Stafford is a city in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, in the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in

Fort Bend County Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days. Th ...

, with a small part in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, Stafford's population was 17,666, down from 17,693 at the 2010 census.

History

William Stafford established a plantation with a cane mill and a horse-powered

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

in 1830. On April 15, 1836, during the Texas Revolution, the forces of

Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...

stopped at Stafford's plantation and ordered it burned. Stafford rebuilt his plantation and resided there until his 1840 death. A settlement called "Stafford's Point" was established around the plantation; it became a townsite in August 1853, when the

Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway (B.B.B.C. or B.B.B. & C.), also called the Harrisburg Road or Harrisburg Railroad, was the first operating railroad in Texas. It completed its first segment of track between Harrisburg, Texas (now a ...

began stopping there. Stafford's Point had a post office from 1854 to 1869. "Staffordville" had a post office from January 5 to February 26, 1869. The settlement, now known as Stafford, operated a post office from 1869 to 1918; the post office reopened in 1929. In 1884, Stafford had 50 residents, two general stores, and a grocer. By 1896, it had a population of 300. By 1914, the population fell to 100. In 1931, 320 people lived in Stafford. This increased to 400 in 1946. Stafford incorporated as a city in 1956.

Geography

Stafford is in eastern Fort Bend County at (29.624186, –95.563359). A small part of the city extends northeast into Harris County. It is bordered by

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

to the north, Meadows Place to the northwest,

Sugar Land Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around ...

to the west, and Missouri City to the south and east. The Southwest Freeway (

Interstate 69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, ...

) passes through northwest Stafford, leading northeast to the center of Houston and southwest to Rosenberg. U.S. 90 Alternate passes through Stafford as Main Street, leading west to Sugar Land and northeast to the Houston

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. 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 th ...

, Stafford has an area of , of which is land and , or 0.58%, is water.

Climate

Stafford's climate 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, nota ...

system, Stafford has a

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° ...

, ''Cfa'' on climate maps.

Extraterritorial jurisdiction

Stafford has two areas of extraterritorial jurisdiction. They are within the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

, including an area at

Beltway 8 Beltway 8 (BW8), the Sam Houston Parkway, along with the Sam Houston Tollway, is an beltway around the city of Houston, Texas, United States, lying entirely within Harris County. Beltway 8, a state highway maintained by the Texa ...

and Stafford Road and another area between Beltway 8 and Murphy Road. One area within the

Alief Independent School District Alief Independent School District is a school district that is based in southwest Houston, Texas, United States. Alief ISD, which covers of land, covers a small portion of southwest Houston and parts of unincorporated Harris County. In Hous ...

is next to the City of Meadows Place along Interstate 69/ U.S. Route 59. Areas in the

Fort Bend Independent School District The Fort Bend Independent School District, also known as Fort Bend ISD or FBISD, is a school district system in the U.S. state of Texas based in the city of Sugar Land. The district spans covering almost all of the city of Sugar Land, the ci ...

include part of Fifth Street and an area around U.S. Route 90 Alternate, Dulles Avenue, and Avenue E. The City of Stafford has avoided annexing these areas, because doing so would give it territory in school districts other than the

Stafford Municipal School District Stafford Municipal School District (SMSD) is a school district based in Stafford, Texas, United States in Greater Houston. The district covers all of the city of Stafford and is controlled by the city, making it the only school district in ...

(SMSD) and the city wants its city limits and the SMSD to have the same area. The SMSD cannot annex these areas without the other school districts' permission.

Demographics

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 off ...

, there were 17,666 people, 6,042 households, and 4,335 families residing in the city. As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, 17,693 people, 6,750 households, and 4,483 families resided in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 2,527.6 people per square mile (867.4/km). The 7,074 housing units averaged 1010.6 per square mile (353.5/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 36.6% White, 27.4% African American, 0.6% Native American, 22.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 9.3% some other race, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 25.9% of the population. Of the 6,750 households, 33.2% had children under 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were not families. About 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals living alone, and 4.8% of individuals living alone were 65 or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.25. In the city, the population was distributed as 24.8% under 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 7% 65 or older. The median age was 31.9. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 90.9 males. The median income for a household was $61,084, and for a family was $63,244. Males had a median income of $46,023 versus $40,549 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

was $27,082. About 6.3% of families and 9.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 10.4% of those under 18 and 9.3% of those 65 or older.

Economy

Stafford has not had a municipal property tax since 1995. Though it is known as a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

of the greater Houston area, an estimated four times as many people work in Stafford on a weekday, which is evidence of the large amount of commercial activity that helps the city financially. Many corporations large and small, including the

United Parcel Service United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has grown t ...

and Tyco, maintain significant operations in Stafford. Originally, Stafford was an agricultural community. As of 2009, it has operations from commercial, manufacturing, retail, service, and wholesale industries that pay sales and franchise taxes to the city. Stafford is known internationally for attracting valve manufacturing companies; it has 11. Stafford has 15 business parks, a shopping center, and 19 hotels and motels.

