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Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and the largest city and
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the 33rd most populous city in Texas and 299th in the United States. It is the principal city of the Greater Tyler metropolitan statistical area, which is the 198th most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. and 16th in Texas after Waco and the College Station–Bryan areas, with a population of 233,479 in 2020. The city is named for
John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president of the United States, vice president in 1841. He was elected v ...
, the tenth
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
. In 1985, the international Adopt-a-Highway movement began in Tyler. After appeals from local
Texas Department of Transportation The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway syst ...
officials, the local
Civitan International Civitan International, based in Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama, is an association of community service clubs founded in 1917. The organization aims "to build good citizenship by providing a volunteer organization of clubs dedicated to ...
chapter adopted a two-mile (three kilometer) stretch of
U.S. Route 69 U.S. Route 69 (US 69) is a major north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's southern terminus (as well as ...
to maintain. Drivers and other motorists traveling on this segment of U.S. 69 (between Tyler and nearby Lindale) will see brown road signs that read, "First Adopt-A-Highway in the World". Tyler is known as the "Rose Capital of America" (also the "Rose City" and the "Rose Capital of the World"), a
nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
it earned from a long history of
rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can b ...
production, cultivation, and processing. It is home to the largest
rose garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...
in the United States, a 14-
acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...
public garden complex that has over 38,000 rose bushes of at least 500 different varieties. The Tyler Rose Garden is also home to the annual Texas Rose Festival which attracts thousands of tourists each October. As Northeast Texas and Smith County's major economic, educational, financial, medical and cultural hub, Tyler is host to more than 20,000
higher-education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completio ...
students; the University of Texas at Tyler; a university health science center; and regional hospital systems. It is also the headquarters for
Brookshire Grocery Company Brookshire Grocery Company is a Tyler, Texas-based supermarket chain. There are more than 200 stores operating in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma under their five banners, Brookshire's, Super 1 Foods, Fresh by Brookshire's, Spring Mark ...
, Cavender's, Southside Bank, and
Synthesizers.com Synthesizers.com is an American company based in Tyler, Texas, founded by engineer Roger Arrick (also a designer of robots), which manufactures analog modular synthesizers for music and sound-effect creation. Products Synthesizers.com modular syn ...
. Other corporations with major presence within the city and surrounding area include
AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
,
T-Mobile US T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Its largest shareholder is a multinational telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, which , holds 48.4 p ...
, Cricket Wireless and
Metro by T-Mobile Metro by T-Mobile (formerly known as MetroPCS and also known simply as Metro) is an American prepaid wireless service provider and brand owned by T-Mobile US. It previously operated the fifth largest mobile telecommunications network in the ...
,
Chase Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and ...
, BBVA,
Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
, and
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
. Tyler is also home to the Caldwell Zoo and Broadway Square Mall.


