Tomorrow is Census Day. Remember to return your census forms. If you are in a relationship, mark either married or unmarried partner to be counted as a same-sex couple.
To celebrate Census Day, here’s a history of the census figures in Dallas with a Dallas timeline to put the population numbers into some perspective.
Population of the city of Dallas
1841 Dallas founded by John Neely Bryan. (His log cabin is downtown). Population: 1
1849: Dallas Snag (later renamed Dallas Herald) begins publishing
1850 Population 163
1850: Town of Dallas selected county seat of Dallas County
1856: Dallas incorporated as a city
1860 Population 678
1867: First church built in Dallas (by Disciples of Christ)
1870 Population about 3,000
This number comes from several sources but I cannot find why an actual census was not taken in Dallas in 1870.
1872: Sanger Brothers opened first store
1880 Population 10,385
1885: Dallas Morning News begins publishing
1890 Population 38,067
Only time Dallas ranked as the most populous city in Texas
1892: Old Red completed
1894: Parkland Hospital opens on Maple Ave at Oak Lawn.
1900 Population 42,638
1903: Oak Lawn Park (now Lee Park) opened
1904: City of Oak Cliff annexed
1907: Neiman Marcus opened
1909: White Rock Park acquired. Lake created a year later
1910 Population 92,104
Total city area 18.31 square miles. Today Dallas is 385 square miles.
1912: Houston Street Viaduct, “the longest concrete bridge in the world,” opened
1912: Dallas Zoo opened
1915: Reverchon Park opened
1915: SMU opened
1916: Union Terminal opened
1917: Love Field opened
1920 Population 158,976
Dallas ranked as the 42nd largest city in the U.S. (number 8 today)
1921: WRR, the first municipal radio station in the U.S., began broadcasting
1924: Melrose Hotel built
1929: Town of Cedar Springs annexed by Dallas
1930 Population 260,475
1932: First paved runway at Love Field opened
1939: Farmers Market established
1934: The flying red horse erected over Magnolia Building
1936: Texas Centennial Exposition held in Fair Park
1940 Population 294,734
1946: Dr. Pepper plant opened on Mockingbird Lane (where a Kroger now stands)
1947: Construction begins on Central Expressway
1950 Population 434,462
1952: Big Tex first appeared at the State Fair
1955: Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Kalita Humphreys Theater built
1960 Population 679,684
1960: Dallas Cowboys formed
1963: Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
1970 Population 844,401
1970: Cathedral of Hope formed
1972: First Pride parade held
1978: TV show “Dallas” first airs
1974: DFW Airport opened
1977: Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance formed
1980 Population 904,078
1980: Dallas Mavericks formed
1983: Dallas Voice begins publishing
1990 Population 1,006,877
1991: Gay and Lesbian Community Center opens on Reagan Street
1999: Katy Trail opened
2000 Population 1,188,580
2010: Population estimate 1,306,350
Return your census forms by April 1 so we can get an actual count
This was a great time line. Kudos for the work put in.
Cool time line very interesting.