Friendswood, Texas
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Friendswood 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 so ...
of
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. It is part of the
Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...
metropolitan area. The city lies in
Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
and Harris counties. As of the 2020 census, the population of Friendswood was 41,213.


History

Friendswood, situated in the northwestern corner of Galveston County, has the distinction of being the only permanent town in Texas that started as a Quaker colony. It was established in 1895 by a group of Quakers led by T. Hadley Lewis and Frank J. Brown. They were looking for a "promised land" to start a colony of the people who belonged to the religious denomination called Friends or Quakers. From its founding, life in Friendswood revolved around church and school. After the small church and school building was demolished in the 1900 Storm, the two-dozen families living in Friendswood erected a large two-story frame structure for their church and school. The building, called The Academy, housed the school and sanctuary until a larger, stone building replaced it. Through the 1940s, Friendswood was predominately a small, remote, farming Quaker community with less than 500 citizens. The economy depended largely on growing and preserving Magnolia figs. After 1950, it became increasingly a suburban bedroom community, as Houstonians discovered the idyllic country setting the farmlands were converted to subdivision home-sites. The community became a city when it incorporated in 1960.


Geography

Friendswood is located at (29.512532, –95.197933). 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 covers a total area of , of which are land area and , or 0.69%, is covered by water.


Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 41,213 people, 13,540 households, and 10,427 families residing in the city. 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, 29,037 people, 10,107 households, and 8,085 families resided in the city. The population density was . The 10,405 housing units averagedensity of 495.0 per square mile (191.1/km). The racial makeup of the city was 90.09% White, 2.70% African American, 0.40% Native American, 2.39% Asian, 2.80% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 8.79% of the population. Of the 10,107 households, 43.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.5% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.0% were not families. About 17.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.23. In the city, the population was distributed as 30.0% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males. In 2010, the median income for a household was $115,439 and for a family was $128,898. Males had a median income of $67,084 versus $35,447 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 $39,515. About 2.3% of families and 3.3% 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 3.4% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.


Government and infrastructure

Friendswood City Hall is located at 910 South Friendswood Drive. The Friendswood Post Office is located at 310 Morningside Drive. Some locations in the City of Houston have Friendswood mailing addresses. NASA astronaut Michael Foreman was elected mayor in 2018.


Economy

The Baybrook Mall is physically located in the City of Houston, but has a Friendswood mailing address.


Education


Primary and secondary schools


Public schools

Students in Friendswood attend schools in either Friendswood Independent School District (FISD) if they live south of Clear Creek (Galveston County), or Clear Creek Independent School District (CCISD) if they live north of Clear Creek (Harris County). The CCISD portion is within the Board of Trustees District 4, represented by Stuart J. Stromeyer as of 2008. Cline Elementary School, Westwood Elementary School, Bales Intermediate School, and Windsong Intermediate School serve the FISD portion of Friendswood. All FISD residents are zoned to Friendswood Junior High School and Friendswood High School. CCISD students from Friendswood attend Wedgewood Elementary School in Friendswood, and Brookside Intermediate School in Friendswood. Most residents of CCISD Friendswood are zoned to
Clear Brook High School Clear Brook High School is a secondary school located in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, with a Friendswood postal address. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, had its first graduating class in 1991. The school opened in 1988, ...
in unincorporated Harris County, while some residents of CCISD Friendswood are zoned to
Clear Springs High School Clear Springs High School (CSHS) is an American public high school located in League City, Texas. It is one of seven high schools in the Clear Creek Independent School District (CCISD). The school opened in 2007 serving most of League City we ...
in League City. Students who live in the area around Friendswood, but are in unincorporated Harris County with address listed as Friendswood or Webster attend Greene Elementary School or Landolt Elementary School in unincorporated Harris County for elementary schools. For middle school they are zoned to Westbrook Intermediate School in Houston.


Public libraries

The Friendswood Public Library at 416 South Friendswood Drive serves Friendswood.


Colleges and universities

The Friendswood ISD area is assigned to College of the Mainland, while the portion of Clear Creek ISD in Harris County (and therefore the Harris County part of Friendswood) is assigned to San Jacinto College.