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globa ...

(TI) operates a production facility in Stafford, where it manufactures wafers used in cell phones, high-definition televisions, and solar devices. The plant first opened in 1967.Sixel, L.M.
TI to close Stafford plant, move 500 jobs to N. Texas
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

''. Monday January 23, 2012. Retrieved on January 24, 2012. In 2009, TI, which had around 1,500 employees in its Stafford office that year, was the city's largest employer. In 2012, the company announced it was closing its Stafford plant because industry demand for larger, more efficient wafers increased and the company, in lieu of upgrading the Stafford plant to accommodate production of larger wafers, opted to shift production to newer plants. Of the 1,000 employees at the plant during that year, TI laid off 500 and sent 500 to another facility. Mayor Leonard Scarcella said the closure would adversely affect Stafford. About 15 years ago, TI comprised about 25% of the city's economy and by 2012, it stood at about one-tenth of that, or 2.5%. Some jobs at the plant were scheduled to end in July 2012. Other jobs were scheduled to remain until the factory's closure in late 2012. TI said it planned to open another facility in

greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...

for the 500 remaining employees. In 2012, TI announced that it was relocating its Fort Bend County operations to the Telfair area in Sugar Land.

Parks and recreation

About of greenspace in Stafford are designated as municipal parks. Stafford City Park, the largest, covers of land. The park includes baseball and softball fields, basketball courts, a pavilion, playground equipment, picnic benches, and soccer (football)/open fields. Gordon Fountain Lake Park, covering , is Stafford's second-largest park. It has a 1/2-mile, lighted, jogging trail, a lake, a pavilion, picnic benches, and playground equipment. The Vaccaro Manor Park has a lighted, quarter-mile jogging trail, a pavilion, playground equipment, sidewalks, and soccer/open fields. The Rubin Park has playground equipment and picnic benches. First Street Park has of land and includes baseball/softball fields, a jogging trail, lighting, and picnic benches. The Margaret Havens Historical Memorial Garden is next to Stafford City Hall. Its rose garden, benches, and fountain have attracted many couples to marry there. Stafford operates a Civic Center and a City Pool in the Municipal Complex. City residents pay $10 a year for pool access. The Stafford Centre Performing Arts Theatre and Convention Centre has a 1,100-seat performing arts theater; 25,000 square feet of meeting, banquet, and exposition space, including a 20,000-ft² ballroom; and over 28 acres of outdoor festival green space. Fort Bend County operates the Stafford Community Center in Fifth Street, an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

near Stafford. In 2014 the

Youth Cricket Club, a children's

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

club, was established. In 2016 it played its home games at

Everest Academy Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...

in Stafford.

Government and infrastructure

Local government

The City of Stafford stopped levying nonschool property taxes in 1995. It is the only Houston-area city and the most populous city in Texas to do so. Sales and franchise taxes from businesses fund the city.Lee, Renée C.
Property tax set at zero seems to suit Stafford
" ''

''. June 7, 2009. Retrieved on June 10, 2009. From 1969 to 2020, Stafford's mayor was Leonard Scarcella. By 2018, he was the longest-serving mayor in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. On June 28, 2020, Scarcella died at age 79. In December 2020, Cecil Willis was elected mayor. The Stafford City Hall, Stafford Police Department, and Municipal Court buildings are on South Main, adjacent to one another. The Stafford Volunteer Fire Department operates out of three fire stations. The city is governed by its Home Rule Charter, which resembles the

US Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...

. The Charter Review Commission reviews the charter every five years. The most recent review was in 2018. The commission consisted of: Ash Hamirani Jonathan Montoya Hector Acevedo Christeen Seymour Lawrence Vaccaro, Jr. Vice Chairperson Ettienne Zak Chairperson Robert Sorbet

County, state, and federal representation

Stafford is partly in

and partly in Harris County. Residents pay property taxes to their respective counties. Harris County Precinct One, headed by Commissioner

Rodney Ellis Rodney Glenn Ellis (born April 7, 1954) is an American politician. He represented Texas' 13th state senate district in the Texas Senate from 1990 to 2017. The district contains portions of Harris County, including downtown Houston, and Fort B ...

, serves the section of Stafford in Harris County. Much of Stafford is in

District 26 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

. As of 2012, Charlie Howard represents the district. Some of Stafford is in District 27 of the

. As of 2012, Ron Reynolds represents the district. Most of Stafford is in District 13 of the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...

