Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state 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 ...

, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 74,259, an increase over the figure of 67,358 tabulated in 2010.

History

The area in which Missouri City is now located holds a significant part in the history of Texas that dates back to its early days as part of the United States. In August 1853, the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway (BBB&C), began operating its first of rail line that stretched from

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

(now

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 ...

) to Stafford's Point (now

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

). It was the first railroad to begin operating in Texas, and the first

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

railroad west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. The railway continued its extension westward until, in 1883, it linked with its eastward counterpart, completing the Sunset Route from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Today, the route of the BBB&C (now owned by the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

) is still an important and heavily operated railroad line. In 1890, two real estate investors from Houston (R. M. Cash and L. E. Luckle) purchased of land directly on the route of the BBB&C, only a mile and a half from its first stop at Stafford's Point. They advertised the property as "a land of genial sunshine and eternal summer" in St. Louis, Missouri, and its surrounding areas. Three years later, W. R. McElroy purchased in the same vicinity, and in an effort to promote the area jointly with Cash and Luckle in St. Louis, he named it "Missouri City". Its first settlers were, however, from Arlington, Texas, between

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The settlement was officially registered in Texas in 1894, and began to take shape as a railroad town along Main Street and Blue Ridge Road, now known as US 90A and Texas Parkway, respectively. Its growth took an unexpected turn when, on February 14, 1895, shortly after the first group of settlers had arrived, the town was hit with a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

. This discouraged some of the newcomers, who gave up and moved elsewhere. Those unwavered stayed and found success in farming and ranching. Among its first businesses were 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 ...

shop, a depot, and a general store, which also housed the first

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 ...

. The first

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

was built in 1913, but was destroyed by a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

in 1915. The new church built to replace it stood until 1990. Oil was discovered at Blue Ridge southeast of town in 1919; soon after, a salt mine opened there. Missouri City became the railroad shipping point for these two resources. In 1925, at the same location,

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

was discovered. After a pipeline had been constructed the following year, Missouri City became the first town in Fort Bend County to make use of natural gas. With the benefit of a railroad, Missouri City had already been home to commuters who, by train, traveled to adjacent towns such as Stafford's Point and Sugar Land to work. With the increase of automobiles and the improvement of roads and highways in the early part of the 20th century, the developing community of Missouri City gradually attracted a wealth of newcomers. This gave birth to a new generation of commuters, replacing railroad commuting that eventually became obsolete. By the 1950s, the town began to take shape 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 ...

" suburb of Houston. After fear and rumor spread of possible

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

of the unincorporated town by Houston, town leaders scrambled to piece together a

city government A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

. On March 13, 1956, the community that began as a small settlement more than 55 years earlier was incorporated. Missouri City has since seen tremendous economic growth, moving eastward, southward, and then westward. The city was first made over by Fondren Park (in Harris County), near US 90A, in the early 1960s, followed by Quail Valley, along Cartwright Road between Texas Parkway and Murphy Road, in the late 1960s. Unlike neighboring Houston, Missouri City has been a zoned city since 1981. Multifamily complexes (e.g. apartments and condominiums) are a rare find because of the current zoning ordinance. In the 1980s, an influx of middle-class

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

– most of them first-time homeowners – were attracted to developing communities south and west of Houston. Many of them made the subdivisions of Missouri City home. Teal Run and other unincorporated areas east of Highway 6 became ethnically diverse before neighborhoods farther west. Many of the newcomers were employees within nearby Houston work centers (e.g., Texas Medical Center and Greenway Plaza). In 2000, Missouri City was named a model city for middle-class African Americans by

Black Entertainment Television Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

. The Missouri City area's recent upscale, master-planned residential developments include Lake Olympia, south of Quail Valley, and portions of Riverstone, south of State Highway 6. The nearby unincorporated area of Sienna Plantation, also located south of Highway 6, is situated on and around land once occupied by plantations, where among other things,

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

and

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

were harvested. In 2018 Yolanda Ford became the first black mayor and first female mayor of Missouri City. In 2020, Ford lost her campaign for reelection.

Geography

Missouri City is located in eastern Fort Bend County with a portion of the city extending north into Harris County. Missouri City is bordered by the city of Houston to the north and east,

to the northwest, Sugar Land to the west, and Arcola to the southeast, as well as unincorporated communities such as Fifth Street to the north, Fresno to the east, and Sienna Plantation to the south. Downtown Houston is to the northeast. Oyster Creek flows in a southerly direction through the municipality. 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 ...

, Missouri City has a total area of , of which are land and , or 4.65%, are covered by water.

Communities

Former communities annexed into Missouri City have included: * DeWalt * Trammels

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 74,259 people, 24,827 households, and 20,099 families residing in the city. As of the 2010

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 ...

