Fort Bend County, Texas

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Fort Bend County
County
Fort bend courthouse.jpg
Fort Bend County Courthouse, Richmond, November 2008
FortBendCountySeal.jpg
Seal
Map of Texas highlighting Fort Bend County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas in United States.svg
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 29°32′N95°46′W / 29.53°N 95.77°W / 29.53; -95.77
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Texas.svg  Texas
Founded1838
Named for A blockhouse positioned in a bend of the Brazos River
Seat Richmond
Largest city Sugar Land
Area
 • Total
885 sq mi (2,290 km2)
 • Land861 sq mi (2,230 km2)
 • Water24 sq mi (60 km2)  2.7%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
822,779
 • Estimate 
(2022)
889,146 Increase2.svg
 • Density930/sq mi (360/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts 7th, 9th, 22nd
Website www.fortbendcountytx.gov
Fort Bend County Court House in 1948 (Fort Bend County Court House, Richmond, Texas) (12819388513).jpg
Fort Bend County Court House in 1948

Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. [1] It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days. The county seat is Richmond. The largest city located entirely within the county borders is Sugar Land. The largest city by population in the county is Houston; however, most of Houston's population is located in neighboring Harris County.

Contents

Fort Bend County is included in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 822,779. [2] [3] In 2017, Forbes ranked it the fifth-fastest growing county in the United States. [4]

In 2015, Fort Bend County became Texas's wealthiest county, with a median household income of $95,389 and a median family income of $105,944, surpassing Collin and Rockwall Counties since the 2000 census. [5]

History

Before European settlement, the area was inhabited by Karankawa Indians. Spanish colonists generally did not reach the area during their colonization, settling more in South Texas.

The former Sugar Land Refinery in Sugar Land, TX The Sugar Land Refinery in Sugar Land, TX.jpg
The former Sugar Land Refinery in Sugar Land, TX

After Mexico achieved independence from Spain, Anglo-Americans started entering from the east. In 1822, a group of Stephen F. Austin's colonists, headed by William Travis, built a fort at the present site of Richmond. The fort was called Fort Bend because it was built in the bend of the Brazos River. [6] The city of Richmond was incorporated under the Republic of Texas along with 19 other towns in 1837. Fort Bend County was created from parts of Austin, Harris, and Brazoria Counties in 1838.

Fort Bend developed a plantation economy based on cotton as the commodity crop. Planters had numerous African-American slaves as laborers. By the 1850s, Fort Bend was one of six majority-black counties in Texas. [7] In 1860, the slave population totaled 4,127, more than twice that of the 2,016 whites. [8] Few free Blacks lived there, as Texas refused them entry.

While the area began to attract white immigrants in the late 19th century, it remained majority-Black during and after Reconstruction. Whites endeavored to control freedmen and their descendants through violence and intimidation. Freedmen and their sympathizers supported the Republican Party because of emancipation, electing their candidates to office. The state legislature was still predominately white. By the 1880s, most white residents belonged to the Democratic Party. Factional tensions were fierce, as political elements split largely along racial lines. The Jaybirds, representing the majority of the Whites, struggled to regain control from the Woodpeckers, who were made up of some whites who were consistently elected to office by the majority of African Americans, as several had served as Republican officials during Reconstruction.

Fort Bend County was the site of the Jaybird–Woodpecker War in 1888–89. After a few murders were committed, the political feud culminated in a gun battle at the courthouse on August 16, 1889, when several more people were killed and the Woodpeckers were routed from the county seat. [9]

Governor Lawrence Sullivan Ross sent in militia forces and declared martial law. With his support, the Jaybirds ordered a list of certain Blacks and Woodpecker officials out of the county, overthrowing the local government. The Jaybirds took over county offices and established a "White-only pre-primary," disenfranchising African Americans from the only competitive contests in the county. [9] This device lasted until 1950, when Willie Melton and Arizona Fleming won a lawsuit against the practice in United States District Court, though it was overturned on appeal. In 1953, they ultimately won their suit when the Supreme Court of the United States declared the Jaybird primary unconstitutional in Terry v. Adams , [10] the last of the white primary cases. [11]