, represented by Borris L. Miles. Some of Stafford is in

District 17 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

of the

, represented by Joan Huffman. StaffordPOTX

Stafford is in Texas's 22nd congressional district. As of 2021,

Troy Nehls Troy Edwin Nehls (born April 7, 1968) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who is the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district. From 2013 to 2021, he served as the sheriff for Fort Bend County, Texas. Ne ...

represents the district. The U.S. Postal Service operates the Stafford Post Office. Some locations in Houston have Stafford mailing addresses. Fort Bend County does not have a

hospital district Hospital is a district of the San José canton, in the San José province of Costa Rica. It is one of the four administrative units that form San José downtown properly. The district houses, along with Merced district, the main commercial ac ...

. OakBend Medical Center serves as the county's charity hospital which the county contracts with. Harris County has a hospital district, Harris Health.

Media

The '' Fort Bend Star'', a weekly newspaper, is headquartered in Stafford. The ''

'' is the area's newspaper of record.

Culture

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS; ) is a Hindu denomination within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. It was formed in 1905 by Yagnapurushdas (Shastriji Maharaj) following his conviction that Swaminarayan remained present o ...

is in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Fort Bend County, Texas Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days. Th ...

, within the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of Stafford and with a Stafford mailing address.

Education

Colleges and universities

Stafford MSD (and therefore the city) is served by the

Houston Community College System Houston Community College (HCC), also known as Houston Community College System (HCCS) is a Public college, public community college system that operates community colleges in Houston, Texas, Houston, Missouri City, Texas, Missouri City, Greater ...

. The HCCS Southwest College includes the Stafford Campus at 10041 Cash Road. In spring 2012, the enrollment at the Stafford Campus was 8,139.

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

The city has the only municipal

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, w ...

(

) in all of Texas. In 1977, Stafford broke away from the

(FBISD), which caused several rounds of federal litigation; by 1981, it was declared that the

was constitutional. Almost all of Stafford was in FBISD, with a minuscule portion in the

. All of Stafford is now zoned to the Stafford Municipal School District, Texas's only municipal

controlled by the city. Residents pay property taxes to the school district. When most of Stafford was a part of FBISD, Staffordshire Elementary was in Stafford. Staffordshire housed Black students in grades 1–4. Black secondary school students attended the

M.R. Wood School M. R. Wood Alternative Education Center (MRW), also known as the M. R. Wood Center for Learning, was an alternative school in Sugar Land, Texas and a part of the Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD). It was in proximity to the Imperial Sug ...

in Sugar Land. At the time FBISD formed in 1959, white students could attend one of two elementary schools, and they attended a middle school in Sugar Land and a high school site in Missouri City; the latter two sites now house Lakeview Elementary School and Missouri City Middle School.

Dulles High School John Foster Dulles High School, more commonly known as Dulles High School, is a high school in Sugar Land, Texas. It was the first site purchase and new build, in the 1950s, of the newly formed Fort Bend Independent School District, which held it ...

became the high school for white students in FBISD. In September 1965 Fort Bend ISD desegregated and Staffordshire School closed.History
"

. Retrieved on July 20, 2017. Staffordshire students were reassigned to E. A. Jones Elementary School in Missouri City. Dulles Junior High School served as FBISD's sole junior high school from March 1965 to August 1975. Dulles High became the only zoned high school for students of all races in FBISD until Willowridge High School in Houston opened in 1979.

Private schools

Everest Academy (Pre-K–5), a school of the Darul Arqam Schools, is in Stafford. Sugar Creek Montessori School also has a campus in Stafford.

Public libraries

Fort Bend County Libraries' Mamie George Branch is in

, on Dulles Avenue next to Dulles Middle School. The Mamie George Library, a library designed by Wylie W. Vale and Associates, opened in November 1974. It was named after Mamie George, a philanthropist from Fort Bend County. The George Foundation donated funds for the building, and the

donated the land the library was built on. The library was renovated in 1991. In 1996 the small-business-center materials were moved from the Missouri City Branch to the Mamie George Branch.Mamie George Branch Library
" Fort Bend County Libraries. Retrieved on May 14, 2010.

Gallery

File:StaffordMunicipalCourt.JPG, Stafford Municipal Court File:StaffordPoliceDepartment.JPG, Stafford Police Department, part of the J.C. "Buster" Public Safety Complex File:FireStation1StaffordTexas.JPG, Fire Station No. 1, part of the J.C. "Buster" Court Public Safety Complex File:StaffordNorthsideFireStation.JPG, Northside Fire Station File:StaffordCentreStaffordTX.JPG, Stafford Centre for the Performing Arts File:StaffordPOTX.JPG, Stafford Post Office

References

External links

City of Stafford official website
* * Muck, Patti.
Stafford, railroad on divergent tracks/1st Texas town to see a train balks at Southern Pacific's "dual' plan
" ''

''. Sunday July 31, 1994. C1. {{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Harris County, Texas Cities in Fort Bend County, Texas Greater Houston