Everything about Palestine Texas totally explained
Palestine (
PAL-es-teen) is a city in
Anderson County,
Texas, in the
United States. As of the
2000 census, the city population was 17,598. It is the
county seat of
Anderson County and is situated in
East Texas. Palestine was named for
Palestine, Illinois, the home of an early settler.
The largest employer is the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which employs more than 3,900. Another 1,600 work at two
Wal-Mart distribution centers. Other significant employers include a thriving medical and healthcare sector that tends to the large population of retirees. Finally a distinguishing mark of Palestine is that it's home to the
NASA Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility, which has flown 1700 high-altitude balloons for universities and research agencies.
Palestine entered the news in
February 2003, as one of the East Texas towns that received much of the
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster debris.
Palestine is also the hometown of former
Oklahoma Sooner and now
Minnesota Vikings running back
Adrian Peterson.
Geography
Palestine is located at (31.757925, -95.638473).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.9
square miles (46.3
km²), of which, 17.7 square miles (45.8 km²) of it's land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (1.01%) is water.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 17,598 people, 6,641 households, and 4,582 families residing in the city. The
population density was 994.3 people per square mile (383.9/km²). There were 7,668 housing units at an average density of 433.2/sq mi (167.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.60%
White, 24.77%
African American, 0.49%
Native American, 0.79%
Asian, 0.07%
Pacific Islander, 7.90% from
other races, and 1.37% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 14.88% of the population.
There were 6,641 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were
married couples living together, 18.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 84.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,497, and the median income for a family was $35,806. Males had a median income of $28,331 versus $20,662 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $15,514. About 16.6% of families and 20.7% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 27.7% of those under age 18 and 14.6% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public Schools
With almost 3,500 students the
Palestine Independent School District is the largest school district in Palestine. The district comprises:
Northside Early Childhood Center, headstart and pre-k
Southside Primary, grades 1-2
A. M. Story Elementary, grades 3-5
Palestine Middle School, grades 6-8
Palestine High School, grades 9-12.
Located on the western edge of the city is the
Westwood Independent School District. It is home to approximately 1700 students. It consists of a primary, elementary, junior high and high school campus.
Colleges and Universities
Trinity Valley Community College operates TVCC-Palestine just north of the city limits at the intersection of US 287 and Texas 19. In addition to offering academic transfer courses the Palestine campus offers vocational-technical programs in vocational nursing, cosmetology, mid-management, computer science, criminal justice, business and office technology, fire science, legal assistant, emergency medical technician and paramedic programs and also trains correctional officers for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Continuing education and adult education courses are also offered.
The
University of Texas at Tyler also operates an extension campus in the city. Fundraising for a new $9.6 million 50 acre campus is currently under way with plans to open the facility for the 2010 fall semester. The UT Tyler Palestine Campus currently offers courses in Nursing, Business, Education, Health and Kinesiology and History.
Famous People
Bill Bradley (football player) - NFL Coach
Thomas M. Campbell - 24th Governor of Texas
Lamar Muse - Airline Industry Leader
Adrian Peterson - NFL Running Back
John H. Reagan - 19th Century American Politician/Confederate Postmaster General
Todd Staples - 11th (current) Texas Commissioner of Agriculture
Roads and highways
References in popular culture
Popular artist
T-Bone Burnett released a song with the title "Palestine, Texas". Featuring
John Mayer, this song uses the interesting name of the city as a metaphor for current events and social commentary. The two artists performed the song on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in May 2006.
Historic Attractions
Texas State RailroadFurther Information
Get more info on 'Palestine Texas'.
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