Grand Prairie 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 ...

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 ...

, located in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Tarrant, and

Ellis Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. It has also been noted to be a Jewish surname. People with the surname include ...

counties with a small part extending into Johnson county. It is part of the

Mid-Cities The Mid-Cities is a suburban region filling the 30-mile (48 km) span between Dallas and Fort Worth. These communities include the cities of Arlington, Bedford, Colleyville, Coppell, Euless, Flower Mound, Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Haltom Cit ...

region in the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, ...

. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it the fifteenth most populous city in the state. Remaining the 15th-most populous city in Texas, the 2020 census reported a population of 196,100.

History

The city of Grand Prairie was first established as Dechman by Alexander McRae Dechman in 1863. He based the name of the town on

Big Prairie, Ohio Big Prairie is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in northwestern Ripley Township, Holmes County, Ohio, Ripley Township, Holmes County, Ohio, Holmes County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office with the ZIP code 44611, and i ...

. Prior to then, he resided in Young County near Fort Belknap. The 1860 U.S. Federal Census—Slave Schedules shows an A McR Dechman as having four slaves, ages 50, 25, 37 and 10. Dechman learned that he could trade his oxen and wagons for land in Dallas County. In 1863, Dechman bought of land on the eastern side of the Trinity River and of timber land on the west side of the river for a broken-down wagon, oxen team and

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

200 in

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

money. He tried to establish a home on the property, but ran into difficulties, so he returned to his family in Birdville before joining in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. In 1867, Dechman filed a town plat with Dallas County, consisting of . After the war, Dechman returned to Birdville for two years before selling that farm in 1867 and moving to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, where yellow fever broke out, causing the family to settle in

Bryan Bryan may refer to: Places in the United States * Bryan, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bryan, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Bryan, Ohio, a city * Bryan, Texas, a city * Bryan, Wyoming, a ghost town * Bryan County, Georgia * ...

. In 1876, Dechman traded half his "prairie" property to the T&P Railroad to ensure the railroad came through the town. The railroad named the depot "Dechman", prompting its namesake to relocate his home from Bryan to Dechman. His son Alexander had been living in Dechman and operating a trading post and farm. The first church in the area was the Good Hope Cumberland Sabbath School, established in 1870 by Rev. Andrew Hayter. The church was later renamed West Fork United Presbyterian Church and remains an active church. The first U.S.

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

opened in 1877 under the name "Deckman" rather than "Dechman", because the

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

could not read the writing on the form completed to open the post office. Later that same year, after the Postal Service had adopted the "Deckman" name, confusion resulted from the T&P Railroad designation "Grand Prairie". This name was based on maps drawn from around 1850 through 1858 that labeled the area between Dallas and Fort Worth "the grand prairie of Texas". In order to alleviate the confusion, the Postal Service named the post office "Grand Prairie". The town of Grand Prairie was eventually incorporated as a city in 1909. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and since, Grand Prairie has had a long history with the defense and aviation industry. While the present-day

Vought Vought was the name of several related American aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought-Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace (part of Ling-Temco-Vought), Vought Aircraft Companies, and Vought ...

plant on Jefferson Avenue is part of a small strip within the Dallas city limits, it was originally in Grand Prairie. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F- ...

Plant B produced the

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

and the P-51C and K Mustang variants. After the war, Vought Aircraft took over the plant. This later became

Ling-Temco-Vought Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) was a large American conglomerate which existed from 1961 to 2001. At its peak, it was involved in aerospace, airlines, electronics, steel manufacturing, sporting goods, meat packing, car rentals, and pharmaceuticals, ...

(LTV), then eventually returned to the Vought moniker. The plant was the production site for the

F-8 Crusader The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Vought. It was the last American fighter that had guns as the primar ...

and the

A-7 Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design wa ...

aircraft of the 1950–1989 time period. The LTV Missile and Space division produced missiles such as the

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

and

MLRS A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a vol ...

. This division was eventually sold to

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

, which continues to operate in Grand Prairie. Grand Prairie was also the North American headquarters for

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale () was a major French state-owned aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, defence corporation. It was founded in 1970 as () through the merger of three established state-owned companies: Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation ...

