Denison, Texas
City
Denison Commercial Historic District
Denison Commercial Historic District
Flag of Denison, Texas
Flag
Location of Denison, Texas
Location of Denison, Texas
Denison is located in Texas
Denison
Denison
Location in Texas
Denison is located in the United States
Denison
Denison
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 33°44′59″N 96°33′27″W / 33.74972°N 96.55750°W / 33.74972; -96.55750
Country United States
State Texas
CountyGrayson
Founded1872
Government
 • TypeCouncil-manager
 • City CouncilMayor Janet Gott
Obie Greenleaf
JC Doty
Michael Baecht (mayor pro tem)
VACANT

Kris Spiegel
 • City managerJudson Rex
Area
[1]
 • City29.06 sq mi (75.27 km2)
 • Land28.61 sq mi (74.09 km2)
 • Water0.46 sq mi (1.18 km2)  1.94%
Elevation
728 ft (222 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • City22,682
 • Estimate 
(2019)[3]
25,529
 • Density892.44/sq mi (344.57/km2)
 • Urban
61,900[2] (US: 438th)
 • Urban density1,722.9/sq mi (665.2/km2)
 • Metro
120,877
 • Demonyms
Denisonite Denisonian
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes
75020–75021
Area code903
FIPS code48-19900[4]
GNIS feature ID1379652[5]
Websitewww.cityofdenison.com

Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the Texas–Oklahoma border. Its population was 24,479 at the 2020 and 22,682 at the 2010 censuses.[4] Denison is part of the Texoma region and is one of two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan statistical area. Denison is the birthplace of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

History

Denison was founded in 1872 in conjunction with the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad (MKT) or "Katy" depot.[6] It was named after wealthy Katy vice president George Denison.[7] Because the town was established close to where the MKT crossed the Red River (both important conduits of transportation in the industrial era), it came to be an important commercial center in the 19th-century American West. In 1875, Doc Holliday had offices in Denison.

Rusk Avenue looking north (postcard, circa 1911)

During the phylloxera epidemic of the mid-19th century, which destroyed the vast majority of wine grapes in Europe, Denison horticulturalist T.V. Munson pioneered methods in creating phylloxera-resistant vines, and earned induction into the French Legion of Honor, as well as sister city status for Denison and Cognac, France.[8]

In 1901, the first electric "Interurban" railway in Texas, the Denison and Sherman Railway, was completed between Denison and Sherman.[9]

In 1915, Kentucky-based evangelist Mordecai Ham held a revival meeting in Denison, which resulted in 1,100 professions of faith in Jesus Christ.[10]

Denison played host to 20th-century notables such as the Marx Brothers[11] and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was born on October 14, 1890, in Denison.[12]

Geography

Denison is located in northeastern Grayson County, with the city limits extending north to the Red River, which forms the Oklahoma state line. It is bordered to the south by the city of Sherman; the city centers are 11 miles (18 km) apart.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Denison has a total area of 23.4 square miles (60.7 km2), of which 0.46 square miles (1.2 km2), or 1.94%, are covered by water.[4]

Denison Dam, which forms Lake Texoma on the Red River, is 5 miles (8 km) north of Denison. The lake is in the center of the Texoma region, encompassing parts of Texas and Oklahoma.

Climate

Denison has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa in the Köppen climate classification).

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18803,975—
189010,958175.7%
190011,8077.7%
191013,63215.5%
192017,06525.2%
193013,850−18.8%
194015,58112.5%
195017,50412.3%
196022,74830.0%
197024,9239.6%
198023,884−4.2%
199021,505−10.0%
200022,7735.9%
201022,682−0.4%
202024,4797.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[13]
Denison racial composition as of 2020[14]
(NH = Non-Hispanic)[a]
Race Number Percentage
White (NH) 16,676 68.12%
Black or African American (NH) 2,003 8.18%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH) 471 1.92%
Asian (NH) 188 0.77%
Pacific Islander (NH) 6 0.02%
Some other race (NH) 59 0.24%
Mixed/multiracial (NH) 1,851 7.56%
Hispanic or Latino 3,225 13.17%
Total 24,479

As of the 2020 United States census, 24,479 people, 9,361 households, and 6,038 families were residing in the city.

Economy

Major employers

Texoma Medical Center in Denison

Major employers in Denison include:[17]

Arts and culture

Birthplace of US President Dwight Eisenhower

The Grayson County Frontier Village in Denison contains 11 of the oldest homes in Grayson County that were moved here for preservation.[18]

Sports

Former minor league baseball teams include the Denison Katydids, Denison Blue Sox, Denison Champions, Denison Railroaders, and Sherman–Denison Twins.