20th century to present

In the 1960s, the first of several master-planned communities that came to define the county were developed, marking the beginning of its transformation from a largely rural county dominated by railroad and oil and gas interests to a major suburban county dominated by service and manufacturing industries. Among the earliest such developments were Sugar Land's Sugar Creek and Missouri City's Quail Valley, whose golf course hosted the Houston Open during the 1973 and 1974 seasons of the PGA Tour. [12] Another was First Colony in Sugar Land, a 9,700-acre development commenced in the 1970s by Houston developer Gerald D. Hines that eventually became the southwest Greater Houston area's main retail hub, anchored by First Colony Mall and Sugar Land Town Square. [13]

Since the 1980s, new communities have continued to develop, with Greatwood, New Territory, and Sienna (originally Sienna Plantation) among the more recent notable developments. [14] In addition to continued development in the eastern part of the county around Sugar Land and Missouri City, the Greater Katy area began to experience rapid growth and expansion into Fort Bend County in the 1990s, led by the development of Cinco Ranch. [15] By 2010, the county's population exceeded 500,000, and it had become the second-largest county in the greater Houston area (behind Harris County).

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused significant flooding in Fort Bend County, leading to the evacuation of 200,000 residents and over 10,000 rescues. The unprecedented flooding, the result of record rainfall and overflow from the Brazos River and Barker Reservoir, resulted in damage to or destruction of over 6,800 homes in the county. [16]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 885 square miles (2,290 km2), of which 24 square miles (62 km2) (2.7%) are covered by water. [17]

Adjacent counties

Communities

Cities (multiple counties)

Cities

Town

Villages

Census-designated places

Former census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Demographics

From 1930 to 1950, the county showed a decline in the rate of expansion and even a decrease in population. This was a period when many African Americans migrated in the second wave of the Great Migration from Texas and other parts of the South to the West Coast, where a buildup in the defense industry provided more job opportunities. Other minorities settled in the county during its residential development, and African Americans are now a minority.

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1850 2,533—
1860 6,143142.5%
1870 7,11415.8%
1880 9,38031.9%
1890 10,58612.9%
1900 16,53856.2%
1910 18,1689.9%
1920 22,93126.2%
1930 29,71829.6%
1940 32,96310.9%
1950 31,056−5.8%
1960 40,52730.5%
1970 52,31429.1%
1980 130,846150.1%
1990 225,42172.3%
2000 354,45257.2%
2010 585,37565.1%
2020 822,79740.6%
2023 (est.)916,778 [18] 11.4%
U.S. Decennial Census [19]
1850–2020 [20] 2010 [21] 2020 [22] [2]
Fort Bend County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1990 [23] Pop 2000 [24] Pop 2010 [21] Pop 2020 [22] % 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020
White alone (NH)121,245163,788211,680243,72653.79%46.21%36.16%29.62%
Black or African American alone (NH)45,67869,579123,267167,96420.26%19.63%21.06%20.41%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)4116211,1591,2690.18%0.18%0.20%0.15%
Asian alone (NH)13,97839,54598,762181,5226.20%11.16%16.87%22.06%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)N/A97174276N/A0.03%0.03%0.03%
Other race alone (NH)2175441,3414,0550.10%0.15%0.23%0.49%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)N/A5,40710,02525,387N/A1.53%1.71%3.09%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)43,89274,871138,967198,58019.47%21.12%23.74%24.14%
Total225,421354,452585,375822,779100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

As of the census [25] of 2000, 354,452 people, 110,915 households, and 93,057 families resided in the county. The population density was 405 people per square mile (156 people/km2). The 115,991 housing units averaged 133 units per square mile (51/km2). The racial or ethnic makeup of the county was 56.96% White (46.21% White non-Hispanic), 19.85% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 11.20% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 9.10% from other races, and 2.56% from two or more races. About 21.12% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Other self-identifications were 8.8% of German ancestry, 6.3% American, and 5.8% English ancestry.

In 2000, of the 110,915 households, 49.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.80% were married couples living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.10% were not families. About 13.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14, and the average family size was 3.46.

In the county, the age distribution of the population was 32.00% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 32.30% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 5.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.30 males.