Helicopter. This company eventually became Airbus Helicopters, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of

Airbus Helicopters Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries, holding 48% of the wo ...

. In 1953, the mayor and city council of Grand Prairie attempted to annex nearly of then-unincorporated and largely undeveloped land in southern Dallas and Tarrant counties. Vehement debate ensued, and the legal pressure from cities such as

Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...

, Duncanville and Irving wound up overturning part of the annexation attempt.

Geography

Grand Prairie is located along the border between Tarrant and Dallas counties, with a small portion extending south into Ellis County. The city is bordered by

to the east, Cedar Hill and

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

to the southeast,

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

to the southwest,

to the west,

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

to the northwest, and Irving to the north. 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 , of which is land and , or 11.08%, is water. The West Fork of the Trinity River and a major tributary, Johnson Creek, flow through Grand Prairie. Grand Prairie has a long history of flooding from Johnson Creek. In the 1980s, a major Army Corps of Engineers project was begun to straighten the channel, which has reduced the damage of flooding.

Climate

Grand Prairie is part of the

humid subtropical 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 la ...

region.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 196,100 people, 62,679 households, and 46,391 families residing in the city.

Government

Local government

According to the city's 2007–2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $275.5 million in revenues, $236.4 million in expenditures, $1,003.2 million in total assets, $424.9 million in total liabilities, and $305.9 million in cash and investments.City of Grand Prairie CAFR
Retrieved 2009-07-16 The

Parkland Health & Hospital System The Dallas County Hospital District, doing business as Parkland Health, is the hospital district of Dallas County, Texas, United States. Its headquarters are in the Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.North Central Texas Council of Governments The North Central Texas Council of Governments or NCTCOG is a voluntary association of governments in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. As of 2023 its ranks currently include 16 counties, 169 cities, towns, and villages, 19 school districts, and ...

association, the purpose of which is to coordinate individual and collective local governments and facilitate regional solutions, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and enable joint decisions.

Federal representation

The Bureau of Prisons (BOP), of the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

runs the Grand Prairie Office Complex on the grounds of the

Grand Prairie Armed Forces Reserve Complex The Grand Prairie Armed Forces Reserve Complex or Grand Prairie AFRC (formerly Naval Air Station Dallas or Hensley Field) is a former United States Navy Naval Air Station located on Mountain Creek Lake in southwest Dallas. The installation was ...

. Within the complex the BOP operates the Designation and Sentence Computation Center (DSCC), which calculates federal sentences, keeps track of the statutory "good time" accumulated by inmates and lump sum extra "good time" awards, and detainers. The BOP South Central Office is also on the armed forces complex grounds.

Economy

According to the city's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were: Airbus Helicopters, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of

, has its headquarters in Grand Prairie. In 1978

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

announced that it would move its headquarters from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to the Dallas/Fort Worth area.American Airlines Finishes Moving into Headquarters Monday
" ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

'' at ''

Ocala Star-Banner The ''Ocala StarBanner'' is the daily newspaper in Ocala, Florida, United States, and serves Marion County and the surrounding communities. The ''Ocala StarBanner'' has a daily circulation of about 43,000, and is the 19th-largest newspaper in t ...

''. January 16, 1983. 6A. ''

Google News Google News is a news aggregator service developed by Google. It presents a continuous flow of links to articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. Google News is available as an app on Android, iOS, and the Web. Google ...

'' 4 of 62. Retrieved on August 27, 2009. The airline moved its headquarters into two leased office buildings in Grand Prairie. The airline finished moving into its

headquarters facility on January 17, 1983, when the airline left its Grand Prairie facility.

Attractions

* In 1997 Lone Star Park opened, where each Memorial Day the Thoroughbred Meeting is held, with seven stakes races worth just over $1 million. * In 2000 GPX Skate Park was opened next to Lone Star Park. It hosted the 2001 and 2002

X Games The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc. and aired on ESPN networks and ABC. In late 2022, ESPN sold the long-running property to MSP Sports Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Jahm Najafi and Jeff Mo ...

trials. The park closed in 2005 and was reopened in June 2006 by the Grand Prairie Parks and Recreation committee. *

The Theatre at Grand Prairie Texas Trust CU Theatre is an American concert hall located in Grand Prairie, Texas, west of Dallas and east of Fort Worth. It is near Lone Star Park and Grand Prairie Stadium. The theatre is currently operated by AEG and owned by the City of G ...

