Sand Branch (sometimes spelled Sandbranch) is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in
Dallas 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. A 2019 estimate put the population at around 100.
Geography
Sand Branch is located approximately two miles south of
U.S. Highway 175 and 14 miles southeast of
Downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally ...
on Belt Line Road in southeastern Dallas County. It is situated between the
Trinity River and Hickory Creek, southwest of
Seagoville.
Sand Branch is the only unincorporated settlement left in Dallas County, as the vast majority of the county lies within incorporated cities.
Background
The Sand Branch Community has long been considered one of the poorest areas in Dallas County. While the community was formed for freed Black Americans, some of the original families have been forced out by poor living conditions or forced to sell their land for as low as $300. A small portion of the original families continue to hold on to the lands.
The area's living conditions and lack of basic services in the largely lower-income, predominantly
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 ...
community resemble a "non-border
colonia" because of its similarities to those settlements situated along the southwestern United States border with
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
.
One of the challenges of the community is that residents must transport water to use it: despite existing next to a
wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment is a process which removes and eliminates contaminants from wastewater. It thus converts it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once back in the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on ...
facility, no water infrastructure exists in Sand Branch (due to its unincorporated status), and the wells are non-potable due to decades of contamination.
Demographics
In the
Handbook of Texas
The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...
in 2000, the community had an estimated population of 400.
The community did not participate in the 2010 Census.
Streets
Eight streets are located within the community Sand Branch. They are:
Education
Public education in the community of Sand Branch is provided by the
Dallas Independent School District
The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas, United States. It operates schools in much of Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and t ...
. Zoned campuses include Seagoville Elementary (grades PK-5)
Kleberg Elementary School(grades PK-5)
Seagoville Middle School(grades 6-8), an
Seagoville High School(grades 9-12).
References
External links
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Unincorporated communities in Dallas County, Texas
Unincorporated communities in Texas
Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
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