History

Legal recognition of Tyler was initiated by an act of the
state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
on 11 April 1846. The Texas government created Smith County and authorized a county seat. The first plat designated a 28-block town site centered by a main square within a tract acquired by Smith County on 6 February 1847. The new town was named for President John Tyler, who advocated for the annexation of Texas by the United States. A log building on the square's north side served as a courthouse and public meeting hall until a brick courthouse displaced it in . On 29 January 1850, Tyler was incorporated. Early religious and social institutions included the First Baptist church and a Methodist church, a
Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
and an Odd Fellows lodge, and Tyler's first newspaper. Though Tyler's early economy from – was based on agriculture, it was also well-diversified during this period. Logging was a second major industry, while complementary manufacturing included metalworking, milling wood, and leather tanning. As the seat of Smith County, the town also benefited from government activity. The local agricultural economy relied on
slave labor Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
before the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same 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 polic ...
. In 1860, the population of enslaved people in Smith County was 4,982, the 4th most in east Texas. By 1860, Tyler held over 1,000 enslaved persons, which represented 35 percent of the town's population. There was strong support for
secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...
and the
Confederacy Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...
within Tyler, as a high percentage of its residents voted for secession and many of its men joined the
Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighti ...
. The town was secure enough for the Confederate States of America to establish the largest ordinance plant in
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. In 1870, Bonner and Williams established Tyler's first bank. Though both the
Texas and Pacific Railroad Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
and the International Railroad (Texas) eschewed routes through Tyler, the town gained an important rail connection when the
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
and Great Northern built a branch line in 1874. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, fruit orchards emerged as an important business in the regional economy. Eighty percent of the county's agricultural revenue derived from cotton as it persisted as the dominant crop in the first decades of the twentieth century. Peaches were the principal fruit crop as the county fruit tree inventory surpassed one million by 1900. Disease struck the peach trees, though, and local farmers moved toward growing roses by the 1920s. Twenty years later, most of the U.S. rose supply originated in the Tyler area. On 29 October 1895, an African American suspect named Robert Henry Hillard was burned at the stake in the Smith County Courthouse Square for the alleged murder of a nineteen-year-old white woman.E. R. Bills. ''Black Holocaust: The Paris Horror and a Legacy of Texas Terror''. Fort Worth, Texas: Eakin Press, 2015 Denied a trial and due process, Hillard was taken from law enforcement personnel by a white mob. Hillard's executioners were never punished. Later, two entrepreneurs combined photographs from the actual lynching with others staged with actors and sold the 16-image production as a stereographic set. One of the original sets sits in the
United States Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library i ...
. In 1912, Dan Davis, an African-American man suspected of attacking a sixteen-year-old white girl named Carrie Johnson, was burned at the stake in the Smith County Courthouse Square. In , the University of Texas system established the University of Texas at Tyler and Broadway Square Mall opened in . By 1980, the population grew to 70,508 and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tyler and East Texas Islamic Society were established in the following years. During the
2010 East Texas church burnings In January and February 2010, 10 churches were burned in East Texas. Two local men, Jason Bourque and Daniel McAllister, were arrested, pleaded guilty and were jailed indefinitely. Timeline * January 1 – Little Hope Baptist Church, Canton – ...
, two Tyler churches were destroyed, and
historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...
city planning began in 2016 as the population increased and the city continued development.


Geography

Tyler is located at and is above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
. The city of Tyler is in the
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, in Northeast Texas. It is sometimes considered part of the wider
Ark-La-Tex The Ark-La-Tex (a portmanteau of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas; also stylized as Arklatex or ArkLaTex) is a socio-economic tri-state region where the Southern U.S. states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas join together. The region contains po ...
region where
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...
, and Texas meet. The city is approximately from Longview; from Marshall; from
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
; from Texarkana; from the state capital of Austin; and from Shreveport, Louisiana. Tyler is the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of Smith County, and is surrounded by many suburban communities, including
Whitehouse Whitehouse may refer to: People * Charles S. Whitehouse (1921-2001), American diplomat * Cornelius Whitehouse (1796–1883), English engineer and inventor * E. Sheldon Whitehouse (1883-1965), American diplomat * Elliott Whitehouse (born 1993) ...
, Lindale, New Chapel Hill,
Bullard Bullard is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alan Bullard (born 1947), British composer * Bill Bullard Jr. (1943-2020), American politician * Charles W. Bullard, 19th-century American criminal * David Bullard (born 1952), Sout ...
,
Edom Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and eas ...
, Brownsboro, Kilgore,
Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...
, and Chandler. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...
, the city has an area of , of which is land and is covered by water. Tyler is the principal city of the Greater Tyler metropolitan area, and a principal city in the Tyler–Longview area, a conurbation of the Tyler and Longview metropolitan and combined statistical areas.


