NRH notably houses the headquarters of HealthMarkets. North Richland Hills features popular businesses and locations, including the NRH20 Water Park, Medical City North Hills, and its own state-of-the-art public library. Additionally, NRH is surrounded by numerous communities, such as Haltom City, Keller, Hurst, and Southlake. It also housed the now-demolished North Hills Mall, which ceased operations in 2004. As of 2016, that site is now the new location of the North Richland Hills City Hall. In 2012, North Richland Hills was ranked at #44 as one of the Best Dallas Suburbs according to D Magazine.[9]
History
The community began when W.S. Peters agreed to bring 600 families into the area within a three-year period as part of a land grant. Families began arriving in the summer of 1848. In 1849, Tarrant County was established and named for General Edward H. Tarrant. The community of Birdville (adjacent to what is now the southwest boundary of North Richland Hills) was named the first county seat. The area remained a rural farming and ranching community for more than 100 years.
In 1952, Clarence Jones began to subdivide his 268-acre (1.08 km2) dairy farm into a suburban addition in the area that is now Cummings Drive. In 1953, the North Richland Hills Civic League sought to have the area annexed to Richland Hills, then voted to form their own city when annexation was denied. An election was held, and the 268 acres (1.08 km2) of the Jones Farm, with a population of 500, became officially incorporated as the City of North Richland Hills.
The first section of streets in North Richland Hills was named for the local families. The second section, which was added in 1954, was named for automobiles. There were 188 homes in the first part of the subdivision, which was restricted to brick and masonry construction.
By 1957, the North Richland Hills' boundary was within 2 miles (3 km) of Smithfield, and by 1960, Smithfield had been annexed into North Richland Hills. In 1960, the population of North Richland Hills was beginning to rise at 8,662 residents, with that number more than doubling to 16,514 by 1970. The city's population continued to grow at a rapid pace, with the 1980 census at 30,592, and the 1990 census reflecting 45,895. In 2000, the population was at 55,635, and rise to 63,343 at the 2010 census. In 2020, the population was at 69,917.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.2 square miles (47.2 km2), of which 18.2 square miles (47.1 km2) is land, and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km2), or 0.24%, is water.[11]
The Tarrant County College Northeast Campus is located on the North Richland Hills and Hurst border at 828 Harwood Road.
Government
Local government
North Richland Hills operates under a charter adopted in 1964, which provides for a “Council-Manager” form of government. The Council is composed of a Mayor and seven Council Members elected at large. The Council determines the overall goals and objectives for the City, establishes policies, and adopts the City's annual operating budget. The City Manager oversees the day-to-day operations of the City.
The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:[18]
City Department
Director
City Manager
Mark Hindman
Assistant City Manager
Karen Bostic
Deputy City Manager
Paulette Hartman
Director of Public Safety
Jimmy Perdue
Managing Director Development Services
Mike Curtis
Managing Director Community Services
Vickie Loftice
Director of Finance
Mark Mills
The city of North Richland Hills 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.
Public services
North Richland Hills Fire Department / Emergency Medical Services
The North Richland Hills Fire Department (NRHFD), also called the North Richland Hills Fire-Rescue (NRHFR), is a public health service geared towards combating uncontrolled fires. In addition to its role as a fire department, it acts like a traditional EMS service, and is dispatched to a wide range of medical emergencies unrelated to fires. To accomplish this mix of roles, all NRHFD staff are cross trained as firefighters and paramedics; likewise, all vehicles that they employ carry advanced life support equipment.[19][20]
The department is currently recognized as a “Best Practices” department by the Texas Fire Chiefs Association.[21]
^"Why does a fire truck respond with the ambulance?". Retrieved April 12, 2022. The City of North Richland Hills prides itself on the delivery of state of the art emergency medical services to our community. The ambulance and fire trucks are staffed by cross trained firefighter/paramedics. A fire truck is dispatched with the ambulance on many calls for various reasons. In some instances, the fire truck may be closer and can initiate medical care before the arrival of the ambulance. North Richland Hills uses very aggressive pre-hospital emergency care treatments and the fire truck and ambulance crews together make a highly efficient team to provide you with an unsurpassed level of care.
^"Emergency Medical Services". Retrieved April 12, 2022. All four of our ambulances are licensed by the Texas Department of State Health Services as mobile intensive care units (MICUs) and are staffed with firefighters / paramedics. Each fire apparatus is staffed with firefighter / paramedics that carry advanced life support equipment. Occasionally the fire company is the first to arrive at an emergency and this enables us to provide an advanced level of medical care as soon as possible.
^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.[14][15]
Texas
Tarrant
