McKinney, Texas

History

On March 24, 1849, William Davis, who owned 3,000 acres (12 km²) where McKinney now stands, donated 120 acres (0.49 km²) for the townsite. Ten years later, McKinney incorporated, and in 1913, the town adopted the commission form of government.

For the first 125 years of its history, McKinney served as the principal commercial center for the county. The county seat provided farmers with flour, corn, and cotton mills, cotton gins, a cotton compress, and a cottonseed oil mill, as well as banks, churches, schools, newspapers, and from the 1880s, an opera house. Businesses also came to include a textile mill, an ice company, a large dairy, and a garment-manufacturing company. The population grew from 35 in 1848 to 4,714 in 1912. By 1953, McKinney had a population of more than 10,000 and 355 businesses. The town continued to serve as an agribusiness center for the county until the late 1960s.

By 1970, McKinney was surpassed in size by Plano. McKinney experienced moderate population growth, from 15,193 in the 1970 census, to 21,283 in the 1990 census. By the mid-1980s, the town had become a commuter center for residents who worked in Plano and Dallas. In 1985, it had a population of just over 16,000 and supported 254 businesses. Since then, McKinney's rate of increase has been much more dramatic. In the 2000 census, McKinney had grown to 54,369 with 2,005 businesses and in the 2010 census the population had more than doubled to 131,117 residents. The Census Bureau's most recent estimated population for McKinney (July 1, 2015) is 162,898. The most recent population estimate, produced by the city as of January 1, 2017, is 168,358.

Both the city and the county were named for Collin McKinney, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and a congressman for the Red River district of the Republic of Texas. He was the author of a bill establishing counties in the northern part of the state.

Geography

McKinney is located in west-central Collin County at 33°11′50″N 96°38′23″W (33.197210°N 96.639751°W / 33.197210; -96.639751).. Some of the popular places in McKinney are the Historic Downtown McKinney, Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary and Towne Lake Recreation Area.

McKinney's geographic neighbors are:

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 62.9 square miles (162.9 km²), of which 62.2 square miles (161.1 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.7 km²), or 1.07%, is covered by water.

Climate

McKinney is considered part of the humid subtropical region.

It is also part of the Texas blackland prairies, which means it gets hot summers because it is in the Sun Belt. Humidity makes temperatures feel higher, and winters are mild and are usually rainy, snowstorms occasionally occur. Spring is the wettest part of the year, which brings winds from the Gulf Coast.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census McKinney had a population of 131,117. The median age was 33. The racial composition of the population was 74.8% White, 10.5% Black, 0.7% Native American, 4.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 3.1% reporting two or more races. About 18.6% of residents were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 28,186 households, 45.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were not families; 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the city, the population was distributed as 30.9% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 36.4% from 25 to 44, 16.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $63,366, and for a family was $72,133. Males had a median income of $50,663 versus $32,074 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,185. About 4.9% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

Population growth and foreign-born population

Between 1970 and 1990, McKinney experienced moderate population growth, from 15,193 in the 1970 census, to 21,283 in the 1990 census. Since then, McKinney's rate of increase has been much more dramatic. In the 2000 census, McKinney had grown to 54,369 and to 131,117 in the 2010 census.

As of the 2000 U.S. Census, 64% of the foreign-born residents of McKinney originated from Mexico. As of 2009, 70% of McKinney's total population born outside of the United States had arrived to the U.S. in the 1990s.

Economy

According to the city's 2016 Annual Development Report, the top 5 private employers in the city are:

Local government

The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (2016) states that the city's various funds had $324.6 million in total revenues, $247.9 million in total expenditures, $1,360.8 million in total assets, $437.6 million in total liabilities, and $363.9 million in cash and investments.

The McKinney City Council has seven members. Two council members and the mayor are elected at large, and four council members are elected to single-member districts.

McKinney's City Manager serves under the direction of the City Council, and administers and coordinates the implementation of procedures, policies, and ordinances.

The city of McKinney is a voluntary member of the North Central Texas Council of Governments association, the purpose of which is to coordinate individual and collective local governments and facilitate regional solutions, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and enable joint decisions.

State government

McKinney is represented in the Texas Senate by Republican Van Taylor, District 8, and Republican Craig Estes, District 30. McKinney is also represented in the Texas House of Representatives by Republican Scott Sanford, District 70.