Cityscape

Tyler has a modest skyline and downtown area. Its downtown has a unique rustic architecture, mainly in
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
and neoclassical styles. Many architectural structures in central Tyler date from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
and postmodernist era structures are also present throughout the cityscape. Central Tyler is anchored by Brick Streets Historic District and Charnwood Residential Historic District, areas characterized by dense retail, restaurants, nightlife, and historic landmarks. Brick Streets Historic District is the largest geographic area of Tyler. It encompasses 29 blocks and primarily consists of buildings constructed in the 1900s. The district area is predominantly residential though it sometimes serves as a mix-use district. Brick Streets Historic District has brick-paved streets and stone-lined drainage channels. Nearby, Charnwood is Tyler's first historic district. It comprises 12 blocks of late 19th and early 20th century architecture.


Climate

Tyler experiences
weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...
typical of
East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that comprises most of 41 counties. It is primarily divided into Northeast and Southeast Texas. Most of the region con ...
, which is unpredictable, especially in the spring. All of East Texas has the humid subtropical climate typical of the
American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
. Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain,
hail Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...
, damaging winds and
tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, alt ...
es occur in the area during the spring and summer months. Summer months are hot and humid, with maximum temperatures exceeding an average of 91 days per year, with high to very high relative average humidity. The record high for Tyler is , which occurred in . The record low for Tyler is , which occurred on 18 January 1930 and again on 16 February 2021 during the February 2021 North American cold wave.


Demographics

With a population of 2,423 at the
1880 United States census The United States census of 1880 conducted by the Census Bureau during June 1880 was the tenth United States census.Northeast Texas, and 33rd most populous in Texas as of 2020. Having a census-tabulated citywide population of 105,995 at the 2020 census, its
metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
became the largest in the region, followed by the Longview metropolitan area. The Tyler metropolitan area had 233,479 residents in 2020, and the Tyler–Longview area had an estimated population of 371,015 in 2018. When the U.S. Census Bureau released population estimates for 2021, Tyler was estimated to have a population of 107,192 as of July 1, 2021. Among the city's growing population, there were 46,320 households and 43,733 housing units. Of the units at the 2019 American Community Survey, 37,504 were occupied and the majority were single-unit detached homes. Tylerites had a home-ownership rate of 51.7%, and renters occupied 48.3% of the housing units from 2014 to 2019's census estimates. Owner-occupied housing units had a median cost of $164,700, and the median cost with a mortgage was $1,408 while houses without a mortgage had a median cost of $487; renters paid a median of $1,011 a month, and 1,148 rental-units had no rent paid among the population. Overall, the city of Tyler is more affordable than nearby
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. A predominantly middle-class community, the city of Tyler had a
median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...
of $52,294 and mean income of $75,349. Families had a median income of $66,579; married-couple families $85,181; and non-family households $32,263. Down from a poverty rate of 16.7% in 2018, approximately 12.6% of the population lived at or 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 ...
in 2019.


Race and ethnicity

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 105,995 people, 37,114 households, and 23,081 families residing in the city. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...
, the city has also diversified from being historically dominated by
non-Hispanic whites Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Am ...
to being increasingly multiracial. Immigration and
white flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...
over the 20th century have contributed significantly to this area's demographic readjustment. At the 2010 United States census, 60.5% of the population identified as
White Americans White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represente ...
; by the 2018 American Community Survey, they made up an estimated 49.4% of the total population. Since the 2020 census, Black and African Americans, Asian Americans,
multiracial Americans Multiracial Americans are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed race ancestry who self-identify with just one group culturally and socially (cf. the one-drop rule). In the 2010 U ...
, and people of some other racial or ethnic identity increased to form a total of 55,210 residents against the city's 50,785 non-Hispanic whites. At least 24,023 Tylerites were
Hispanic or Latino American Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...
of any race as of 2020.


