Friendswood, Texas
Population: 22,814
Located in Galveston County
Friendswood continues to cherish the values of family and the spirit of community the Quakers brought to it in 1895. It has, however, grown considerably. Friendswood now encompasses parts of two counties - northern Galveston and southern Harris counties - divided by the popular Clear Creek. Clear Creek, a navigable waterway, offers direct water access to the Gulf of Mexico through Clear Lake and Galveston Bay. Friendswood's population has more than doubled in every census count since 1960. The current population is over 30,000. It is the 70th largest of over 1,300 cities in Texas, located three miles west of IH 45, halfway between Houston and Galveston. With its unique geographic location, residents and businesses alike have the convenience of living within a large metropolitan area, with all its amenities, yet are still away from the intensities of the city. Friendswood encompasses 21 square miles and is only 50 percent developed. There is ample room for growth - commercially, industrially and residentially. The amenities are great! Within a 30-minute drive, residents can attend cultural, educational and recreational events. Ballet, opera, theaters, orchestras, museums, NASA, amusement parks, observatories, zoos, major league sports of every kind, and the beach at Galveston are all conveniently available. Fig orchards, satsuma orange orchards, and rice fields once flourished where Friendswood homes now stand. The last vestiges of them and the homes that the Quakers constructed are nearly gone, but the legacy left by those founders and early settlers remains. That legacy is the heritage of a way of life that did more to shape the character of the community than any brick and mortar buildings ever could. During the 1950s, young families moving out from Houston began to give Friendswood its modern, bedroom stature, but the population was still less than 1,000 in 1959. In 1960, farsighted local men put into action a plan for the incorporation of Friendswood, and the town elected its first mayor, city council, and a law officer - a move which helped prepare it to cope with the tremendous growth which took place in the decade of the 1960s as hundreds of NASA employees chose Friendswood as their home. Subdivisions, schools, churches, businesses and community organizations mushroomed. By 1966, Friendswood had its first medical clinic, pharmacy, bank, newspaper and police department. In 1969 the population was 5,200. Growth continued unabated through the 1970s and 1980s, with the population nearing 29,000. Friendswood is now a suburban community of fine homes, churches, businesses, schools and organizations, but the past is remembered with pride. The strong volunteer instincts of the residents enabled the city to build a municipal building in 1965, without debt, because residents donated labor, materials and funding. In 1971, they built a replica of the Frank J. Brown home to serve as a repository of Friendswood's heritage. That spirit of community involvement has continued as an unbroken tradition in Friendswood, as demonstrated by enthusiastic participation in civic activities and the city's Fourth of July celebrations. The Quakers have long been outnumbered by new settlers, but the values they lived by are still viable, still working to make this a good place to live. Those values include an emphasis on the value of the individual and the individual's role within the family and community, a deep respect for God and for education, a sense that a man's life can be measured by the way he habitually treats his neighbor, and a tolerance and love that still operates to make newcomers feel they've finally come home. Find homes for sale in Friendswood Texas
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Friendswood's Premier Real Estate Agent
Sandy ConwayBridgecrest Properties, Inc.
Also visit: Clear Lake City, League City & Seabrook |
