Tyler, Then and Now
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Sources and method

Every dated entry on this site stands on one of 193 numbered facts, each with its sources. The map is OpenStreetMap, with a few drawings of our own that are labeled as ours. This page lists all of it, says how the map was made and checked, and says what we assumed and what we will not claim.

Method

  1. The facts

    The words come from two research passes. The first, collected on September 29, 2026: four researchers each gathered sourced claims on one subject (history, places, economy, culture), and a fact checker re-opened every source and marked each claim verified, corrected, unverified or false. The second, in October 2026, went deeper into the town’s history (census tables, National Register nominations, state markers, the Sanborn maps) and kept, for every claim, the words in the source that support it; an independent checker re-opened the sources, and claims it could not confirm were held back and are not used. Only kept claims appear here, in the checked wording; where sources disagree, both are given. 148 of the 193 facts on this site are from the second pass. Dated figures are as of the year given; anything dated September 2026 is as of September 29, 2026.

  2. The entries

    The timeline is one typed file, src/data/timeline.ts: 29 stops, 190 dated entries, 27 pins and 4 layers. Every entry names the fact ids it stands on. On a year’s page each entry carries a numbered note with its sources, and each note links to its fact here; the map’s card names the source under the entry it shows. The build checks that every number in an entry appears in the facts it cites; if one does not, the build fails.

  3. The ruler

    The ruler runs from 1847 to 2028. 1847 is the plat. 2028 is where the downtown rebuild is expected to finish, so everything after September 29, 2026 is hatched as expected, not recorded (the hatching starts at that date, three-quarters of the way along 2026). An entry dated before 1847 (the 1846 authorization) sits at the start of the ruler.

  4. The map

    The pale ground is today’s map, drawn from OpenStreetMap: vector tiles from OpenFreeMap (version 20261004_113936_pt, 182 tiles at zoom 14, fetched 2026-10-13) for the roads, water, parks, campuses and building footprints, drawn by this site’s own code as the poster and, where the device can draw it, as the live map. Under every plate this map is drawn faint, as a ghost (the “Today’s map” switch on the home plate lifts it). The colors on top are what our sources put on it by the year shown, so the plate is nearly empty in 1847 and fills as the ruler moves.

  5. The geometry

    Loop 323 is 172 OpenStreetMap ways tagged ref=Loop 323; the rail is 88 OpenStreetMap railway ways; the rebuilt streets are the OpenStreetMap ways for Erwin, Ferguson, College and Broadway near the square. They were fetched once from the Overpass API on 2026-10-13 (maps.mail.ru) and saved in the repository, so the site never calls Overpass at build or on the page. The places added in October 2026 were fetched the same way on 2026-10-15; the pins that stand on a street address were geocoded once with Nominatim (one request a second), first on 2026-10-13. The 1,742 named streets used to place the old maps were fetched once from Overpass too. The one thing the page does fetch while you use it is the live map’s tiles and fonts, from tiles.openfreemap.org, and only on a device that can draw them.

  6. The plat

    The sources give three things about the 1847 plat: 100 acres, 28 blocks, a central square. The map draws exactly those: a circle with the area of 100 acres, 28 numbered tiles in rings around the square, and the square. The tiles are drawn well apart so that no one reads them as streets. The arrangement, the tile size and the north-up orientation are ours.

  7. The old maps

    Under the plate lies the old map of the year: the first sheet (the key map, where there is one) of each Sanborn fire insurance map of Tyler at the Library of Congress, from 1885 to 1938, and the U.S. Geological Survey’s 1:62,500 map of 1948. Each is placed on today’s map by street crossings that still exist, inked in the plate’s color, and shown from its year to the next edition’s. How they were placed, and how far off each one is, is below.

  8. The population

    Every census count of the city from 1880 to 2020 is drawn, each a dot, joined decade to decade; the 2025 figure is the Census Bureau’s estimate and is drawn apart. The line between two counts is not a count. Each census counted the city within its limits that year, and the limits moved: the 1960 count is split where the census split it. The 1860 and 1870 figures are in the table, not the chart, with why.

How the old maps are placed

Each Sanborn sheet was downloaded from the Library of Congress at half size. On it we found the crossings of streets that still meet today (College and Ferguson, Broadway and Erwin, Bois d’Arc and Locust, and so on), at least five per sheet and up to nineteen, spread over the sheet, and read each crossing’s position on the sheet by eye, zoomed to the download’s own pixels. The same crossings on today’s map are where OpenStreetMap’s streets of those names meet. A six-number fit (scale, rotation, shear and shift, in Web Mercator) carries the sheet onto today’s map; the sheet is then resampled into the map’s projection, its paper made clear and its lines inked, and cut in two sizes (at most 1,024 pixels for a phone, 2,048 for a wide screen).