, previously The Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie, NextStage and Nokia Live, is in Grand Prairie, and it hosts concerts and other events. * Prairie Lights is a seasonal display, featuring more than three million lights on more than 500 lighted displays. * In 1973, Traders Village was opened off of Mayfield Road, and State Highway 360. It describes itself as the largest

flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

in Texas, open on weekends from 7 A.M. until dusk. * The

Grand Prairie AirHogs The Texas AirHogs were a professional baseball team based in Grand Prairie, Texas from 2008 to 2020. The AirHogs were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. B ...

minor league baseball team and their stadium, The Ballpark in Grand Prairie, were established in Grand Prairie in May 2007 and started play in May 2008. The team ceased operations after the 2020 season. * The Uptown Theatre in downtown Grand Prairie is a playhouse and venue for concerts. * The National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) bestowed its highest national award, the Gold Medal Award, to the Grand Prairie, Texas Parks and Recreation Department at the 2008 NRPA's Congress and Exposition in Baltimore. Grand Prairie, Texas won the award in the population group of 100,000-250,000, once again being a finalist for the award in 2016. * Located near I-30 and Beltline Rd, Turner Park became Grand Prairie's Heritage (first ever) Park back in the 1940s and features one of the top disc golf courses in North Texas. * Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark is one of the largest indoor waterparks in Texas. It opened January 2018 along with a recreation center nearby that opened later that year. The indoor waterpark is the third best in the nation according to

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

. * Ripley's Believe It Or Not / Louis Tussaud's Palace of Wax *The

Texas Super Kings The Texas Super Kings are an American professional Twenty20 cricket team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex that competes in Major League Cricket (MLC). The team's home ground is Grand Prairie Stadium. The stadium has a capacity of 7,2 ...

major league cricket team and their stadium, Grand Prairie Stadium, were established in Grand Prairie in May 2022. The team started play in July 2023.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Most of Grand Prairie's K–12 student population attends schools in the

Grand Prairie Independent School District Grand Prairie Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Grand Prairie, Texas, United States. GPISD is a district serving more than 26,600 students within the Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County portion of Grand Prairi ...

, which serves most areas of Grand Prairie in Dallas County.
Text list
/ref> The Mansfield Independent School District serves areas of Grand Prairie in Tarrant County and operates six elementary schools within the Grand Prairie city limits. Other portions of Grand Prairie reside within the

, Cedar Hill, Irving,

, and

school districts. Portions in Dallas County are in the Grand Prairie, Cedar Hill, and Irving school districts. Portions in Tarrant County extend into the Arlington and Mansfield school districts. Portions in Ellis County are in the Midlothian school district. In Texas, school district boundaries do not follow city and county boundaries because all aspects of the school district government apparatus, including school district boundaries, are separated from the city and county government entirely, with the exception of the

Stafford Municipal School District Stafford Municipal School District (SMSD) is a school district based in Stafford, Texas, 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 schoo ...

in the

Houston area 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 ...

=Grand Prairie Independent School District

=Arlington Independent School District

= The Arlington ISD has the second highest portion of Grand Prairie's K–12 student population. Six Arlington ISD elementary schools are within the city limits of Grand Prairie. Grand Prairie residents in the Arlington ISD are located generally west of the Dallas-Tarrant County boundary and north of the intersection of Camp Wisdom and Lake Ridge in southwest Grand Prairie. One of the Arlington high schools, James Bowie High, has more Grand Prairie residents than Arlington residents that are students at the school. Grand Prairie student/residents in the Arlington ISD attend Bowie,

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

, or Lamar High School in the Arlington ISD and their feeder elementary schools and junior high schools.

