Grand Saline, Texas

Grand Saline, Texas
City
The Salt Palace in Grand Saline The Salt Palace in Grand Saline
Location of Grand Saline, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Van Zandt
Area
• Total	2.0 sq mi (5.2 km2)
• Land	2.0 sq mi (5.2 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	400 ft (122 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	2,802
• Density	1,522.2/sq mi (587.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	75140
Area code	903
FIPS code	48-30476Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1336803Template:GR

Grand Saline is a city in Van Zandt County, Texas, United States, located in East Texas. The population is 3,262. Grand Saline is the third largest city in Van Zandt County and is a part of the Greater Tyler/Longview area. The name Grand Saline means "Large Salt" and is based on the large salt deposits and mine located southeast of the city, which Morton Salt company owns and operates, and is what the city is mainly known for.

Geography

Grand Saline is located at 32°40′40″N 95°42′41″W (32.677662, -95.711521)Template:GR, in the northeastern area of Van Zandt County, at the intersection of Texas State Highway 110 and U.S. Route 80, roughly 65 miles from Dallas, and 13 miles north of Interstate 20.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²), of which 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²) is land and 0.50% is water.

Topography

Grand Saline is located where the Piney Woods of East Texas overlap with the Post Oak Belt of Northeast Texas. Grand Saline's rural scenery is a mix of hills and open pasture spaces and deep and heavily wooded areas. The area around it is home to numerous creeks, streams, and areas of heavy timber. Grand Saline is located in the Sabine River valley as the river flows just north of the city and then bends south flowing under U.S. Highway 80 east of Grand Saline.

Transportation

Grand Saline is served by 2 major highways and two FM (Farm to Market) Roads.

Texas State Highway 110- Grand Saline serves as the northern end to the highway, 110 serves as the main artery from the Van/Grand Saline area into Tyler. In the city, the highway bears the name Chris Tomlin Boulevard, in honor musician Chris Tomlin, who is from Grand Saline.

U.S. Highway 80- Runs east towards Longview/Marshall area and West to the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex.

FM 17- Runs south to Canton and North to Lake Fork.

FM 857-Grand Saline serves as the northern end, and runs south into Smith County.

Schools

Grand Saline is served by the Grand Saline Independent School District. College students who reside in the Grand Saline ISD are served by Tyler Junior College, as Grand Saline ISD is in the TJC taxing and service district.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 3,028 people, 1,096 households, and 723 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,522.2 people per square mile (587.5/km²). There were 1,203 housing units at an average density of 604.8 per square mile (233.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.94% White, 0.59% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 5.55% from other races, and 1.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.13% of the population.

There were 1,096 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,875, and the median income for a family was $34,167. Males had a median income of $28,274 versus $16,915 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,678. About 13.5% of families and 19.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.2% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.

Media

Grand Saline has two local newspapers, the Grand Saline Sun and the Van Zandt News which are published weekly and covers local news and also has daily newspapers delivered to residents such as The Dallas Morning News and the Tyler Morning Telegraph. Grand Saline residents are able to receive television channels from both the Dallas/Ft. Worth media market and the Tyler/Longview market, and the same applies to radio stations.

Healthcare

Grand Saline operates Cozby-Germany Hospital, a level 4 trauma emergency room hospital with 52 beds and is also part of a rural PAC that has specialists and physicians that visit the hospital and local clinics to provide quality health care to the citizens of Grand Saline. The city also is home to 3 assisted living centers and has an emergency services district and ambulance station.

Economy

Grand Saline is home to many small businesses and has 4 banks, 2 pharmacies, multiple restaruants, one major grocery chain store, a hospital, and is home to two major manufacturing plants, Morton Salt Mine, and Bukner Plastics, both located on the outskirts of the city.

The top employers in Grand Saline are- Grand Saline ISD, Morton Salt, Cozby-Germany Hospital, Brookshire Grocery Company, Bukner Plastics, Country Trails Assisted Living

Notable natives

• Matt Austin, champion bullrider
• Chris Tomlin, award-winning Christian songwriter
• Wiley Post, famed aviator
• Home of the World Record for "Largest Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich"

Newspapers and publications

• Grand Saline Sun

External links

• Grand Saline from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Grand Saline Main Street