To say how far off a sheet is, each crossing in turn is left out of the fit and the fit is asked where that crossing should be: the distance to where it really is, over all crossings, is the error below (root mean square). Downtown means the crossings within 600 m of the square. Old surveys are not uniform, so a sheet can be closer downtown than at its edges; a fit that bends (second order, or thin-plate) was tried and did worse on the left-out crossings, so the six-number fit stands. Every sheet came within 60 m downtown, so each one lies under the plate itself; none had to be shown beside the map instead.

The 1948 USGS map came georeferenced from the survey (North American Datum of 1927, polyconic); it was moved into today’s datum with the NADCON grid, checked against six street crossings, and shifted by their mean offset (12.7 m west, 10.5 m north): 19 m off before, 11 m after.

Each old map under the plate: its years on the ruler, how many street crossings place it, and how far off it is
MapOn the rulerCrossingsOff, downtownOff, whole sheetWorst crossing
Sanborn map, May 1885Sheet 1, the blocks west of the public square (no key map that year)On the ruler 1885–1888Crossings 5Off, downtown 2 mOff, whole sheet 2 mWorst crossing 2 m
Sanborn map, November 1889Sheet 1, the key mapOn the ruler 1889–1892Crossings 12Off, downtown 8 mOff, whole sheet 8 mWorst crossing 20 m
Sanborn map, January 1893Sheet 1, the key mapOn the ruler 1893–1897Crossings 14Off, downtown 8 mOff, whole sheet 9 mWorst crossing 22 m
Sanborn map, September 1898Sheet 1, the key mapOn the ruler 1898–1901Crossings 12Off, downtown 9 mOff, whole sheet 9 mWorst crossing 15 m
Sanborn map, November 1902Sheet 1, the key mapOn the ruler 1902–1906Crossings 12Off, downtown 11 mOff, whole sheet 11 mWorst crossing 26 m
Sanborn map, September 1907Sheet 1, the key mapOn the ruler 1907–1911Crossings 14Off, downtown 10 mOff, whole sheet 10 mWorst crossing 16 m
Sanborn map, February 1912Sheet 1, the key mapOn the ruler 1912–1918Crossings 19Off, downtown 17 mOff, whole sheet 28 mWorst crossing 69 m
Sanborn map, August 1919Sheet 1, the key mapOn the ruler 1919–1927Crossings 14Off, downtown 14 mOff, whole sheet 16 mWorst crossing 32 m
Sanborn map, March 1928Sheet 1, the key mapOn the ruler 1928–1937Crossings 12Off, downtown 10 mOff, whole sheet 17 mWorst crossing 42 m
Sanborn map, 1938The key map at the front of the atlasOn the ruler 1938–1947Crossings 13Off, downtown 11 mOff, whole sheet 23 mWorst crossing 59 m
USGS map, 1948The 1:62,500 quadrangle, around TylerOn the ruler 1948–1967Crossings 6Off, downtown 11 mOff, whole sheet 11 mWorst crossing 20 m

The 1885 sheet is a detail of the blocks west of the square at 50 feet to the inch (there is no key map that year), so its five crossings are close together and its error is small. The scripts and every crossing are in the repository: scripts/georef/ and src/data/georef.json. Credits and rights for each sheet are on the credits page.

How the pins were checked

Each pin comes from one OpenStreetMap object, the geocode of a street address the sources give, or (for the 1910 courthouse) a point worked out from the source’s own words. On October 13, 2026 we zoomed the live map to every pin and looked at what the basemap shows there; the pins added on October 15 were also drawn on today’s streets and on the Sanborn map of their time, and checked against both. Where the map prints a name at the pin, that is the check. Where it does not, we say so. A pin we could not check was left off.