Religion

Sperling's BestPlaces determined 73.2% of Tylerites and the surrounding area identified as religious or spiritual as of 2020. As part of the
Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's av ...
,
Protestant Christianity Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
is the largest religious group, followed by Roman Catholic Christianity. According to the study, 31.1% of Tylerite Christians identified as
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...
, primarily affiliated with the Texas Baptists,
Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wo ...
,
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
,
National Baptist Convention of America The National Baptist Convention of America International, Inc., (NBCA Intl or NBCA) more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention of America or sometimes the Boyd Convention, is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is ...
, and Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. The Roman Catholic community of Tyler and its metropolitan area have been primarily served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tyler. Following, 6.6% of the population were Methodists, mainly affiliated with the
United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelica ...
and
African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...
.
Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement
formed the fourth-largest Christian group in Tyler (5.2%) and the largest Pentecostal bodies within the area as of 2020 are the
Assemblies of God USA The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially the General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States founded in 1914 during a meeting of white Pentecostal ministers at Hot Springs, Arkansas (with ...
and the United Pentecostal Church, prominent Trinitarian and Oneness Pentecostal denominations. An estimated 1.2% of the religiously affiliated population were
Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...
. Of the Christian population, 0.9% identified as Anglicans or Episcopalians, 0.7%
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...
, and 0.6%
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
. Roughly 13.6% of Tylerites are of another Christian faith including the
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
and
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved ...
. The Anglican or Episcopalian community are divided between the
Episcopal Church in the United States The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine Ecclesiastical provinces and dioces ...
and
Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cu ...
. The Episcopal Church USA-affiliated Episcopal Diocese of Texas has congregations in Tyler. The Anglican Church in North America also has congregations in Tyler and its metropolitan area. The
Diocese of Mid-America The REC Diocese of Mid-America, with the Convocation of the West and Western Canada, is a Reformed Episcopal Church and an Anglican Church in North America diocese, since its foundation in 2009. The REC Diocese of Mid-America is distinct from a di ...
is the ACNA's diocese in Tyler, consisting of one church as of 2020. This diocese is also a member of the
Reformed Episcopal Church The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an Anglican church of evangelical Episcopalian heritage. It was founded in 1873 in New York City by George David Cummins, a former bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The REC is a founding member o ...
. Presbyterian and Lutheran bodies operating in the area include the
Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...
and
Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and pr ...
, and the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) and
North American Lutheran Church The North American Lutheran Church (NALC) is a Lutheran denomination with over 420 congregations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, counting more than 142,000 baptized members. The NALC believes all doctrines should and must be judged b ...
. The Eastern Orthodox community is served by the
Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions i ...
's Diocese of the South with its headquarters in nearby
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. Per Sperling's BestPlaces, approximately 0.1% of the city's population affiliated with
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
compared to the state average of 0.2%, and 0.4% of the area identified as
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abra ...
. The area's Islamic community is affiliated with the East Texas Islamic Society.


Economy

In addition to the city's role in the rose-growing industry, Tyler is the headquarters for
Brookshire Grocery Company Brookshire Grocery Company is a Tyler, Texas-based supermarket chain. There are more than 200 stores operating in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma under their five banners, Brookshire's, Super 1 Foods, Fresh by Brookshire's, Spring Mark ...
, which operates Brookshire's, Fresh, Super 1 Foods, and Spring Market supermarkets in the Ark-La-Tex and parts of Dallas–Fort Worth. The company's main distribution center is in south Tyler, while SouthWest Foods, a subsidiary that processes dairy products, is just northeast of the city. The city and metropolitan area also has a growing manufacturing sector including: Tyler Pipe, a subsidiary of McWane Inc. that produces soil and utility pipe products; Trane Technologies Inc., formerly a unit of American Standard Companies, which manufactures
air conditioners Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
and
heat pump A heat pump is a device that can heat a building (or part of a building) by transferring thermal energy from the outside using a refrigeration cycle. Many heat pumps can also operate in the opposite direction, cooling the building by removing ...
s (this plant was originally built in 1955 by
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
); Delek Refining, an Israeli-owned
oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt, asphalt ...
formerly La Gloria Oil and Gas Co (a Crown Central Petroleum subsidiary); PCSFerguson, an operating company of Dover Corporation that specializes in equipment for the measurement and production of
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...
using the plunger lift method; DYNAenergetics Tyler Distribution Center, part of DYNAenergetics USA, which manufactures perforating equipment and
explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
for the oil and gas industry; and Vesuvius USA, a manufacturer of
refractory In materials science, a refractory material or refractory is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat, pressure, or chemical attack, and retains strength and form at high temperatures. Refractories are polycrystalline, polyphase ...
ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, ...
used in the steel industry. According to the city's 2012–2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's top ten employers were:


Recreation and tourism

Annually, the Texas Rose Festival draws thousands of tourists to Tyler. The festival, which celebrates the role of the rose-growing industry in the local economy, is held in October and features a
parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...
, the
coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...
of the Rose Queen, and other civic events. The Rose Museum features the
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
of the
Festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...
. Tyler is also home to Caldwell Zoo, several local museums, Lake Palestine, Lake Tyler, and numerous
golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". The ...
s and country clubs. A few miles away in
Flint, Texas Flint is an unincorporated community in southeastern Smith County, Texas, United States. It lies along FM 2493, south of the city of Tyler, the county seat of Smith County. Its elevation is 522 feet (159 m). Although Flint is uninco ...
is The WaterPark @ The Villages, a year-round, indoor water park. There is also an "Azalea Trail" in Tyler, which consists of two officially designated routes within the city that showcase homes or other landscaped venues adorned with
azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections '' Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Oct ...
shrubs. The Azalea Trail also is home to the long-standing tradition of the Azalea Belles. The official greeters of the Azalea Trail are known as the Azalea Belles, young
women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
from the Tyler area who dress in
antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum arc ...
gown A gown, from the Saxon word, ''gunna'', is a usually loose outer garment from knee-to-full-length worn by men and women in Europe from the Early Middle Ages to the 17th century, and continuing today in certain professions; later, the term ''gow ...
s. The belles are chosen each year from area high schools or home school families. Tyler State Park, a few miles north of the city limits, attracts visitors with opportunities to camp,
canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...
, and paddle boat on the
lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...
. Other available pastimes include
picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as precedi ...
king,
boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...
(
motors An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
allowed – 5 mph
speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expre ...
), boat rentals,
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques ...
,
birding Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
,
hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A His ...
,
mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and p ...
,
hiking trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. T ...
, lake swimming (in unsupervised swimming area), and
nature study The nature study movement (alternatively, Nature Study or nature-study) was a popular education movement that originated in the United States and spread throughout the English-speaking world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nature study ...
. The Smith County Historical Society operates a
museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...
and
archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual ...
s in the old Carnegie Library. The East Texas State Fair is held annually in Tyler. Harvey Convention Center, the largest building at Tyler's fairgrounds is slated for demolition in August 2021. Lake Tyler was the location of the HGTV Dream Home contest in 2005. The house helped to boost tourism and interest in the community and surrounding areas. It was subsequently sold at
public auction In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
in January 2008, for .


Historical

Tyler has a
Cotton Belt Railroad The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", is a former Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Ten ...
Depot Museum near the
Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...
office. Individuals and business firms dedicated to discovering, collecting, and preserving data, records, and other items relating to the history of Smith County, Texas, founded The Smith County Historical Society, a 501(c)(3)
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
, in 1959. The society operates a museum and archives in the former Carnegie Public Library building in
downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Tyler. Permanent museum exhibits include life-size dioramas of Smith County history, with topics ranging from the Caddo Indians to the 20th century. Other items from the society's collections are showcased in revolving, temporary exhibits. The society's archival library contains historical artifacts of Smith County, including newspapers, city directories, school records, photographs, maps, historical papers, and rare books. The archives are open to the public for
research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...
on a limited schedule with volunteer staff on duty. The society is also the official caretaker of Camp Ford Historic Park. Camp Ford was the largest Confederate
Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...
camp west of the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...
. The original site of the camp stockade is a public historic park managed by the Smith County Historical Society. The park contains a kiosk, paved trail, interpretive signage, a cabin reconstruction, and a picnic area. It is on Highway 271, north of Loop 323.