Controversy

In 2011, the City of Friendswood locked access to its computer system, e-mail and online services after hackers extracted hundreds of emails from then Police Chief Robert Wieners and posted them online. Wieners allegedly wrote an e-mail in which he described a suspect as a “stupid bitch” who “got what she deserved.” Wieners then goes on to state “I’ll bet she was fat and black too.” Wieners denied he was the creator of the e-mail. The hackers also claimed Wieners' e-mail account contained an anti-Muslim chain e-mail entitled “1,400 years of inbreeding amongst
Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
.”


Notable people

* Greg Bonnen, neurosurgeon and Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from Friendswood * Stephen Bowen,
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
astronaut and a
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
submariner. * Katie Rose Clarke, Broadway actor, famous for the roles of Clara in '' Light in the Piazza'', Glinda in '' Wicked'', and Hannah in ''
Allegiance An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed, or freely committed, by the people, subjects or citizens to their state or sovereign. Etymology The word ''allegiance'' comes from Middle English ' (see Medieval Latin ', "a liegance"). The ...
'' * Haley Carter, former Houston Dash soccer player * Robin Coleman, ''American Gladiator'' Hellga, 2001 World's Strongest Woman (bronze) * Charles L. Cotton, president of the
National Rifle Association of America The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
(NRA) * Penny Edwards, actress known for many
western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
films; died in Friendswood * R'Bonney Gabriel, beauty queen, model, fashion designer,
Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...
2022 * Joseph Gutheinz, attorney and investigator of stolen and missing Moon rocks * Suzanna Hupp, former member of the Texas House of Representatives * Corey Julks, MLB player * Christopher C. Kraft Jr., aerospace engineer and NASA administrator *
Glynn Lunney Glynn Stephen Lunney (November 27, 1936 – March 19, 2021) was an American NASA engineer. An employee of NASA since its creation in 1958, Lunney was a flight controller, flight director during the Project Gemini, Gemini and Project Apollo, Apo ...
, NASA flight director * Bill McArthur, retired United States Army colonel and NASA astronaut * Balor Moore, former MLB pitcher resides in Friendswood * Ronnie Price, NBA basketball player *
Bruce Prichard Bruce Prichard (born March 7, 1963) is an American professional wrestling executive, booker, and producer and a former manager, commentator, and occasional professional wrestler who works for WWE as Executive Director - CWT. In addition to ...
, executive director for
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
and co-host of '' Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard'' * Ryan Sitton, Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission in the November 4, 2014,
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
*
Deke Slayton Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton (March 1, 1924 – June 13, 1993) was an American Air Force pilot, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts. He went on to become NASA's first Chief of the Astronaut O ...
,
Mercury Seven The Mercury Seven were the group of seven astronauts selected to fly spacecraft for Project Mercury. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. Their names were publicly announced by NASA on April 9, 1959: Scott ...
astronaut and NASA administrator * Rene Steinke, novelist and author of Friendswood (novel) * Steve Stockman, politician *
Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 194 ...
, and spouse Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman – professional wrestling personalities *
Larry Taylor Samuel Lawrence Taylor (June 26, 1942 – August 19, 2019) was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of the blues rock band Canned Heat. Before joining Canned Heat, he had been a session musician, session bassist for T ...
, Republican member of the
Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...
from District 11 (2013–Present) and
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. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...
from District 24 (2003–2013)


Climate and weather

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 divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
, Friendswood has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
, ''Cfa'' on climate maps.Climate Summary for Friendswood, Texas
/ref> Friendswood has a historical reputation among Friends, Friendswood inhabitants, for extreme weather due to the close proximity to Galveston Island and therefore the Gulf of Mexico. In recent history Friendswood was devastated by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, a category 4 hurricane, along with Hurricane Beryl of 2024. After numerous major storms swept through southeastern Texas, where Friendswood is located, residents began building houses above ground to avoid flooding. Major flooding is caused by the rise of Clear Creek, a body of water near the suburbs of Polly Ranch.


Legacy

The 2014 novel '' Friendswood'', set in the area, was written by René Steinke.


References


External links


City of Friendswood official website
*
Friendswood Public Library
{{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Galveston County, Texas Cities in Harris County, Texas Greater Houston