, there were 67,358 people, with 20,228 households, and 16,711 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 24.9% non-Hispanic

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 ...

, 46.1%

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 16.2% Asian, and 2.9% 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 15.3% of the population. There were 20,228 households, out of which 45.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8% 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, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.4% were non-families. 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.17 and the average family size was 3.54. According to 2010 estimates, the median income for a household in the city was $81,854, and the median family income was $87,089. 38.1% of households had an income of $100,000 or more. Males had a median income of $59,157 versus $42,183 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 $27,210. About 9.1% of the population was 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 15.4% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 18 or over. 41.4% of the population over the age of 25 years held a bachelor's degree or higher.

Parks and Recreation

The Missouri City Parks and Recreation Department is a nationally accredited, Texas Gold Medal Award-winning department that maintains and operates a wide variety of park and natural areas, trails, athletic complexes and other facilities. The Parks Department currently maintains 20 developed parks totaling , and over 14 miles of trail. Park amenities include multiple lighted sports fields, lakes, playgrounds, splash pad, and walking trails, as well as boating and fishing sites. The Missouri City Recreation and Tennis Center is the heart of the recreation division and houses the majority of the city's recreation and fitness classes. Completed in 2012, the center features 13 tennis courts, 4 batting cages, a cardio/weight room, multi-purpose rooms, locker rooms and a full-size gymnasium. In 2022 The Recreation and Tennis Center was recognized by the United States Tennis Association (USTA), as an Outstanding Tennis Facility. Missouri City received the award in the Large (12 or more courts), Public Tennis Facility division. The Parks and Recreation Department has daytime and evening recreational programs and provides numerous special events throughout the year. The Missouri City Parks and Recreation Department became nationally accredited in 2021.

Freedom Tree Park

Missouri City's historic Freedom Tree Park is named after the Freedom Tree, which sits along Misty Hollow Drive between Glenn Lakes and Lake Olympia boulevards, at the former Palmer Plantation site.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

The Fort Bend County portion of Missouri City is served by Fort Bend Independent School District, while the Harris County portion is served by Houston Independent School District. The Harris County portion is within Trustee District IX, represented by Lawrence Marshall as of 2008.

=Fort Bend Independent School District

= FBISD formed in 1959 by the consolidation of Missouri City Independent School District and the Sugar Land Independent School District.History
" Fort Bend Independent School District. Retrieved on July 20, 2017. It operates the following schools within the Missouri City city limits: * Elementary schools: ** Armstrong Elementary School ** E. A. Jones Elementary School ** Glover Elementary School ** Hunters Glen Elementary School ** Lantern Lane Elementary School ** Palmer Elementary School ** Quail Valley Elementary School * Middle schools: ** Lake Olympia Middle School ** Missouri City Middle School ** Quail Valley Middle School * High schools: ** Elkins High School ** Hightower High School ** Thurgood Marshall High School ** Willowridge High School In addition to these schools, a small portion of Missouri City is also served by Dulles Middle School, First Colony Middle School,Middle School Attendance Zones
" Fort Bend Independent School District. Retrieved on April 15, 2017. Clements High School and Dulles High School, all in Sugar Land. Some areas of Missouri City are served by other schools.High School Attendance Zones
" Fort Bend Independent School District. Retrieved on April 15, 2017. Prior to 1959 Missouri City High School, which merged into Dulles High that year, served the city.Solomon, Jerome.
FOOTBALL 1997/HIGH SCHOOLS/FORT BEND BONANZA/Phillips, Dulles in hunt to add to town's memories
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, 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''. ...

''. Thursday August 28, 1997. Special 33. Retrieved on December 31, 2011. At the time of the 1959 merger, white students attended an elementary school in Missouri City, a middle school in Sugar Land, and a high school site in Missouri City. Annie Wilcox Elementary School initially occupied the former Missouri City High School building. The former combined elementary site now houses E. A. Jones Elementary School, the middle school site now houses Lakeview Elementary School, and the high school site now houses Missouri City Middle School. Dulles High became the high school for white students. There were three schools for black students, including M.R. Wood School in Sugar Land, housing grades 1–12, and the Staffordshire School in

, which houses grades 1–4, as well as a school in Arcola. There was a period where black secondary students in Missouri City were reassigned to M.R. Wood. FBISD desegregated in 1965. Dulles Junior High School served as FBISD's sole junior high school from March 1965 to August 1975, and Missouri City Junior High School opened in October 1975 on the former Missouri City High site. Dulles High became the only zoned high school for students of all races in FBISD until Willowridge High School opened in 1979. Wilcox Elementary had closed after Blue Ridge Elementary opened in August 1969.