Ethnic backgrounds

Since the 1970s, Fort Bend County has been attracting people from all ethnic backgrounds. According to a 2001 Claritas study, it was the fifth-most diverse U.S. county, among counties with a population of 100,000 or more. [26]

It is one of a growing number of U.S. counties with an ethnic plurality, with no single ethnic group forming a majority of the population. Fort Bend County also has the highest percentage of Asian Americans in the Southern United States; the largest groups are of Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, and Filipino ancestry. By 2011, Fort Bend was ranked the fourth-most racially diverse county in the United States by USA Today . The newspaper based the ranking on calculating the probability that two persons selected at random would be of different ethnic groups or races. According to the USA Today methodology, the chance of people of being two different ethnic groups/races being selected was 75%. Karl Eschbach, a former demographer with the State of Texas, has said that many people from Houston neighborhoods and communities with clear racial identities, such as the East End, Sunnyside, and the Third Ward, moved to suburban areas that were too new to have established racial identities. Eschbach explained, "[a]s a large minority middle class started to emerge, Fort Bend was virgin territory that all groups could move to." [27]

In 2020 Fort Bend County had the highest percentage of Asian Americans of any county in Texas. In 2019 Indian Americans make up almost 50% of the Asian Americans in the county, with the second and third largest subsets being Chinese Americans and Vietnamese Americans. From 2010 to 2020 the percentage of non-Hispanic white people declined by 4.8%, the Asian American community grew by 83,167 (83.7% increase), the percentage of Hispanic people increased by 42.9% and the percentage of black people increased by 35.9%. [28] Fort Bend County also has the highest percentage of Filipino Americans in the Greater Houston area and in state of Texas. [29] Filipinos are also the fourth largest Asian subset in the county. [29]

Economic characteristics

According to the 2008 American Community Survey, the median income for a household in the county was $81,456, and for a family was $90,171. [30] Males had a median income of $54,139 versus $41,353 for females. The per capita income for the county was $30,862. About 5.50% of families and 7.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.50% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2006, Fort Bend County is the wealthiest county in Texas, with a median household income of $95,389 and a median family income of $105,944, having surpassed Collin and Rockwall Counties since the 2000 census. [5] However, the Council for Community and Economic Research ranked Fort Bend County America's third-wealthiest county when the local cost of living was factored in. [31]

This estimate does not include property taxes and local taxes, as effective tax rates and home insurance were not measured. Along with other Texas counties, Fort Bend County has one of the nation's highest property-tax rates. In 2007, it was ranked fifth in the nation for property taxes as a percentage of the homes' value on owner-occupied housing. The list includes only counties with a population over 65,000. [32] Fort Bend County also ranked in the top 100 in property taxes paid and percentage of taxes of income. Part of this is due to Texas's complex Robin Hood plan school financing law. [33]

Government and politics

County politics in Fort Bend County, as in all Texas counties, center around a commissioners' court. It is composed of four popularly elected county commissioners, one representing each precinct drawn decennially on the basis of population, and a county judge elected to represent the entire county. Other county officials include a sheriff, district attorney, tax assessor-collector, county clerk, district clerk, county treasurer, and county attorney.

For decades, Fort Bend County was a stronghold for the Democratic Party, having achieved disenfranchisement of Blacks at the county level in 1889 in the aftermath of the Jaybird–Woodpecker War. [9] The state effectively disfranchised them with a poll tax and White primaries; the latter device was declared unconstitutional in 1944. By 1960, so few Republicans resided in Fort Bend County that the county's Republican chair once received a letter addressed simply to "Mr. Republican". [34]

As the 1960s progressed, though, rapid suburban-style development in west and southwest Houston began to overflow into Fort Bend County, where the development of numerous master-planned communities attracted many upper-middle-class families to developments in the eastern portion of the county. This development, along with the shift of conservative white Democrats towards the Republican Party in the wake of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, led to increased support for the GOP in the following years. [35] Richard Nixon narrowly carried the county in 1968, making it the only county in greater Houston outside of Harris County to go Republican that year, and carried it again in 1972. In 1976, conservative physician Ron Paul of Brazoria County, noted for his opposition to most government programs, which earned him the nickname "Dr. No", captured the 22nd district in the United States House of Representatives in a special election, before narrowly losing re-election in the November election in which Gerald Ford also won Fort Bend, despite losing Texas to Jimmy Carter.

