Rockwall, Texas | |
|---|---|
| City of Rockwall | |
.jpg) Rusk Street in Rockwall | |
 Logo | |
 Location of Rockwall inRockwall County,Texas | |
| Coordinates:32°55′01″N96°26′15″W / 32.91694°N 96.43750°W /32.91694; -96.43750[1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Rockwall |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-Manager |
| • City Council | Mayor: Trace Johannesen Mayor Pro Tem: Anna Campbell Tim McCallum Mark Moeller Clarence Jorif Sedric Thomas Dennis Lewis |
| • City Manager | Mary Smith |
| Area | |
• Total | 29.97 sq mi (77.62 km2) |
| • Land | 29.47 sq mi (76.33 km2) |
| • Water | 0.50 sq mi (1.29 km2) 1.63% |
| Elevation | 561 ft (171 m) |
| Population (2020)[3] | |
• Total | 47,251 |
| • Density | 1,603/sq mi (619.0/km2) |
| Demonym(s) | Rockwaller, Rockwallite, Rockwallian |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes |
|
| Area codes | 214, 469, 945, 972 |
| FIPS code | 48-62828[4] |
| GNIS feature ID | 2410982[1] |
| Website | www |
Rockwall is a city in theU.S. state ofTexas and thecounty seat ofRockwall County.[5] The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that as of 2023, Rockwall's population is 52,918, up from 47,251 in the 2020 census.[6] The name Rockwall is derived from anaturally jointed geological formation, which has the appearance of an artificial wall.
The association ofPaleo-Indianartifacts with extinctPleistocenemammal remains in variousarcheological sites within the Texas Prairie-Savannah Region of eastern North Central Texas, including a site in Collin County, andClovis points recovered from the Brushy Creek Clovis Site in Hunt County demonstrates that the Rockwall region was occupied by prehistoricNative American cultures at least as far back as 13,500 to 13,000 years ago.[7][8][9] More recently, the Rockwall region was occupied byCaddo Indians.Creek Indians moved to the area in the early 19th century.
In 1851, the firstAnglo-American settlers moved to the area, and wells were dug. During the digging, they found large underground rock walls that were initially believed to be man-made. Later study of the wall-like features by geologists and archaeologists found them to be jointed, naturalsandstone dikes that had intrudedCretaceousmarl.[10][11] The wall, when viewed from above, runs in long straight lines with angles that form a near perfect rectangle. The eastern wall has several deviations that run in straight lines with sharp angles, which would be unusual for a natural formation in an already unusual closed loop wall formation.
The town was established April 17, 1854 and named after these natural rock walls. While originally part of Kaufman County, in 1873, Rockwall County was formed with Rockwall being the county seat.[12]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.6 square miles (82 km2), of which 22.3 square miles (58 km2) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km2) (1.63%) is water.
Rockwall is on the eastern shore ofLake Ray Hubbard, approximately 20 miles northeast ofDallas. It is on state highways205 and66, north ofInterstate 30.[13]
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to theKöppen Climate Classification system, Rockwall has ahumid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.[14]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 215 | — | |
| 1890 | 843 | 292.1% | |
| 1900 | 1,245 | 47.7% | |
| 1910 | 1,136 | −8.8% | |
| 1920 | 1,388 | 22.2% | |
| 1930 | 1,074 | −22.6% | |
| 1940 | 1,318 | 22.7% | |
| 1950 | 1,501 | 13.9% | |
| 1960 | 2,166 | 44.3% | |
| 1970 | 3,121 | 44.1% | |
| 1980 | 5,939 | 90.3% | |
| 1990 | 10,486 | 76.6% | |
| 2000 | 17,976 | 71.4% | |
| 2010 | 37,490 | 108.6% | |
| 2020 | 47,251 | 26.0% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 53,547 | [15] | 13.3% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[16] | |||
As of the2020 census, there were 47,251 people, 16,798 households, and 12,771 families residing in the city. The median age was 39.3 years, with 25.8% of residents under the age of 18 and 15.2% 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.7 males age 18 and over.[18]
97.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.1% lived in rural areas.[19]
There were 16,798 households in Rockwall, of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 60.8% were married-couple households, 12.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[18]
There were 17,772 housing units, of which 5.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%.[18]
| Race | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| White | 32,682 | 69.2% |
| Black or African American | 3,808 | 8.1% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 385 | 0.8% |
| Asian | 1,739 | 3.7% |
| Native Hawaiian andOther Pacific Islander | 49 | 0.1% |
| Some other race | 2,830 | 6.0% |
| Two or more races | 5,758 | 12.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) | 8,649 | 18.3% |
According to the city's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Fund Financial Statements, the city's various funds had $39.0 million in revenues, $42.2 million in expenditures, $32.3 million in total assets, $3.6 million in total liabilities, and $25.9 million in investments.[21]
The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:[22]
| Department | Director |
|---|---|
| City Manager | Mary Smith |
| Assistant City Manager | Joey Boyd |
| Director of Public Works/City Engineer | Amy Williams, PE |
| Director of Parks and Recreation | Travis Sales, MCPTM |
| Chief of Police | Ed Fowler |
| Fire Chief | Kenneth Cullins |
| Director of Planning | Ryan Miller, AICP |
The city of Rockwall is a voluntary member of theNorth 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.
Rockwall is represented in theTexas Senate by RepublicanBob Hall,District 2,[23] and in theTexas House of Representatives by RepublicanJustin Holland, House District 33.[24]
At the federal level, the two U.S. senators from Texas are RepublicansJohn Cornyn andTed Cruz; Rockwall is part ofTexas's 4th congressional district, which is currently represented by RepublicanPat Fallon.
The city is served by theRockwall Independent School District.There are two public high schools in Rockwall:Rockwall High School andRockwall-Heath High School. There are sixteen elementary schools and three middle schools in Rockwall.
The city is home to the Higher Education Center at Rockwall, which is part of the community college district,Collin College. The campus is the District's first campus outside ofCollin County itself.Texas A&M University-Commerce holds classes at the center.
Rockwall is served by the following highways that run through the city:
Interstate 30
U.S. Highway 67 (runs concurrent withInterstate 30)
State Highway 66
State Highway 205
State Highway 276
Farm to Market 549
Farm to Market 552
Farm to Market 740Ralph M. Hall/Rockwall Municipal Airport is located two miles east of the city and is used mostly by small general aviation aircraft.
The Dallas and Greenville Railway (which was quickly acquired by theMissouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad) originally served Rockwall.[25] TheDallas, Garland and Northeastern Railroad currently leases the line from Katy successor Union Pacific.
Rockwall offers many different sports complexes as well as activities. Airport Road boasts baseball fields, as well as the Landing Point complex containing the Texas International Fencing Center, zipline and dance facilities. The Rockwall Indoor Sports Expo is located on South 205. Lake Ray Hubbard has several boating marinas and is used forjet skiing.
Rockwall also offers 2 different Golf Courses[26] within 17 miles of the center of Rockwall.
In 1925Byron Khun de Prorok claimed that the wall was built by a prehistoric race.[28][10][11][29]
Municipalities and communities ofRockwall County, Texas,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