Sports


College and university teams

* University of Texas at Tyler Patriots (NCAA Division II) * Texas College Steers (HBCU) * Tyler Junior College Apaches (NJCAA)


Baseball teams

*
Tyler Elbertas The Tyler Elbertas was a South Central League baseball team based in Tyler, Texas, United States that played in 1912. They were the first known professional baseball team based in Tyler and until 1924, were the only team to ever come out of that ci ...
(1912) * Tyler Trojans (1924–1929, 1931, 1935–1940, 1946–1950) * Tyler Sports (1932) * Tyler Governors (1933–1934) *
Tyler East Texans The Tyler East Texans were a minor league baseball team that played in the Big State League from 1951 to 1953. It was based in the United States city of Tyler, Texas. Under manager Bill Capps in 1952, the team won the league championship. It reac ...
(1950–1953) * Tyler Tigers (1954–1955) * Tyler Wildcatters (1994–1997) * Tyler Roughnecks (2001)


Football

* East Texas Twisters (2004)


Road races

* Fresh 15 Road Race (Annual)


Soccer

* Tyler FC (2016–Present)


Disc golf

* Tyler features fifteen
disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...
courses and seven leagues, and the surrounding area features a total of thirty-six courses and seventeen leagues. For these reasons, users of the disc golf app
UDisc UDisc () is a disc golf app for scorekeeping, statistics, and discovery for smartphones and tablet computers running the Android or iOS operating system. The app is also compatible with Android's Wear OS and Apple Watch Apple Watch is a li ...
ranked Tyler as the third best disc golf destination in Texas and second best in the United States.


Government


Local government

According to the city's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $87.7 million in revenues, $101.7 million in expenditures, $49.2 million in total assets, $12.3 million in total liabilities, and $17.6 million in cash in investments. * McDonald Lorance, 1846 * William Bartlett, * ? * Oscar Burton, * Zeb J. Spruiell, * ? * Murph Wilson, 1967 * ? * Jack H. Halbert, 1970–1976 * ? * Norman Shtofman, 1982–1984 * Smith Reynolds, Junior *
Kevin Eltife Kevin Paul Eltife (born March 1, 1959) is an American businessman and former politician from Tyler, Texas. A Republican, served in the Texas Senate from 2004 through 2017. He was sworn in on August 15, 2004, after winning a special election to r ...


* Joey Seeber, 2002–2008 * Barbara Bass, 2008–2014 * Martin Heines, 2014–2020 * Don Warren, 2020–present The Northeast Texas Public Health District is a political subdivision under the State of Texas established by the City of Tyler and Smith County. In place for nearly 70 years, the Health District became a separate entity in 1994, with an administrative Public Health Board. With a stated vision "To be the Healthiest Community in Texas", the district has a full-time staff of over 130 employees. The Health District has a broad range of services and responsibilities dedicated to their mission: "To Protect, Promote, and Provide for the Health of Our Community."


State government

Tyler is represented in the
Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...
by Republican Bryan Hughes, District 1, and in the
Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...
by Republican Matt Schaefer, District 6. The Texas Twelfth Court of Appeals is in Tyler. The
Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jai ...
operates the Region I
Parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
Division Office and the Tyler District Parole Office in Tyler.


Federal government

The two U.S. senators from Texas are Republicans
John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Senate majority whip fo ...
and
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
. Tyler is part of Texas's 1st congressional district, which is currently represented by Republican Louie Gohmert. The
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...
operates several post offices in Tyler, including Tyler,
Azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections '' Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Oct ...
, Southeast Crossing, and the South Tyler Annex.


Education


Colleges and universities

Tyler's higher education institutions include the University of Texas at Tyler and the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, both part of the
University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT& ...
, as well as Texas College, the city's only HBCU, and Tyler Junior College.