Beginning in 1978, Republicans began to win several offices within the county, with William P. Clements carrying the county in his successful run for governor. That same year, Paul was returned to Congress, while businessman Tom DeLay captured the county's seat in the Texas House of Representatives. In 1984 DeLay succeeded Paul in Congress after the latter ran an unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign, and became House majority leader by 2002. Beginning in 1982, Republicans won a number of county-level offices and judicial benches, and Fort Bend County's new reputation as a Republican stronghold culminated in the 1994 election of a Republican county judge to the commissioners' court for the first time since Reconstruction. As of 2019, five of Fort Bend County's eight countywide offices, including two precinct-level positions, are held by Republicans. The remaining three are held by Democrats.

With growing populations of minorities and more socially moderate suburban voters who often break Republican on fiscal and economic issues, Fort Bend County has recently become more competitive. In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama came very close to winning the county, with 48.6% of the vote to Republican John McCain's 50.9%. In 2016, Hillary Clinton became the first Democrat to carry the county since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, largely due to the unpopularity of Republican nominee Donald Trump, with many voters splitting their tickets between Clinton and Republicans for other offices; Republicans won every elected countywide office by a margin similar to Clinton's, while also defeating an incumbent Democrat on the Fort Bend County Commissioners' Court. [36] [37] In 2018, significant enthusiasm for U.S. Senate candidate Beto O' Rourke and strong Democratic infrastructure resulted in Democratic control of the commissioners' court (including county judge) and a number of countywide administrative and judicial posts, with Fort Bend Independent School District board trustee K.P. George becoming Texas's first Asian-American county judge. [38]

Today, Fort Bend County is often considered a swing county, with election results usually tilting more Democratic than statewide results, which continue to favor Republicans. Elections within the county are often decided by margins in more Republican-leaning areas in Sugar Land, Rosenberg, and Sienna, with Republicans dominating in the Katy, Fulshear, and rural southern areas of the county and Democrats in the county's northeast corner around Missouri City and Fresno, as well as heavily Hispanic Mission Bend.

Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the federal government has enforced it by regularly reviewing voting patterns and local practices, and plaintiffs have sometimes sued state or local governments over discriminatory practices. In April 2009, as part of a settlement with the United States Department of Justice, officials of Fort Bend County agreed to increase assistance to Spanish-speaking Latino voters in elections held in the county. [35]

United States presidential election results for Fort Bend County, Texas [39]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
2024 173,11448.01%178,13449.40%9,3322.59%
2020 157,71844.01%195,55254.57%5,0631.41%
2016 117,29144.76%134,68651.39%10,0893.85%
2012 116,12652.91%101,14446.08%2,2191.01%
2008 103,20650.89%98,36848.50%1,2480.62%
2004 93,62557.38%68,72242.12%8220.50%
2000 73,56759.56%47,56938.51%2,3731.92%
1996 49,94553.79%38,16341.10%4,7485.11%
1992 41,03946.62%29,99234.07%17,00019.31%
1988 39,81862.43%23,35136.61%6150.96%
1984 41,37068.71%18,72931.11%1100.18%
1980 25,36666.25%11,58330.25%1,3373.49%
1976 17,35460.28%11,26439.13%1690.59%
1972 10,47569.42%4,54130.09%730.48%
1968 4,57339.72%4,49339.02%2,44821.26%
1964 3,49336.01%6,18663.78%200.21%
1960 3,30142.81%4,33956.27%710.92%
1956 3,77959.83%2,46439.01%731.16%
1952 3,97455.00%3,24144.85%110.15%
1948 1,01628.12%2,05856.96%53914.92%
1944 44211.11%2,78169.87%75719.02%
1940 74819.43%3,10180.57%00.00%
1936 1766.34%2,58893.26%110.40%
1932 1484.53%3,10995.22%80.25%
1928 63126.77%1,72473.14%20.08%
1924 35615.82%1,69075.11%2049.07%
1920 00.00%272.91%90297.09%
1916 32928.86%78869.12%232.02%
1912 27624.86%67961.17%15513.96%