Every pin, where its coordinates come from, and what we saw when we checked it
PinCoordinates fromWhat we saw
Tyler City Square1847way/544001614The pin sits in the middle of the block OpenStreetMap calls Tyler City Square, between Erwin and Ferguson and west of Broadway. The basemap has no label of its own for the square, so this check is against OpenStreetMap's outline.
Oakwood Cemetery1849way/307810593OpenStreetMap's 'Oakwood Cemetery' outline lies at North Palace Avenue and West Oakwood Street, as the source says; the state marker for the cemetery stands inside it.
Goodman-LeGrand House1859way/589131561The basemap's own label, 'Goodman-LeGrand House', sits at the pin, on N. Broadway.
Near the ordnance plant1862node/12453546106The marker's point is inside Bergfeld Park, near South College Avenue and Fourth Street, where the source puts the 1969 marker.
Camp Ford1863way/666192191The pin is inside the Camp Ford site polygon on US 271, at the northeast corner of Loop 323, about 3.7 miles from the square: the sources' 'four miles northeast of town'.
Smith County Jail (1881)1881node/5626036431The point lies on the south side of East Erwin Street just east of North Fannin Avenue and the rail line, a block east of the square, as the nomination says; the state marker 'Smith County Jail, 1881' stands beside it.
St. James C.M.E. Church1888address geocodeThe pin sits on North Border Avenue just north of West Line Street and the Cotton Belt tracks, in the 400 block. Approximate to the block.
Marvin Methodist Church1890relation/17015162The center of OpenStreetMap's church grounds lies south of West Erwin Street and west of South Bois D'Arc Avenue: the southwest corner the nomination names.
Texas College1894way/672179552OpenStreetMap's 'Texas College' campus (2404 North Grand Avenue) lies about two miles northwest of the square, at North Grand Avenue, as the source says.
Carnegie Library1904node/368165528The point lies on the west side of South College Avenue between Erwin and Elm streets, the 100 block; the state marker 'Tyler Carnegie Library' stands beside it.
Cotton Belt Depot1905address geocodeThe pin sits beside the railroad on the 200 block of E. Oakwood St. Approximate to the block: no building is named in OpenStreetMap.
Bergfeld Park1906way/168494860The basemap's own label, 'Bergfeld Park', sits at the pin, inside the park's outline.
The 1910 courthouse (site)1910worked out from the sourceThe point is on Broadway halfway between Ferguson and Erwin, between the two halves of the square; on the 1912 Sanborn map under the plate it falls inside the public square.
Black Wall Street (210 E. Erwin)1920address geocodeThe pin sits on East Erwin Street just east of North Spring Avenue, in the 200 block; the state marker for Henry Miller Morgan of Tyler Barber College (212 East Erwin) stands a few meters away. Approximate to the block.
Tyler Junior College1926way/544444050The basemap's own label, 'Tyler Junior College', sits at the pin, inside the campus outline on S. Baxter Ave.
Liberty Hall1930address geocodeThe pin sits on E. Erwin St. just east of Broadway, among the downtown blocks. Approximate to the block: no building is named in OpenStreetMap.
People’s National Bank Building1932address geocodeThe pin sits on North College Avenue just north of West Erwin Street, at the corner the nomination names. Approximate to the block.
U.S. Post Office and Courthouse1934address geocodeThe pin sits on West Ferguson Street in the block between North Bois D'Arc and North College avenues; the 1938 Sanborn map under the plate prints 'Post Off.' in that block. Approximate to the block.
Blackstone Building1938address geocodeThe pin sits on North Broadway just north of West Locust Street, in the 300 block. Approximate to the block.
Tyler Rose Garden1938way/500520222The basemap's own labels, 'Tyler Rose Garden' and 'Tyler Rose Garden Center & Rose Museum', sit at the pin, on Rose Park Dr.
Lincoln Park1938way/475700232OpenStreetMap's 'Lincoln Park' outline lies at the corner of North Confederate Avenue and West Nutbush Street, about 85 m from the crossing, as the source places it.
Rose Stadium1942way/475700222The basemap's own label, 'CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium', sits at the pin, on Fair Park Dr.
Tyler Civic Theatre1951way/546622120The basemap's own label, 'Tyler Civic Theatre', sits at the pin, on Rose Park Dr.
Smith County Courthouse1955way/544001615OpenStreetMap's 'Smith County Courthouse' (100 North Broadway Avenue) is the block east of Broadway between Ferguson and Erwin: the eastern half of the old square.
UT Tyler1971way/231354268The basemap's own label, 'The University of Texas at Tyler', sits at the pin, inside the campus outline beside Harvey Lake.
Tyler Museum of Art1971node/1798251452The basemap's own label, 'Tyler Museum of Art', sits at the pin, inside the TJC campus near Apache Pass.
Broadway Square Mall1975way/480933742The pin is inside the mall's footprint on S. Broadway, south of Loop 323's south side.