=Mansfield Independent School District

= The Mansfield ISD contains the third highest portion of the Grand Prairie's K–12 student population. Grand Prairie residents in the Mansfield ISD are located generally south of the intersection of Camp Wisdom and Lake Ridge, and west of Joe Pool Lake to the Tarrant and Ellis County line in southwest Grand Prairie. Three Mansfield ISD schools, Anna May Daulton Elementary; Louise Cabaniss Elementary; and Cora Spencer Elementary, are currently open within the city limits of Grand Prairie. The Mansfield ISD is the fastest growing ISD in Tarrant County, and the population growth in far southwest Grand Prairie is a major factor in the Mansfield ISD's subsequent growth. Grand Prairie students/residents in the Mansfield ISD attend

Mansfield Timberview High School Mansfield Timberview High School (THS) is a secondary school located in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is a Mansfield Independent School District campus. Its mascot is the wolf. Timberview High School was named an AVID National Demonstratio ...

Lake Ridge High School Lake Ridge High School is a secondary school located in Mansfield, Texas, serving grades 9-12. It is one of seven Mansfield Independent School District high schools. Its mascot is the eagle. Enrollment statistics As of the 2015-2016 school ye ...

or Mansfield High School in the Mansfield ISD or their feeder elementaries and middle schools. Timberview High School is located on State Highway 360 less than from the Grand Prairie city line.

Colleges and universities

Dallas County residents are zoned to

Dallas College Dallas College is a public community college with seven campuses in Dallas County, Texas. It serves more than 70,000 students annually in degree-granting, continuing education, and adult education programs. Dallas College offers associate degr ...

(formerly Dallas County Community College District or DCCCD). Tarrant County residents are zoned to Tarrant County Junior College. Ellis County residents are zoned to

Navarro College Navarro College is a public community college in Texas with its main campus in Corsicana and branches in Mexia, Midlothian, and Waxahachie. The college has an annual student enrollment of more than 9,000 students. The Corsicana campus has ...

Transportation

Interstate highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

s 20 and 30 run east–west through the northern and southern parts of the city.

Texas State Highway Texas state highways are a network of highways owned and maintained by the U.S. state of Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is the state agency responsible for the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the system. Texas h ...

s Spur 303 (named Pioneer Parkway) and

180 __NOTOC__ Year 180 ( CLXXX) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rusticus and Condianus (or, less frequently, year 933 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 180 ...

(Main Street) also run east–west in the northern and central portions of the city. SH 360 runs for almost three miles in the northwestern portion of city; most of the highway runs just west of the city limits in

. SH 161, named the President George Bush Turnpike, runs north–south through western Grand Prairie. The main lanes were opened in late 2012 with frontage roads open since 2010. Portions of the highway located north of SH 180 are depressed while the portion south of SH 180 runs at-grade then becomes elevated. Frontage roads remain at-grade throughout. The frontage road intersection at Main Street will open sometime in 2013. Belt Line Road is a major north–south thoroughfare in the city. The section of the road south of Main Street is dual-labelled as FM 1382, which travels south, past

I-20 I20, I 20 or I-20 may refer to: * Interstate 20, a highway in the southeastern United States * I-20 (form), a United States government document that provides supporting information for the issuance of a student visa or change of status * I-20 (rap ...

and continues south to Cedar Hill. The section of the road north of Main Street keeps its name, continuing north into Irving. The city declined membership in 1984. In April 2022, Grand Prairie launched "

Via Via or VIA may refer to the following: Arts and entertainment * ''Via'' (Volumes album), 2011 * Via (Thalia Zedek album), 2013 * VIA (music), Soviet and Russian term for a music collective Businesses and organisations * Via Foundation, a Cz ...

Grand Prairie", an "on-demand, shared public transportation" which connects to DART's

West Irving station West Irving station is a Trinity Railway Express commuter rail and bus station in Irving, Texas. It is located at Jackson Street near Esters Road and served Irving Mall with connecting bus service to Las Colinas Las Colinas is a mixed-use ...

. In the era of private operation of passenger trains prior to the onset of the

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

era in 1971,

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. However its lines never went we ...

trains such as the ''

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a long-distance passenger train operated daily by Amtrak on a route between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, with major stops in St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin. Three days per week, t ...