Munson Stadium seats 5,262 people and is used primarily for football. It is the home field of Denison High School's football and soccer teams.[19] The Denison High School football team won the 1984 Texas Class 4A State Championship by beating Tomball 27–13, completing a perfect 16–0 record. They also made appearances in the 1995, 1996, and 1997 Class 4A Division II State Championship games, losing each time to La Marque.[20] They are home to the longest high school football rivalry in Texas: the Battle of the Ax, against Sherman High School.[21]

Education

Administration building at Grayson College in Denison

Denison is served by the Denison Independent School District. The current Denison High School campus opened in 2014.

Grayson College is located in Denison. The school's T.V. Munson Viticulture and Enology Program preserves Denison's viticultural heritage.[8]

Media

Magazine

Newspaper

Radio stations

Television stations

Infrastructure

Transportation

Denison is served by two U.S. Highways—U.S. 69 and U.S. 75 (Katy Memorial Expressway) and two State Highways—State Highway 91 and Spur 503 (Eisenhower Parkway). State Highway 91, known as Texoma Parkway, is one of the main commercial strips that connects Sherman and Denison. It also extends north to Lake Texoma.

General aviation service is provided by North Texas Regional Airport.

TAPS, a regional public transportation system, offers limited service for disabled passengers.[citation needed]

Health care

Denison is served by Texoma Medical Center.

Notable people

Walter Kinney born 1893 was a major League Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in 1918 and The Philadelphia Athletics 1919,1920, and 1923. Played for The Denison Railroaders in 1914 and 1915 and The Dallas Submariners in 1916-1918. retired from professional baseball in the early 1930s after a long and prosperous career. This information was gathered from an estate find for the Kinney family of Denison, Texas.

In popular culture

In 2013, Lake Texoma and the Hampton Inn and Suites Denison were featured on a travel show entitled The Official Best of Texas, which aired on CBS and the Discovery Channel.[28]

References

  1. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  2. ^ Geography. "2010 Census Urban and Rural Classification and Urban Area Criteria Bureau". www.census.gov. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Denison city, Texas". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2017.[dead link]
  5. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  6. ^ DAVID, MINOR (June 12, 2010). "DENISON, TX". www.tshaonline.org.
  7. ^ "Introductory history of Denison Texas". Archived from the original on June 25, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2007.
  8. ^ a b "T.V. Munson Vidiculture Eunology Program". Archived from the original on February 21, 2007. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
  9. ^ A., RIEDER, ROBERT (June 12, 2010). "ELECTRIC INTERURBAN RAILWAYS". www.tshaonline.org.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Jerry Hopkins of East Texas Baptist University, "Evangelist Mordecai F. Ham's West Texas Meetings, 1903–1940", paper at East Texas Historical Association and West Texas Historical Association joint meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, February 26, 2010
  11. ^ "the marx brothers - biography". www.leninimports.com.
  12. ^ D'Este, Carlo (2003). Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life. New York: Macmillan. pp. 21–22. ISBN 0-8050-5687-4.
  13. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  14. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  15. ^ "Census.gov". Census.gov. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  16. ^ "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin". www.census.gov. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  17. ^ "Denison Development Alliance: Community Profile". www.denisontx.org. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  18. ^ Welcome to Frontier Village & Museum
  19. ^ "TexasBob.com - Munson Stadium - Denison, Texas". www.texasbob.com.
  20. ^ UIL State Football Champions Archived February 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ "SISD: SHS Battle of the Ax". January 11, 2002. Archived from the original on January 11, 2002.
  22. ^ "Search every page of every issue published by Texoma Living! Magazine from 2006 to 2010". Texoma Living! Online. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  23. ^ "Biography-Anoatubby.com". Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  24. ^ "Eisenhower State Park — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department". www.tpwd.state.tx.us.
  25. ^ Anderson, LeRoy M. (May 23, 1947). "The Denison Press (Denison, Tex.), Vol. 18, No. 48, Ed. 1 Friday, May 23, 1947". The Portal to Texas History. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  26. ^ "1940 United States Census". FamilySearch.
  27. ^ Rivera, Ray (January 16, 2009). "In a Split Second, a Pilot Becomes a Hero Years in the Making". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
  28. ^ Website http://www.theofficialbestof.com
  1. ^ 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 can be of any race.[15][16]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Denison, Texas.
Wikisource has the text of the 1921 Collier's Encyclopedia article Denison.
Municipalities and communities of Grayson County, Texas, United States
Authority control databases
Categories