Primary and secondary schools

Public primary and secondary education for much of the city is provided by the Tyler Independent School District, which includes high schools
Tyler High School Tyler High School, formerly known as John Tyler High School, is a public, co-educational secondary school in Tyler, Texas. It is part of the Tyler Independent School District and serves 9th through 12th grade. In 2020, the Tyler I. S. D. school ...
(previously known as John Tyler High School) and Tyler Legacy High School (previously known as Robert E. Lee High School), as well as Tyler ISD Early College High School, Premier High School of Tyler, a public charter school (Cumberland Academy). Several Tyler schools offer
international baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB ...
and advanced placement programs. Tyler is also home to the University of Texas at Tyler University Academy at Tyler, a K–12 public charter operated by the University of Texas at Tyler since 2012 that offers university courses to students in grades 9–12. Portions of incorporated Tyler are served by surrounding school districts. These include sections of southeast Tyler, served by the
Whitehouse Independent School District The Whitehouse Independent School District is a school district in Whitehouse, Texas, Whitehouse, Texas, United States. In addition to Whitehouse, the district also serves some of the southeast Tyler, Texas, Tyler. In 2009, the school district ...
, and some sections in the east which are served by the chapel Hill Independent School District.


Private schools

There are also private schools in Tyler, including Grace Community School (Texas), All Saints Episcopal School,
Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...
School, King's Academy Christian School, Kingdom Life Academy (in the same building but not affiliated with King's Academy), Christian Heritage School, East Texas Christian Academy, and Good Shepherd Reformed Episcopal School. The Brook Hill School in nearby Bullard, TX is also served by the Tyler Independent School District. The Tyler
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
School System of the Catholic Diocese of Tyler consists of St. Gregory Cathedral School and Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Regional Catholic Middle and High School.


Media

Tyler has 24 media outlets and one newspaper. There are many others in the surrounding area.


Newspaper

* Tyler Morning Telegraph


Television


Radio


AM stations


FM stations


Healthcare

Hospitals in Tyler include UT Health Tyler,
Trinity Mother Frances Health System CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health System is a non-profit regional health care provider based in Tyler, Texas that operates eight hospitals and 82 clinic locations in East Texas. History In the early 1930s, the Sisters of The Holy Family of ...
, UT Health North Campus Tyler, and Texas Spine & Joint Hospital. There are also many clinics including the Direct Care Clinic.


Transportation

The most common form of
transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipel ...
ation is the
motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of people or cargo. The ...
. Tyler is a nexus of several major highways.
Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Bet ...
runs along the north edge of the city going east and west,
U.S. Highway 69 U.S. Route 69 (US 69) is a major north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's southern terminus (as well a ...
runs north–south through the center of town and State Highway 64 runs east–west through the city. Tyler also has access to U.S. Highway 271, State Highway 31, State Highway 155, and State Highway 110. Loop 323 was established in 1957 and encircles the city, which has continued to grow outside of this loop. Loop 49 is a limited access "outer loop" around the city and currently runs from State Highway 110 south of Tyler to US 69 northwest of Tyler near Lindale. Loop 124 is in length.


Public transportation

Tyler Transit provides customers with
public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...
ation service within the City of Tyler. The buses run daily, excluding Sundays and holidays. Tyler Transit offers customers the option to purchase tickets, tokens, or passes at the Tyler Transit office, at 210 E. Oakwood Street inside the
Cotton Belt Railroad The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", is a former Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Ten ...
Depot at the main transfer point. The City of Tyler paratransit service is a shared-ride, public transportation service. Requests for service must be made the day before the service is needed. Trips can be scheduled up to 14 days in advance. ADA compliant paratransit service is provided to all origins and destinations within the service area defined as the city limits of Tyler.
Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and ...
bus service is available through a downtown terminal.


Air

Tyler Pounds Regional Airport offers service to and from
Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American ...
and
Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , it is the largest airport in ...
via American Eagle and
Frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts ...
, respectively. While American Eagle provides service with
Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace manufacturer that produces commercial, military, executive and agricultural aircraft, and provides aeronautical services. It was founded in 1969 in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, whe ...
ERJ-135 and ERJ-145 regional jets, Frontier operates with Airbus A320 mainline jet aircraft, Europe's own equivalent to the
Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two ...
. General Aviation services are provided by two fixed-base operators
Johnson Aviation
and the Jet Center of Tyler.


