Belton, Texas

Belton, Texas
City
Downtown Belton near Bell County Courthouse
Nickname:  Beltown
Location of Belton, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Bell
Area
• Total	13.2 sq mi (34.1 km2)
• Land	12.5 sq mi (32.3 km2)
• Water	0.7 sq mi (1.7 km2)
Elevation	509 ft (155 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	14,623
• Density	1,171.3/sq mi (452.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	76513
Area code	254
FIPS code	48-07492Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1351858Template:GR

The Bell County Courthouse

The U.S. Post Office in Belton

Map of the city in 1881

Belton is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,623 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bell CountyTemplate:GR.

Belton is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Belton is located at 31°3′32″N 97°27′48″W (31.058904, -97.463382)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.2 square miles (34.1 km²), of which, 12.5 square miles (32.3 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.7 km²) of it (5.09%) is water.

Belton is just south of Temple and north of Salado on Interstate 35.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 14,623 people, 4,742 households, and 3,319 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,171.3 people per square mile (452.4/km²). There were 5,089 housing units at an average density of 407.6/sq mi (157.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.67% White, 8.10% African American, 0.64% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 14.83% from other races, and 2.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.13% of the population.

There were 4,742 households out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 18.4% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,052, and the median income for a family was $38,635. Males had a median income of $31,304 versus $20,678 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,345. About 12.7% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.7% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Belton is served by the following Belton Independent School District schools:.

• Belton High School, serves 9th through 12th grade
• Henry T. Waskow High School, serves 9th through 12th grade
• Lake Belton Middle School, serves 6th through 8th grade
• Belton Middle School, serves 6th through 8th grade
• Southwest Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Leon Heights Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Joe M. Pirtle Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Miller Heights Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Tarver Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Lakewood Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Tyler Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade
• Sparta Elementary, serves kindergarten through 5th grade

Belton is also home to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, a private university affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. As of 2010, UMHB has an enrollment of 2,956.

Sites of interest

The Bell County Museum is a Carnegie-funded structure.

Chuckwagon exhibit at Bell County Museum; the chuckwagon was invented by Texas cattleman Charles Goodnight.

The Bell County Expo Center is located in Belton and is the home of the CenTex Barracudas Indoor football team.

First Baptist Church of Belton

First Christian Church -- Disciples of Christ -- meets here next to the Bell County Courthouse.

For recreation, Belton has two major lakes: Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Lake. There is also a water park, Summer Fun Water Park. Another notable recreation point is BLORA which is part of Ft. Hood and is located on Lake Belton

Belton is also home to a number of historic churches including First United Methodist Church, founded in 1850 and First Baptist Church, founded in 1853.

Notable residents

Actor George Eads grew up in Belton. He graduated from Belton High School in 1985.

Bass player Pat Seals from the alternative rock band Flyleaf is from Belton.

Actor Rudy Youngblood of Mel Gibson's film, Apocalypto, graduated from Belton High School.

Model Jaclyn Poole of America's Next Top Model Cycle 16 graduated from Belton High School in 2009.

Musician Chris Marion of classic rock's Little River Band was born in Belton in 1962.

Rapper/Producer Noki Swazay hails from Belton and has a tattoo of the iconic Belton Water Tower on his right arm.

Henry T. Waskow, the basis of a famous article by Ernie Pyle, was a Belton native.

Historian and rancher J. Evetts Haley was born in Belton and is buried beside his first wife, Nita Stewart Haley, in the Moffat Cemetery. However, he spent most of his life in Midland and Canyon in West Texas.

George Jo Hennard shouted "This is what Belton did to me!" immediately before commencing the Luby's massacre.

Culture

Belton Lake and Dam

Home of the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame housed in the Bell County Expo Center.

External links

• Official website
• The Belton Journal - Texas's oldest continuously published weekly newspaper (since 1866)
• University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
• SeeBelton - General info on Belton, including calendar of upcoming events