'' and the ''Louisiana Eagle'' made stops in Grand Prairie, on trips between

and

. Amtrak's ''

'' (Chicago-San Antonio) makes stops at

Dallas Union Station Dallas Union Station, officially Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station (or simply EBJ Union Station), also known as Dallas Union Terminal, is a large intermodal railroad station in Dallas, Texas. It is the third busiest Amtrak station in Texas, b ...

12 miles to the east.

Notable people

* Andre Akpan, soccer player *

Larry D. Alexander Larry Dell Alexander (born May 30, 1953) is an Americans, American artist, Christianity, Christian author and Catechist from Dermott, Arkansas, in Chicot County. Alexander is best known for his creations of elaborate colorful, and black & white ...

, artist and writer * Rodney Anderson, Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from Grand Prairie (2011–2013) *

Dimebag Darrell Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004), known professionally as Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal music, heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founde ...

, (1966–2004), musician, co-founder, and guitarist of

Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...

and

Damageplan Damageplan was an American heavy metal band from Dallas, Texas, formed in 2003. Following the demise of their previous group Pantera, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott wanted to start a new band. The pair recruited former Halfor ...

* Wesley Duke, professional football player *

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...

, singer, songwriter, and actressLauren Waterman (2009–05)
Selena Gomez: spell bound
''Teen Vogue''. Retrieved May 11, 2009. * Ruthe Jackson, council member *

Nets Katz Nets Hawk Katz is the W.L. Moody Professor of Mathematics at Rice University. He was a professor of mathematics at Indiana University Bloomington until March 2013 and the IBM Professor of Mathematics at the California Institute of Technology until ...

, 2012 Guggenheim Fellow and Professor of Mathematics at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private university, private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small g ...

Jud Larson Eugene Wesley "Jud" Larson (January 21, 1923 Grand Prairie, Texas – June 11, 1966 Reading, Pennsylvania) was an American racecar driver. Career Larson drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1956-1959 and 1964-1965 season ...

, auto racer *

Jennifer McFalls Jennifer Yvonne McFalls (born November 10, 1971) is an American, former collegiate All-American, gold-medal winning 2000 Sydney Olympics, Olympian softball player and current head coach originally from Grand Prairie, Texas. She is head of the Ka ...

, Olympic gold medalist and American softball coach *

Nikki McKibbin Katherine Nicole McKibbin (September 28, 1978 – November 1, 2020) was an American rock music singer-songwriter who finished third in the debut season of the reality television series ''American Idol''. Before ''American Idol'', McKibbin appeare ...

, third place contestant on season 1 of ''American Idol'' (d.

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

) * Billy Miller, actor,

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

winner (''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

'') * Jeff Okudah,

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

cornerback for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

Hayley Orrantia Sarah Hayley Orrantia (born February 21, 1994) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for portraying Erica Goldberg on the ABC comedy series '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–2023). She had previously been a member of Lakoda Ra ...

, actress and singer, raised in Grand Prairie *

Vergil Ortiz Jr. Vergil Ortiz Jr. (born March 25, 1998) is an American professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Council (WBC) interim super welterweight title since 2024. As an amateur, he was a seven-time national champion and won the 110 pounds cat ...

, professional welterweight boxer * Julie Stepan, racing driver *

Charley Taylor Charles Robert Taylor (September 28, 1941 – February 19, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver for 13 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college foot ...

, professional football player *

Eric Vale Eric Vale (born Christopher Eric Johnson) is an American voice actor featured in numerous English versions of Japanese anime series. Some of these include Yuki Soma (Fruits Basket), Yuki Soma from ''Fruits Basket'', Sanji (One Piece), Sanji from ' ...

, voice actor affiliated with

Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...

Kerry Wood Kerry Lee Wood (born June 16, 1977) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and New York Yankees. Wood first came to prominence as a 20-year-old rookie, ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher

Notes

References

External links

City of Grand Prairie official websiteCensus Map – Grand Prairie, Texas
{{Authority control Cities in Texas Cities in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Cities in Dallas County, Texas Cities in Ellis County, Texas Cities in Tarrant County, Texas Populated places established in 1863 1863 establishments in Texas