Midlothian and Waxahachie, MidWay Regional Airport is a corporate and general-aviation airport. It is a full-service

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...

offering maintenance, repair, rental, sales, servicing, flight planning, computerized weather, UNICOM, RCO, and AWOS. The airport opened in October 1992 to serve a rapidly growing area. An expansion project completed in January 2012 included a major terminal renovation.

Eagles Nest Estates Airport

Located 4 miles northeast of Midlothian is Eagles Nest Estates Airport (T56). The airport is in the Eagles Nest Estates Airport Community Neiborhood while it's privately owned by the Eagles Nest Property Association it is still open to the public. It has no ATC and it relies on pilot-to-pilot communication. The airport opened up in February of 1985 and not much else is known about the airport.

References

External links

City of Midlothian official website

Midlothian Economic Development official website
{{authority control Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Cities in Texas Cities in Ellis County, Texas