Commissioners' court

CommissionersNamePartyFirst ElectedCommunities Represented
 JudgeKP George Democratic 2018Countywide
 Precinct 1Vincent Morales [40] Republican 2016Arcola, Beasley, Fairchilds, Fresno, Greatwood, Needville, Orchard, Richmond, Rosenberg, Sienna Plantation
 Precinct 2Grady Prestage Democratic 1990eastern Stafford, most of Missouri City east of FM 1092, Meadows Place, Mission Bend
 Precinct 3Andy Meyers Republican 1996Cinco Ranch, Fulshear, Lakemont, Pecan Grove, Simonton, small portions of Sugar Land
 Precinct 4Dexter L. McCoy Democratic 2022Most of Sugar Land, Missouri City west of FM 1092, New Territory, Riverstone

County officials

OfficeNameParty
 County AttorneyBridgette Smith-LawsonDemocratic
 County ClerkLaura RichardRepublican
 District AttorneyBrian MiddletonDemocratic
 District ClerkBeverley McGrew WalkerDemocratic
 SheriffEric FaganDemocratic
 Tax Assessor-CollectorCarmen TurnerDemocratic
 TreasurerBill RickertRepublican

United States Congress

Source: [41]

SenatorsNamePartyFirst ElectedLevel
 Senate Class 1 Ted Cruz Republican 2012Junior Senator
 Senate Class 2 John Cornyn Republican 2002Senior senator
RepresentativesNamePartyFirst ElectedArea(s) of Fort Bend County Represented
 District 7 Lizzie Fletcher Democratic 2018Mission Bend, Four Corners, western portions of Sugar Land, and unincorporated portions of the north-central part of the county
 District 9 Al Green Democratic 2004Northeastern corner of the county, including Fresno and most of Stafford, Missouri City, and the county's portion of Houston
 District 22 Troy Nehls Republican 2020Greater Katy areas, Fulshear, Richmond, Rosenberg, Sienna, eastern portion of Sugar Land, and southwestern Missouri City

Texas Legislature

Texas Senate

District [42] NamePartyFirst ElectedArea(s) of Fort Bend County Represented
 13 Borris Miles Democratic 2016Fresno, Fifth Street, most of Missouri City, the county's share of Pearland and Stafford, and most of the county's share of Houston
 17 Joan Huffman Republican 2008Northwestern and southern areas of the county, including Fulshear, eastern portions of Sugar Land, and the county's share of Cinco Ranch and Katy
 18 Lois Kolkhorst Republican 2015 (special)Central areas of the county, including Richmond, Rosenberg, Mission Bend, Pecan Grove, Four Corners, and western portions of Sugar Land

Texas House of Representatives

District [43] NamePartyFirst ElectedArea(s) of Fort Bend County Represented
 26 Jacey Jetton Republican 2020Richmond, Pecan Grove, most of Cinco Ranch, some of Rosenberg and Katy, and other northern and central areas of the county
 27 Ron Reynolds Democratic 2010Missouri City, Sienna Plantation, Fresno, Arcola, much of Stafford, and county's share of Houston
 28 Gary Gates Republican 2020Western and southern areas of county including Fulshear, most of Rosenberg and much of Sugar Land
 76 Suleman Lalani Democratic 2022Northern areas of county including Meadows Place, Four Corners, and some of Sugar Land, Stafford and Mission Bend
 85 Stan Kitzman Republican 2022Southern fringe of the county, including Thompsons and Kendleton; district also includes Austin, Colorado, Fayette, Waller and Wharton counties

Corrections

The Fort Bend County Jail is at 1410 Richmond Parkway in Richmond. [44]

Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the following facilities in Fort Bend County, all at the Jester State Prison Farm site:

Prisons for men:

Other facilities:

The TDCJ announced that the Central Unit in Sugar Land was closing in 2011. The City of Sugar Land is exploring the property for future economic development, including light industrial uses, as well as a potential expansion of Sugar Land Regional Airport. [50]

County buildings

Economy

In contrast to greater Houston in general, Fort Bend County's economy is more diverse, with numerous service-sector jobs in healthcare, energy, education, hospitality, and other areas. Major companies with a presence in the county include Schlumberger, Minute Maid, Fluor, and Sunoco's logistics operations in Sugar Land. The Houston Business Journal reported in 2010 that the diversity of industries promoted decades of rapid population growth. [51] After Memorial Hermann Hospital and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital opened facilities in Fort Bend County, already home to local facilities for Houston Methodist Hospital in Sugar Land, as well as locally based OakBend Medical Center in Richmond, many doctors moved their offices to the county. [52] Compared to Montgomery County, which has experienced rapid growth in corporate employment following ExxonMobil's decision to move its greater Houston operations to an area directly south of The Woodlands, Fort Bend County has yet to experience significant corporate growth, though Schlumberger recently announced plans to move its North American headquarters to Sugar Land.