Train

Tyler was the hub for a series of short-line
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s which later evolved into the
St. Louis Southwestern Railway The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", is a former Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Ten ...
, better known as "The Cotton Belt Route," with the city last being a stop on the unnamed successor to the ''
Morning Star Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to: Astronomy * Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise ** See also Venus in culture * Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...
'' between St. Louis and
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. This line later became part of the
Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was ...
, which itself merged with the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...
, which continues to serve the city today with freight traffic. No passenger train service to Tyler has occurred since April 1956, but
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
's '' Texas Eagle'' runs through the city of Mineola, a short distance north of Tyler.


Walkability

A 2014 study by Walk Score ranked Tyler with a walkability score of 32 (out of 100) with some amenities within walking distance.


Notable events

* Fragments of the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' landed near Tyler in 2003, following the
breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the termination of a relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a brea ...
of it in the atmosphere. * On the evening of 2009, a fire engulfed a number of historic buildings in downtown Tyler. Eight different fire departments responded to the fire. * The 1982 Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe, which prohibited denying schooling to immigrant children, originated in the Tyler Independent School District. * The
Tyler courthouse shooting On February 24, 2005, a man shot his ex-wife and son outside the courthouse in Tyler, Texas, then engaged police and court officers in a shootout. David Hernandez Arroyo, Sr. opened fire in front of the courthouse with a Type 56S rifle, killing ...
occurred in 2005, when David Arroyo fatally shot his ex-wife and a man in the Tyler Square inside the Smith County Courthouse.


Notable people


Sister cities

Tyler's
sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...
are: * Lo Barnechea, Chile * Jelenia Góra, Poland *
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...
, Costa Rica *
San Miguel de Allende San Miguel de Allende () is the principal city in the municipality of San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the city lies from Mexico City, 86 km (53 mi) from Quer� ...
, Mexico * Yachiyo, Japan


See also

* Cotton Belt Depot Train Museum * List of museums in East Texas * Tyler Museum of Art * Whitaker-McClendon House


Notes


References


Further reading

* Austin, Gladys Peters, ''Along the Century Trail: Early History of Tyler, Texas'' (Dallas: Avalon Press, 1946) * Burton, Morris ''Tyler as an Early Railroad Center'', Chronicles of Smith County, Spring 1963 * Betts, Vicki, ''Smith County, Texas, in the Civil War'' (Tyler, Texas: Smith County Historical Society, 1978) * Everett, Dianna, ''The Texas Cherokees: A People between Two Fires, 1819–1840'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1990) * Glover, ed., Robert W., ''Tyler and Smith County, Texas'' (n.p.: Walsworth, 1976) * Henderson, Adele, Smith County, ''Texas: Its Background and History in Ante-Bellum Days'' (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, 1926) * McDonald, Archie P. ''Historic Smith County'' (Historical Publishing Network, 2006). * Reed, Robert E. Jr. ''Images of America: Tyler'' (
Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American Publishing, publisher of neighborhood, local history, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the ...
, 2008). * Reed, Robert E. Jr. ''Postcard History: Tyler'' (
Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American Publishing, publisher of neighborhood, local history, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the ...
, 2009). * Smith County Historical Society, ''Historical Atlas of Smith County'' (Tyler, Texas: Tyler Print Shop, 1965) * Wardlaw, Trevor P. "Sires and Sons: The Story of Hubbard's Regiment." CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015. * Whisenhunt, Donald W. comp., ''Chronological History of Smith County'' (Tyler, Texas: Smith County Historical Society, 1983) * Woldert, Albert, ''A History of Tyler and Smith County'' (San Antonio: Naylor, 1948)


External links


City Of Tyler Website
Official City Website {{Authority control Cities in Texas County seats in Texas Cities in Smith County, Texas Cities in the Ark-La-Tex County seats in the Ark-La-Tex Populated places established in 1846 History of Tyler, Texas