Federal government

At the federal level, the two U.S. senators from Texas are Republicans John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. McKinney is part of Texas' U.S. Congressional 3rd District, which is currently represented by Republican Sam Johnson.

Police department

The McKinney Police Department is the primary municipal law enforcement agency that serves the city. Chief Greg Conley is the head of the department and for the fiscal year of 2016-2017 there was an authorized total of 201 sworn peace officers and 59 non-sworn civilian positions. The department was awarded national accredited status from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and is also a Texas Police Chief's Association Foundation (TPCAF) Recognized Agency, making it only the third agency in Texas to receive both state and national accreditation. Notable recent incidents in the history of the department include the high-profile investigation of a 2004 quadruple homicide that claimed the lives of two adults and two high school football players, a 2010 attack on the police department headquarters by a gunman who fired over 100 rifle rounds at the building and employees after attempting to detonate a truck and trailer full of explosives, and protests and media attention in 2015 after a video was released showing an officer pinning a girl at a pool party in McKinney to the ground with his knees. The department has lost three officers in the line of duty; City Marshal Samuel Burks in 1902, Officer Marion Taylor in 1938, and Officer Milligan Burk in 1970.

Colleges

McKinney is the home of the Central Park Campus of Collin College near the city's center at US 75 and US 380, which opened in 1985 as the initial campus for the community college district. The Collin Higher Education Center campus of Collin College opened in southern McKinney in 2010 and offers select bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree programs in partnership with Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas Woman's University, The University of Texas at Dallas, and the University of North Texas.

Public school districts

McKinney is served primarily by the McKinney Independent School District, however significant parts of the western side of the city are part of nearby Frisco Independent School District and Prosper Independent School District. Other smaller areas along the outer edges of the city are zoned to Celina Independent School District, Allen Independent School District, Melissa Independent School District, and Lovejoy Independent School District.

Public high schools

High schools include McKinney High School, McKinney North High School, McKinney Boyd High School, and Serenity High School.

In the 2016 U.S. News & World Report High School Rankings, McKinney North High School ranked #90 in Texas rankings and #794 in National rankings; McKinney High ranked #96 and #878 respectively and McKinney Boyd ranked #106 and #923 respectively.

In The Dallas Morning News, McKinney North High School was ranked #4 in state and #3 in area for football.

Public elementary and middle schools

Middle schools include Dowell Middle School, Evans Middle School, Faubion Middle School, Scott Johnson Middle School, and Cockrill Middle School.

Elementary schools include Bennett Elementary, Burks Elementary, Caldwell Elementary, Eddins Elementary, Finch Elementary, Glen Oaks Elementary, Johnson Elementary, Malvern Elementary, McNeil Elementary, Minshew Elementary, Slaughter Elementary, Valley Creek Elementary, Vega Elementary, Walker Elementary, Webb Elementary, Wilmeth Elementary, Wolford Elementary, Press Elementary, and McGowen Elementary.

Valley Creek, McNeil, Eddins, Wolford, Reuben Johnson, Walker, Press, and Glen Oaks elementary schools were included in a list of "Best Public Schools in Texas" by Texas Monthly magazine in 2006.

Private schools

There are three private schools in the city that serve all grades from K-12; McKinney Christian Academy, Cornerstone Christian Academy, and North Texas Christian Academy.

Media

The McKinney Courier-Gazette is a daily newspaper published in McKinney, Texas, covering Collin County. It is owned by American Community Newspapers.

The newspaper has a daily circulation of 4,400 and a Sunday circulation of 26,400.

Transportation

McKinney is served by two U.S. Highways: US 75 and US 380. The city is also bordered by the Sam Rayburn Tollway, a toll road administered by the NTTA that runs to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

McKinney currently has no public transit after financial troubles caused Texoma Area Paratransit System (TAPS) to stop offering contracted service in the city in 2015, although as of late 2016 the city is in the process of pursuing a designation as an Urban Transit District to allow them to directly receive state and federal funds to re-establish some form of public transit.

The far southwestern corner of McKinney, in the large Craig Ranch development, has a trolley bus operated for the use of residents that serves the development and some shopping centers in the surrounding area.

McKinney National Airport and Aero Country Airport are also located in McKinney and provide private and business air services.

Major highways

Railways

Notable people

Landmarks