Healthcare

The county does not have a hospital district. OakBend Medical Center serves as the county's charity hospital which the county contracts with. [53]

Education

Public school districts

School districts in the county include: [54]

Kendleton Independent School District, which formerly served parts of the county, [55] closed in 2010 and merged into LCISD. [56]

Higher education

The Texas Legislature assigns these community college districts to the following: [57]

Technical school

Libraries

Fort Bend County Libraries operates many libraries in the county.

Houston Public Library operates one branch in the county, the Stimley Blue Ridge Neighborhood Library in Blue Ridge, Houston. [59]

Media

Local newspapers in the county include three weeklies: the Fort Bend Star , headquartered in Stafford; the Fort Bend Independent; and the Fort Bend Sun , headquartered in Sugar Land. The daily Fort Bend Herald and Texas Coaster focuses on news coverage in the Richmond-Rosenberg area. Fort Bend County is also a major service area for the Houston Chronicle , which provides separate local coverage for the Sugar Land and Katy areas.

Transportation

Major highways

Farm to Market Road 1092, a major entry into the county EnterFortBend.JPG
Farm to Market Road 1092, a major entry into the county

Major Farm to Market Roads

Airports

The sole publicly owned airport in the county is Sugar Land Regional Airport in Sugar Land.

Privately owned airports for public use include:

Privately owned for private use:

The closest airport with regularly scheduled commercial service is Houston's William P. Hobby Airport in Harris County. Fort Bend County is also within the primary service area of George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. [60]

Mass transit

Fort Bend County officially created a department of public transportation in 2005 that provides commuter buses to Uptown, Greenway Plaza, and Texas Medical Center. It also provides demand-and-response buses to senior citizens and the general public that travel only in Fort Bend County. [61] Parts of the county, such as Katy and Missouri City, participate in the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County and are served by several park-and-ride routes.

Freeway system

The TTC-69 component (recommended preferred) of the once-planned Trans-Texas Corridor went through Fort Bend County. [62]

Toll roads

The Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority in Sugar Land manages and operates tolled portions of these toll roads operating in the county:

Notable people

See also

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Pearland is a city in Brazoria County, with portions extending into Fort Bend and Harris counties, in Texas, United States. The city of Pearland is a principal city within the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. At the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 125,828, up from a population of 91,252 at the 2010 census. Pearland's population growth rate from 2000 to 2010 was 142 percent, which ranked Pearland as the 15th-fastest-growing city in the U.S. during that time period, compared to other cities with a population of 10,000 or greater in 2000. Pearland is the third-largest city in the Greater Houston area after Houston and Pasadena, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katy, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in the Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Homes and businesses may have Katy postal addresses without being in the City of Katy. The city of Katy is approximately centered at the tripoint of Harris, Fort Bend, and Waller counties. The population was 21,894 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stafford, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Stafford is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small part in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, Stafford's population was 17,666, down from 17,693 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Houston</span> Metropolitan Statistical Area in Texas, United States

Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Coast in Southeast Texas. With a population of 7,510,253 in 2023, Greater Houston is the second-most populous metropolitan area in Texas after the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas's 7th congressional district</span> U.S. House district for Texas

Texas's 7th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives comprises a small area of southwestern Houston and Harris County, along with a northern portion of suburban Fort Bend County. As of the 2000 census, the 7th district comprises 651,620 people. Since 2019, it has been represented by Democrat Lizzie Fletcher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katy Independent School District</span> School district in Texas, United States

The Katy Independent School District (KISD) is a public school district based in Katy, Texas, United States with an enrollment of over 85,700 students. In 2022, the district was given a grade of "A" by the Texas Education Agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas's 22nd congressional district</span> U.S. House district for Texas

Texas's 22nd congressional district of the United States House of Representatives covers a largely suburban southwestern portion of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. The district includes most of Fort Bend County, including most of the cities of Sugar Land, Rosenberg, Needville and the county seat of Richmond as well as the county's share of the largely unincorporated Greater Katy area west of Houston. In addition, the district also contains portions of northern Brazoria County, including most of Pearland and Alvin and all of Wharton and Matagorda counties, as well as a small portion of western Harris County centered on most of that county's share of the Greater Katy area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geographic areas of Houston</span> Overview article

