Bardwell is a city in

Ellis County, Texas Ellis County is a County (United States), 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, Texas, Waxahachie. The county was founded in 1849 and organized the nex ...

, United States. The population was 625 at the 2020 census.

Geography

Bardwell is located at the junction of State Highway 34 and Farm to Market Road 984 in southern Ellis County, southeast of Waxahachie. Highway 34 leads northeast to

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

and southwest to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Lake Bardwell is to the east. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

History

The community was settled in the early 1880s when the town's namesake, John W. Bardwell, built a

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 (); ...

one mile south of the present-day location. A school opened in 1892 and a post office was established in 1893. When the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway was routed through Ellis County in 1907, the gin and community were moved to the nearest stretch of track. The town had its own telephone system and electricity supplied by lines from

in 1914. Bardwell prospered throughout the 1920s as a cotton shipping point with three gins and six grocery stores. The population grew to 650 by 1929, but the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and a subsequent drought severely impacted the community. The main road was rerouted to the new State Highway 34 in the early 1940s and most of Bardwell's businesses either closed or moved to sites along the highway. In 1958, Bardwell's school consolidated with nearby Ennis. After dropping to a low of 277 during the 1970s, the population began to grow. By 1990, 387 people lived in Bardwell. That figure had grown to 583 by 2000.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 583 people, 167 households, and 139 families resided in the city. The population density was . The 176 housing units averaged 632.1 per square mile (242.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.58% White, 17.50% African American, 1.37% Native American, 18.52% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 47.51% of the population. Of the 167 households, 47.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.2% were not families. About 13.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.49 and the average family size was 3.86. In the city, the population was distributed as 37.7% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,250, and for a family was $35,000. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $16,250 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $10,666. About 26.5% of families and 24.7% 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 26.8% of those under age 18 and 35.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Bardwell is served by the Ennis Independent School District. The school district had an enrollment of 5,838 for the 2011–2012 school year.

References

External links

Ennis Independent School District
{{authority control Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Cities in Texas Cities in Ellis County, Texas Populated places established in 1892