Melissa is a city in Collin County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 4,695 at the 2010 census, up from 1,350 at the 2000 census; in 2020, its population grew to 13,901.

History

Among Melissa's earliest inhabitants were

Paleo-Indians Paleo-Indians were the first peoples who entered and subsequently inhabited the Americas towards the end of the Late Pleistocene period. The prefix ''paleo-'' comes from . The term ''Paleo-Indians'' applies specifically to the lithic period in ...

; archaeological finds in the area have been dated to approximately 9500 BC. In the centuries since, several Native American tribes called the area home, including the

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, and the Kickapoo. The

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct language, extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Tonkawa ...

people had a settlement in the area, northeast of

McKinney McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas, United States. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano, Texas, Plano and Frisco, Texas, Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about ...

. These people were focused primarily on agriculture and a hunting-and-gathering lifestyle, living peacefully from the land's bounty. Initially settlers came from the old Highland community, two and a half miles north of present-day Melissa. C.H. Wysong, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, was one of the earliest settlers. A

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 ...

was established in 1853 at Highland. The Houston and Texas Central Railroad arrived in Melissa in 1872 and established a depot. The town was laid out at this time. The railroad encouraged many families to come to Melissa. The town is believed to have been named for the daughter of a railroad executive, George A. Quinlan (1838–1901) of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. There is some disagreement about this, as others argue that the town was named after Melissa Huntington, daughter of C. P. Huntington, another well-known railroad executive.

Anna, Texas Anna is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Collin County, its population was 16,896 at the 2020 U.S. census. History Following the American Civil War, the Houston and Texas Central Railway resumed laying track north from Corsican ...

, is named after Anna Elizabeth Quinlan (1878–1952), the only daughter of George Austin Quinlan and his wife Mary Kate Saunders (1851–1884). Quinlan, Texas, is named after George Austin Quinlan himself. The first school in Melissa was built on land purchased in 1882 by trustees James Graves, John Gibson, and George Fitzhugh (son of William F. Fitzhugh), who were early settlers of the area. The first teacher was Mary Huckerston, who taught there for five years. The school began with 38 pupils. Church services were held there for all faiths on Sundays. A two-story brick schoolhouse was built on this site in 1910 to accommodate growth brought by the railroad. Melissa was an important shipping point in the early 1900s. Corn, wheat, alfalfa hay, wood, and livestock were all sent out on the railroad. A deadly F4 tornado struck Melissa on April 13, 1921, killing 13 people and injuring many more. The tornado tore the roof off of the brick school building, but the children inside were not seriously injured. However, all churches in the town, three cotton gins, every business house except a bank, the post office, and the Houston and Texas Central railway station, were wrecked. The Waldon Hotel was lifted by the winds, turned halfway around, and thrown up against the school building. Eight years later, on August 8, 1929, a fire burned down many of the buildings that had been rebuilt after the tornado. Population declined from a high of 500 in 1925 down to 285 in 1949.

Geography

Melissa is located in north-central Collin County. State Highway 5 passes through the center of the city, State Highway 121 passes through the eastern part, and the U.S. Route 75 freeway passes through the western side. US 75 and Highway 121 converge in the southwest part of Melissa, then head southwest to

, the Collin County seat. The center of

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 ...

is southwest of Melissa, and Denison is to the north via US 75. 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 ...

, Melissa has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.66%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 13,901 people, 3,058 households, and 2,824 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 2010, there were 4,695 residents. As of 2000, there were 1,350 people, 472 households, and 365 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 501 housing units at an average density of . In 2000, the racial makeup of the city was 89.63%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.52%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.44% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 7.63% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 13.33% of the population. There were 472 households, out of which 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 18.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.30. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.8% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. According to the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the city was $60,909, and the median income for a family was $66,172. Males had a median income of $40,417 versus $30,435 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 $26,193. About 3.0% of families and 5.3% 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 8.9% of those under age 18 and 0.9% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

According to the city's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top 10 employers in the city are:

Education

The city is served by the Melissa Independent School District. In 2004, McKinney ISD and Anna ISD refused to educate any more Melissa ISD high school classes. In 2007, Melissa High School graduated their first class with 46 students. Harry McKillop Elementary School opened its doors as the elementary school in fall 2008, housing Pre-K to third grade. The former Melissa Ridge Elementary School campus was converted to Melissa Ridge Intermediate School, serving fourth and fifth grades, and Melissa Middle School, serving sixth, seventh and eighth grades. In 2015, Melissa Middle School was awarded "A School to Watch" which gives them a high rank of schools in Texas. In 2019, Melissa Schools redistributed the allocation of campuses with the following changes. Melissa Ridge Education Center servicing pre-k through kindergarten, Harry McKillop Elementary School serving grades 1–5, North Creek Elementary School serving grades 1–5, Melissa Middle School grades 6–8, and Melissa High School serving traditional grades 9–12.

Transportation

Both U.S Highway 75 and

Texas State Highway 5 State Highway 5 (SH 5) runs along the old route of U.S. Highway 75 at Howe into the city of Allen. SH 5 parallels US 75 along its length and runs alongside the former Houston and Texas Central rail line. SH 5 was created in 1959 when the ...

runs north to south through Melissa. Texas State Highway 121 runs northeast to southwest through Melissa eventually converging with 75 in the southwest corner of Melissa. FM 545 runs east to west through Melissa.Texas Official Travel Map
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Roads

* Runs north to south through Melissa on the city's western side. * Runs north to south between U.S 75 and SH 121. * Runs northwest to southeast through Melissa. To the northwest is

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

and to the southeast is

. *

FM 545 runs east to west through Melissa. To the east, FM 545 goes to Blue Ridge.

Notes

References

* Billie L. Wallis, ''History of Melissa Independent School 1882-1982'' * ''McKinney Courier-Gazette'', April 13, 1975 * ''Handbook of Texas Online''
Melissa, TX
* ''Dallas Morning News'', June 14, 1997: "Surviving the Wrath"

External links

City of Melissa official website
{{authority control Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Cities in Texas Cities in Collin County, Texas Populated places established in 1853