Sheldon 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 ...

and a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in northeastern Harris 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, located completely inside the

extraterritorial jurisdiction Extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) is the legal ability of a government to exercise authority beyond its normal boundaries. Any authority can claim ETJ over any external territory they wish. However, for the claim to be effective in the external ...

of the City of

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 ...

. The Sheldon area is located along

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 ...

and US Highway 90, approximately northeast of Downtown Houston. Since the 1950s, the population growth of Sheldon has grown to extend past the statistical

(CDP) boundary originally delineated by 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 local understanding of the area is that it corresponds to that of boundary of the Sheldon Independent School District. Residential and commercial development in Sheldon has increased since the 2000s, gradually transforming the once rural area into one of the Houston area's fast growing suburban communities by percentage. The population for the area within the CDP was 2,361 at the 2020 census. Zip codes that correspond to the Sheldon area include 77049 and 77044.

History

Sheldon opened in the 1850s and served as a retail marketing point for agricultural goods and lumber from an area on the San Jacinto River. Its name originated from Henry K. Sheldon, who was a stockholder in a railroad company. In 1887 a post office opened. In 1896 Sheldon had 50 residents and a general store and a grocer. In 1905 it had a school. In the 1940s it had 150 residents and ten businesses. In the 1950s Sheldon had 200 residents. In 1955 the post office closed. In 1980 Sheldon had 1,665 residents. In 1990 it had 1,653 residents. In 2000 it had 1,831 residents.Sheldon, Texas
" ''

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 ...

''. Retrieved on December 4, 2011. In a 10-year period before 2011, the population increased by 46%.Meeks, Flori.
Population surges in South Belt area
" ''

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''. ...

''. Tuesday March 1, 2011. Retrieved on December 4, 2011.

Geography

Sheldon is located at (29.860569, -95.133801) in northeastern Harris County. The area is within the watersheds of Greens Bayou, Carpenters Bayou, and San Jacinto River. The boundary is unofficially known as corresponding to that of Sheldon Independent School District, which is geographically bound by Greens Bayou on the west and the San Jacinto River on the east. The northern border is the southern shore of Lake Houston and the southern boundary runs approximately one mile south of the Crosby Freeway (US Hwy 90). Sheldon has a mostly wooded geographic profile, with some grassy prairies. The area is also home to Sheldon Lake State Park and Environmental Learning Center, which has a variety of land and water fauna. The majority of Sheldon falls under the jurisdiction of Harris County Commissioner Precinct 1, with a small portion in Precinct 2. Major arteries in the area include Beltway 8 and US Highway 90.

Demographics

Sheldon first appeared as an unincorporated place in the 1970 U.S. Census; and was designated a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the

1980 U.S. Census The 1980 United States census, conducted by the United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4% over the 203,184,772 persons Enumeration, enumerated dur ...

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,361 people, 521 households, and 458 families residing in the CDP. 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, there were 1,831 people, 546 households, and 447 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 600 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 78.92%

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 ...

, 2.73%

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 ...

, 0.76% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 14.64% from other races, and 2.89% 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 34.68% of the population. There were 546 households, out of which 46.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% 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, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.1% were non-families. 13.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.35 and the average family size was 3.61. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 34.6% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 5.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $42,981, and the median income for a family was $45,219. Males had a median income of $31,071 versus $26,599 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 CDP was $15,309. About 9.0% of families and 11.7% 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 15.3% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The area of Sheldon was served by two volunteer fire departments before merging into one in 1996, the Sheldon Community Fire and Rescue. There are currently four stations with a fifth station planned in Generation Park on West Lake Houston Parkway & Lockwood Dr. 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 ...

built a post office in Sheldon in 1890 and it operated until its closure in 1953. Sheldon is currently serviced by neighboring post offices. Harris Health System (formerly Harris County Hospital District) operates the Settegast Health Center in northeast Houston. The designated public hospital is Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in Northeast Houston.

Economy

Several large companies are located in Sheldon including

LyondellBasell LyondellBasell Industries N.V is an American multinational chemical company, incorporated in the Netherlands with U.S. operations headquartered in Houston, Texas and offices in London, UK. The company is the largest licensor of polyethylene an ...

, Apache Industrial Services, National Oilwell Varco, Genan, and Koch. Sheldon is also home to the master planned enterprise park Generation Park which houses the headquarters of Fortune 500 FMC technologies which opened February 2016. Redemption Square in Generation Park is currently under construction with office buildings, restaurants, and hotels set to open in 2017. Other companies that are currently relocating their offices to Sheldon include Stolt-Nielsen, McCord Development, and Patterson UTI which is building is corporate campus on 365 acres.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Sheldon residents are zoned to Sheldon Independent School District. The CDP itself is zoned to: Sheldon Early Childhood Academy, Sheldon Elementary School, Michael R. Null Middle School, and C.E. King High School. C.E. King stands for Cortes Ewing King, who donated the land where the middle school and old high school are built. The area middle school was C.E. King Middle School until Null Middle opened in 2009. In 1905, one school in Sheldon had 39 African American students with a single teacher, while another had 15 White students and a teacher as well.

Private and Charter schools

Holy Trinity Episcopal School, a Pre-K3 - 12 Episcopal private school. The Rhodes School, a magnet charter school.

Colleges and universities

San Jacinto College District serves Sheldon ISD (including Sheldon). There is an extension center of San Jacinto College in Sheldon Early College High School with the nearest location being the North campus just south of Sheldon. In 2015 San Jacinto College announced it purchased 57 acres in Generation Park to build the Sheldon Campus.San Jacinto College and McCord Development Announce 57-acre Deal
" Generation Park

References

External links

Sheldon, Texas
- ''

'' {{authority control Census-designated places in Harris County, Texas Census-designated places in Texas Unincorporated communities in Harris County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas Greater Houston