Temple, Texas

Temple was founded as a railroad town in 1881 by the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad. It was incorporated in 1882.[6] The town was named after a Santa Fe Railroad official, Bernard Moore Temple.[7] Mr. Temple was a civil engineer and former surveyor with the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company.

In 1882, the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad built through the town, and soon after, the Santa Fe railroad made Temple a division point. In its early years, Temple was a town of shacks and tents with a large number of saloons and tough characters found in the early West. Locally, it was nicknamed "Tanglefoot,” because some residents found that the combination of muddy streets and liquor made walking through the town challenging.

Very shortly after the town was incorporated in 1882, two private schools were founded in the city: the Temple Academy was organized and a public school was established in 1884. In 1893, the annual Temple Stag Party began, growing out of a private Thanksgiving celebration attended by some of the town's leading men. It was held until 1923.[8]

The Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum, on the second floor of the Santa Fe Railroad station at 315 West Avenue B, commemorates the significance of railroads for the city.[9]

Temple is located northeast of the center of Bell County at 31°6′30″N 97°23′21″W (31.108381, −97.389125). It is the second-largest city in Bell County.[10] It is bordered to the southwest, on the opposite side of the Leon River, by Belton, the county seat.

Temple is situated within a relatively short drive of most of the major cities of Texas: 124 mi north to Fort Worth, 130 mi north-northeast to Dallas,[11] 65 mi southwest to Austin, 147 mi southwest to San Antonio, and 168 mi southeast to Houston. The city is located right on Interstate 35 running alongside the Balcones Fault with very mixed geography. Towards the east lies the Blackland Prairie region (a rich farming area), and towards the west, the terrain rises with low, rolling, limestone-layered hills at the northeastern tip of the Texas Hill Country.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 74.9 square miles (194 km²), of which, 70.1 square miles (182 km²) are land and 4.8 square miles (12 km²) are covered by water.[12]

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 82,073 people, 28,276 households, and 18,036 families residing in the city.

As of the 2010 census,[2] 66,102 people, 23,359 households, and 15,878 families resided in the city. The population density was 834.2 inhabitants per square mile (322.1/km²). The 28,005 housing units averaged 359.8 per square mile (138.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.1% White, 23.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% African American, 2.1% Asian, 0.6% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 3.3% from two or more races.

Of the 23,359 households, 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were not families. About 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the city, the population was distributed as 24.1% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,240 and for a family was $42,795. Males had a median income of $30,858 versus $22,113 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,740. About 10.8% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over. Temple's homeless population is approximately 1.9%. Assistance to the homeless is provided by Feed My Sheep and the Salvation Army.[18]

Over 100 years ago, the local economy began with the regional Santa Fe Railroad hospital. Temple now thrives in a complex economy, with both goods distribution and its reputation as a regional medical center leading the way. Baylor Scott & White Health is the largest employer in the area with about 12,000 employees, most located at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple.

Temple is home to many regional distribution centers and is headquarters to two large, multinational companies, Wilsonart International and McLane Company,[19] as well as parent McLane Group. In addition to some manufacturing, also a developing customer service/ call center industry exists. Temple is also home to the Temple Bottling Company, which produces Dr Pepper (with Imperial Cane sugar).

Temple is within 30 miles (48 km) of Fort Hood, and military personnel contribute a portion of the city's economy.

The main city newspaper is the Temple Daily Telegram. Radio stations licensed in Temple include FM stations KVLT-FM, KBDE-FM, KLTD-FM, and KRYH-LP;[26] and AM stations News Radio 1400,[27] and a number of other nearby radio stations can be heard in Temple.[28] A number of broadcast television channels are available in the city: KCEN-TV (NBC), KWTX-TV (CBS), KXXV-TV (ABC), KWKT-TV (Fox), The CW and Telemundo, plus several alternate broadcast channels including MeTV, Cozi, iON, MyNetworkTV, grit and local weather.[29] For cable and satellite television service, Temple is served by Charter Spectrum (formerly Time Warner Cable), DirecTV, Dish Network, and Grande Communications.[30]

• W. J. Adkins, dean of Temple College in the 1940s and founding president of Laredo Community College, 1947 to 1960
• Ki Aldrich, NFL Football Player
• Sammy Baugh, Hall of Fame football player for the Washington Redskins
• Britt Daniel, singer, songwriter, musician with Spoon
• Kenneth Davis, football player
• Brad Dusek, football player
• Gloria Feldt, author, women's rights advocate, former CEO and president of Planned Parenthood
• Forrest B Fenn, Vietnam veteran, art gallery owner, author, and creator of the Fenn treasure
• Brian Floca, author-illustrator and winner of the Caldecott Medal
• Noel Francis, actress
• Ryan Goins, MLB player
• Rufus Granderson, football player
• "Mean" Joe Greene, NTU graduate and Hall of Fame football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Bernard A. Harris Jr., astronaut
• Jose Maria de Leon Hernandez, also known as "Little Joe", Grammy Award-winning leader of Little Joe y La Familia
• Logan Henderson, singer, songwriter, actor
• Walter Iooss, photographer
• Blind Willie Johnson (1897–1945), singer, songwriter, guitarist
• George Koch (1919–1966), football player
• Drayton McLane, Jr., former CEO of McLane Company (headquartered in Temple), owned baseball's Houston Astros and local philanthropist
• Craig McMurtry, former pitcher for the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers, baseball coach for Temple College
• Eric Paslay, country singer
• Ted Poe, US congressman from the 2nd District of Texas
• Dan Pope, mayor of Lubbock since 2016; raised in Temple
• Andre President, football player
• Ben H. Procter, historian
• Jordan Shipley, NFL football player
• Bob Simmons, football player
• Brian Skinner, basketball player
• Rip Torn, actor
• Paul White, racing driver

•  Texas portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Temple, Texas.

• "Temple (Texas)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 603.
• City of Temple official website
• Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple
• Baylor Scott & White McLane Children's Medical Center