The geographic areas of Houston are generally classified as either being inside or outside Interstate 610, colloquially called "the Loop". The Loop generally encircles the central business district and the "island cities" of West University Place, Southside Place, and a portion of Bellaire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaybird–Woodpecker War</span>

The Jaybird–Woodpecker War (1888–89) was a feud between two United States Democratic Party factions fighting for political control of Fort Bend County, Texas, in the southeast part of the state. The Jay Bird Democratic Association was an all-White political organization formed in 1887 by young men to challenge and regain control of the county government from the biracial coalition of former White and Black Republicans who had dominated the county Democratic party and county government since 1869. Murders and political assassinations were committed against persons in each faction in 1888 and 1889.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westpark Tollway</span>

The Westpark Tollway, also Fort Bend Westpark Tollway, is a controlled-access toll road in Texas, serving western Houston and Harris County, and northeastern Fort Bend County. Construction on the facility began in 2001 and portions of the road were opened to traffic in May 2004. Construction of the roadway was completed in August 2005. The Westpark Tollway begins on Westpark Drive just past the South Rice Avenue intersection in the Uptown District of Houston and runs approximately 22 miles (35 km) west to Farm to Market Road 1093 just past Farm to Market Road 723 in Fulshear, Texas. It runs roughly parallel and to the south of Westheimer Road in Harris County and concurrently with FM 1093 in Fort Bend County.

Greater Katy Area is the term often used to refer to a suburban region on the west side of the Greater Houston metropolitan area roughly corresponding to the boundaries of the Katy Independent School District. Many people and businesses in this area have a Katy address, but are not part of the city of Katy. This area includes the suburbs that surround the Katy city limits west to Pederson road, roughly east to State Highway 6, north to FM 529, and south to FM 1093/ Westpark Tollway Parkway. While these boundaries are not exact, it gives a rough outline of what most people consider Greater Katy, and what the USPS designates as "Katy, Texas" by assigning that city to addresses within zip codes that fall in this region. Most of Greater Katy is to the east of the city of Katy toward Houston and includes surrounding suburban areas and unincorporated areas that are not in the Houston city limits. The region includes parts of Harris County, Fort Bend County, and Waller County much as the City of Katy does. Greater Katy is one of the fastest-growing portions of the Houston metropolitan area and the state of Texas as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pittsville, Texas</span>

Pittsville is an unincorporated area that formerly held a distinct community in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States. The site is along Farm to Market Road 359 near Hunt Road and is nineteen miles northwest of Richmond and three miles north of Fulshear. Some consider Pittsville a Texas ghost town since its last residents left in the 1940s. The area is growing, as Greater Houston stretches westward into the Katy–Fulshear–Simonton area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulshear High School</span> Public school in Texas, United States

Churchill Fulshear, Jr. High School is a public senior high school in the LCISD Education Center in Fulshear, Texas, and in the Houston metropolitan area. The school, which serves the LCISD portion of Fulshear, Weston Lakes, and Simonton, is a part of the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (LCISD). The school's namesake was a part of the Fulshear family, one of the first Anglo white families to settle Texas, and fought in the Texas Revolution.

References

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  2. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Fort Bend County, Texas". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  4. ↑ Kotkin, Joel. "No 5: Fort Bend County, Texas - pg.5". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  5. 1 2 "2015 American Community Survey: Fort Bend County, Texas". census.gov. 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  6. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  128.
  7. ↑ Alvarez, Elizabeth Cruce (November 8, 2011). Texas Almanac 2012–2013. Texas A&M University Press. pp. Contents. ISBN   9780876112571 . Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  8. ↑ Virginia Laird Ott, "FORT BEND COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online ( "FORT BEND COUNTY | the Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)". Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2014.), accessed February 22, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association
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  10. ↑ Hayes, Bonni C. (2010). "Handbook of Texas Online: ARIZONA FLEMING". Texas State Historical Association. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
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  62. ↑ TxDoT, TTC Section C & S, Detailed Maps 2 & 3, December 17, 2007 [ permanent dead link ]

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