Belton, Texas

Belton, Texas
City
Downtown Belton near Bell County Courthouse
Nickname(s): Beltown
Location of Belton, Texas
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Bell
Area
• Total	20.0 sq mi (51.7 km2)
• Land	18.9 sq mi (49.0 km2)
• Water	1.0 sq mi (2.6 km2)
Elevation	509 ft (155 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	18,216
• Density	962/sq mi (371.6/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	76513
Area code(s)	254
FIPS code	48-07492
GNIS feature ID	1351858
Website	www.beltontexas.gov

Bell County Courthouse

Workforce Solutions of Central Texas office in Belton

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, once known as the "Female Baylor", is located in Belton

Map of the city in 1881

Belton is a city in and the county seat of Bell County, Texas, United States. The population was 18,216 at the 2010 census.

Belton is part of the Killeen – Temple – Fort Hood metropolitan area.

Geography

Belton is located near the center of Bell County at (31.058904, -97.463382). It is bordered to the northeast by the Leon River, across which is the city of Temple. Nolan Creek, a tributary of the Leon, runs through the center of Belton. The city limits extend south along Interstate 35 across the Lampasas River nearly to Salado.

By Interstate 35 it is 42 miles (68 km) north to Waco and 60 miles (97 km) south to Austin. U.S. Route 190 leads west from Belton 16 miles (26 km) to Killeen.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.0 square miles (51.7 km²), of which 18.9 square miles (49.0 km²) is land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km²), or 5.08%, is water.

History

Belton was platted in 1850 with the name of Nolandville. It was given its current name in 1851, named after Texas' governor, Peter Hansborough Bell. As the county seat of the like-named Bell County, the town seemed destined for growth. In 1868, Martha McWhirter, a prominent figure in Belton's nonsectarian Union Sunday School, created the only Texas women's communes of the 1800s. Thomas W. Cochran of H.M Cook and Company, which later became Cochran, Blair and Potts, once threatened fisticuffs against Martha McWhirter in the middle of East Central Avenue, yelling her down and telling her that if she wished to live like a man, then by God she should be prepared to fight like one in the streets. 15 of her fellow commune members ran out into the street behind her with pitchforks and other farm implements. Mr. Cochran was humiliated and forced to back down, and remained a mortal enemy of McWhirter from that moment on, and forced the commune to flee to Maryland in 1899 when he refused to sell dry goods to the commune's hotel, Central Hotel. The 1880s marked the town's brightest age, with the building of the courthouse, Baylor Female College buildings, and a "railroad war" in which, by 1881, Belton was bypassed by the railroad which built Temple as the local junction and depot town. In 1913 the city experienced a major flood, leading to the naming of Yettie Polk Park, for Mrs. Yettie Tobler Polk, one of those who died. The town began to thrive again following the creation of Fort Hood in 1942.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	281		—
1880	1,797		539.5%
1890	3,000		66.9%
1900	3,700		23.3%
1910	4,164		12.5%
1920	5,098		22.4%
1930	3,779		−25.9%
1940	3,572		−5.5%
1950	6,246		74.9%
1960	8,163		30.7%
1970	8,696		6.5%
1980	10,660		22.6%
1990	12,476		17.0%
2000	14,623		17.2%
2010	18,216		24.6%
Est. 2014	20,128		10.5%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,623 people, 4,742 households, and 3,319 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,171.3 people per square mile (452.4/km²). There were 5,089 housing units at an average density of 407.6 per square mile (157.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.67% White, 8.10% African American, 0.64% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 14.83% from other races, and 2.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.13% of the population.

There were 4,742 households out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 18.4% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,052, and the median income for a family was $38,635. Males had a median income of $31,304 versus $20,678 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,345. About 12.7% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.7% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Belton is served by the following Belton Independent School District schools:.

• Belton High School, serves 9th through 12th grade (There is a second building that is only 9th grade students referred to as "The Nine")
• Belton New Tech High School at Waskow, serves 9th through 12th grade
• Lake Belton Middle School, serves 6th through 8th grade
• South Belton Middle School, serves 6th through 8th grade
• North Belton Middle School, serves 6th through 8th grade
• Chisholm Trail Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• High Point Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Southwest Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Leon Heights Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Joe M. Pirtle Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Miller Heights Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Tarver Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Lakewood Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Tyler Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Sparta Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Belton Early Childhood School, serves pre-school students

Belton is also home to the University of Mary Hardin–Baylor, a private university affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. As of 2010, UMHB has an enrollment of 2,956.

Sites of interest

The Bell County Museum is a Carnegie-funded structure

Chuckwagon exhibit at Bell County Museum; the chuckwagon was invented by Texas cattleman Charles Goodnight

The Bell County Expo Center is located in Belton and is the venue for many concerts, sporting events, and various ceremonies..

First Baptist Church of Belton

First Christian Church, next to the Bell County Courthouse

For recreation, Belton has two major lakes: Belton Lake on the Leon River, and Stillhouse Hollow Lake on the Lampasas River. There is also a water park, Summer Fun Water Park.

Belton is home to a number of historic churches including First United Methodist Church, founded in 1850, and First Baptist Church, founded in 1853.

Notable people

• Running Back for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL Khiry Robinson is from Belton.
• Musician Danny Barnes is from Belton.
• Actor George Eads grew up in Belton. He graduated from Belton High School in 1985.
• Historian and rancher J. Evetts Haley was born in Belton and is buried beside his first wife, Nita Stewart Haley, in the Moffat Cemetery. He spent most of his life in Midland and Canyon in West Texas.
• Musician Chris Marion of the Little River Band was born in Belton in 1962.
• Commander James T. Melot USN (1913-1988) was born and raised in Belton, graduating from Belton HS and the University of Texas. He served honorably in the US Navy before, during and after WWII. He settled in Brooklyn, New York, with wife Doris (1921-1999) and two children.
• Bass player Pat Seals from the alternative rock band Flyleaf is from Belton.
• Physician W. Roy Smythe, Chairman of Surgery for Scott & White Memorial Hospital, the Scott & White Healthcare system and the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, grew up in Belton, and graduated from Belton High School in 1978.
• General Walton Walker, the 8th Army Commander killed in action in the Korean War, was born in Belton on December 3, 1889.
• Henry T. Waskow, the basis of a famous article by Ernie Pyle, was a Belton native.
• Actor Rudy Youngblood of Mel Gibson's film Apocalypto graduated from Belton High School.
• Molly S. White, Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from Belton
• George Jo Hennard shouted "This is what Bell County did to me!" immediately before commencing the Luby's shooting.

Culture

Belton Lake and Dam

Belton is home of the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame, housed in the Bell County Expo Center.

External links

• City of Belton official website
• The Belton Journal, Texas's oldest continuously published weekly newspaper (since 1866)
• University of Mary Hardin–Baylor
• SeeBelton - General info on Belton, including calendar of upcoming events