=Houston Independent School District

= The Harris County portion of Missouri City is zoned to HISD schools located in the city limits of

: * Kate Bell Elementary School (places south of

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, Texas, Harris County. Beltway 8, a state highway mai ...

) * Jenard M. Gross Elementary School (places north of Beltway 8) * Louie Welch Middle School * Westbury High School

Private schools

There are 13 private primary and secondary schools in Missouri City. Divine Savior Academy at Sienna Campus is a Christian preschool, elementary school, and middle school of the

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as Christian theology, theologically conservative, it was founded ...

in Missouri City.

Colleges and universities

The entire city is served by the Houston Community College System.

Public libraries

Missouri City is served by the Missouri City Branch of the Fort Bend County Libraries system. The library, across the street from the City Hall complex and the Missouri City Civic Center, opened in June 1992. The branch, designed by Hall/Merriman Architects, was the first of four branches built with 1989 bond funds.

Government and infrastructure

On October 1, 2010, the City of Missouri City's anti-smoking law, which bans smoking in most public places, went into effect. The

United States 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 ...

operates the Missouri City Post Office and the Missouri City Post Office Annex. some places in the city of Missouri City have Houston postal addresses, and some places in the city of Houston have Missouri City postal addresses; this is because the U.S. postal system does not base its mailing address names on municipal boundaries. Fort Bend County does not have a hospital district. OakBend Medical Center serves as the county's charity hospital which the county contracts with. Harris Health System (formerly Harris County Hospital District), the hospital district for Harris County, designated Valbona Health Center (formerly People's Health Center) for ZIP code 77071 (Harris County Missouri City). The nearest public hospital is Ben Taub General Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.

Transportation

Missouri City is crossed by US 90A,

(Sam Houston Tollway), Fort Bend Toll Road, State Highway 6, FM 1092 (Murphy Road), FM 2234 (Texas Parkway), and FM 3345 (Cartwright Road). Other nearby highways are Interstate 69/ US 59 to the northwest and Interstate 610 (Loop 610) to the northeast. Although Missouri City does not have public transportation within the city limits itself, it is part of the service area of METRO. METRO operates the Missouri City Park and Ride located on Beltway 8 and Fondren Road, which is the terminus of bus Route 63 Fondren to Sharpstown and Westheimer, bus Route 98 Briargate to Hiram Clarke Transit Center and Route 170 Missouri City Express to the Texas Medical Center (terminating at the Texas Medical Center Transit Center METRORail station there). Discussions continue on commuter service along US 90A from METRORail's Fannin South station, initially to terminate at the Fort Bend County line near Beltway 8. Expansion westward awaits, among other things, formation of a transportation district or other funding means for communities that are not now in the METRO service area. The US 90A/Southwest Rail Corridor project was put on hold on September 28, 2012.

Notable people

* De'Von Achane (born 2001), American football running back * Paul Begala, political commentator, was born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, but was raised in Missouri City. *

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

, singer and actress * KaRon Coleman, gridiron football player * Knile Davis, former NFL running back * Aaron Glenn, a former cornerback, is currently the defensive coordinator for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. * Tristan Gray, MLB infielder for the Tampa Bay Rays * D'Angelo Harrison, shooting guard in the VTB United League and former college basketball player for St. Johns * Nick Hernandez, MLB pitcher for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

* Alonzo Highsmith, former fullback, and former boxer * Danuel House Jr., shooting guard for the Philadelphia 76ers * Sean Jones, former Houston Oilers defensive end * James Loney, former MLB first baseman, grew up in Missouri City and attended Elkins High School. * Bruce Matthews, NFL Hall of Famer, who formerly played with the Houston Oilers and the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, is now an assistant coach with 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 ...

. * Jake Matthews, an offensive tackle for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, is the son of Bruce Matthews. * Adonai Mitchell, wide receiver for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

* Logan O'Connor, Stanley Cup Champion forward for the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

* Ron Reynolds, Texas state representative from Missouri City since 2014 * Dunta Robinson, former Houston Texan and Atlanta Falcon player * Travis Scott, rapper and producer * Kendall Sheffield,

cornerback * Webster Slaughter, former wide receiver who played in the National Football League from 1986 to 1998 * Crystle Stewart, Miss Texas USA 2008, Miss USA 2008 *

Z-Ro Joseph Wayne McVey (born January 19, 1977), better known by his stage names Z-Ro and the Mo City Don, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. He was named one of America's most underrated rappers by ''The New York Times'' in 2007. Early life ...

, rapper * R'Bonney Gabriel, Miss USA 2022 and Miss Universe 2022

References

External links

City of Missouri City official website
* {{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Fort Bend County, Texas Greater Houston Cities in Harris County, Texas Populated places established in the 1890s