Camp Ford, by our measurement, is 3.7 miles from the center of the square in a straight line, and the Handbook of Texas says four miles northeast of town. Left off, on purpose: Bergfeld Center and Bergfeld Square; Emmett J. Scott High School; Brookshire's first grocery, on the courthouse square; Tyler High School in 1926; The historic districts; The new Smith County courthouse.

What we assumed

  • That the plat’s “central square” is the block OpenStreetMap calls Tyler City Square. The sources do not name it or give coordinates. This is why the 1847 pin is hollow.
  • That showing today’s rail and today’s Loop 323 from the years they began is fair, as long as the page says it is today’s geometry. It says so on the layer, in the key and on the year’s page.
  • That the rebuilt streets are the four named in Phase I, within about 300 m of the square. The sources give no limits. The solid stretch of College Avenue is the one block the sources describe.
  • That a hollow pin is honest where an institution opened somewhere we cannot place (Tyler Junior College opened at Tyler High School; the sources do not say where that building stood) or where the sources give only today’s address (the Tyler Civic Theatre).
  • That the 1847 schematic belongs around that square. The sources do not locate the plat, so its position on the map is our assumption.

What we will not claim

From the research file, statements no source supports:

  • A laying pattern (running bond, herringbone) or maker stamps for Tyler's bricks
  • "Tyler grows half the nation's roses" in the present tense
  • A single start year for the brick streets (say "early 1900s into the 1940s")

And, from us:

  • That an old map lies exactly under today’s: each is off by the distance given above, more at its edges.
  • That a picture shows more than its holder’s record and our sources say. The ink-toned pictures are ours; each links to the holder’s original.
  • Any street, block size or edge for the 1847 plat; the route of the first railroad; Loop 323’s 1957 route; the extent of the downtown project.
  • Any population between two censuses. The line joins counts ten years apart, of a city whose limits moved.
  • Any date after September 29, 2026 as a fact. Those are expectations and are marked.

Credits and licenses

  • Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, under the Open Database License. Vector tiles by OpenFreeMap, schema by OpenMapTiles. The pins and layers can be downloaded: places.geojson, timeline.json.
  • The old maps: the Sanborn fire insurance maps of Tyler are from the Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, Sanborn Maps Collection; the 1948 quadrangle is from the U.S. Geological Survey. The archive pictures are from the Library of Congress, Southern Methodist University’s DeGolyer Library, the Boston Public Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Wikimedia Commons and Paul Sableman. Each one, with its holder’s credit line and rights statement, is on the credits page.
  • The live map is MapLibre GL JS. It loads only on a device that can draw it, never on Save-Data.
  • Type: Spectral and Overpass Mono, under the SIL Open Font License.
  • Icons: Phosphor, through astro-icon.
  • Made in Tyler by Tyler Sites. An independent project; not affiliated with the City of Tyler.

Every fact

193 facts, in the order the timeline first uses them. Each shows its claim exactly as researched, its caveat, its sources, and where it appears.

  1. tyler-site-bought-1847 1847

    On February 6, 1847, commissioners bought a 100-acre site from Edgar Pollett for $150 and laid out the town in 28 blocks around a central square.

    Used on: the 1847 page, The 1847 plat (schematic), Tyler City Square

  2. original-plat-street-names 1847

    The 1847 townsite had five north-south avenues (Bois D'Arc, College, Broadway, Fannin and Spring) and four east-west streets (Locust, Ferguson, Erwin and Elm); College, Fannin, Ferguson and Erwin got those names later.

    Caveat: The nomination spells the seller 'Edgar Pollitt' and places the townsite in the Isaac Lollar survey; the Handbook spells him 'Edgar Pollett'.

    Used on: the 1847 page, The 1847 plat (schematic)

  3. first-railroad-reached-tyler-1873 1873

    The first railroad reached Tyler in 1873–74.

    Caveat: The source gives a span (1873–74), not a single year. Others differ: the 2001 Tyler cover document and the Handbook's Tyler Tap entry say April 1873; the Handbook's Tyler entry and the downtown nomination say April 1874.

    Used on: the 1873 page, Railroad, as mapped today

  4. tyler-tap-railroad-1877 1877

    The locally backed narrow-gauge Tyler Tap Railroad, completed in 1877 to Ferguson (now Big Sandy), ran its first train into Tyler in 1877, and the line grew into the Cotton Belt (St. Louis Southwestern Railway).

    Caveat: This is the Tyler Tap's first train into Tyler, not the first railroad to reach Tyler (see first-railroad-reached-tyler-1873).

    Used on: the 1873 page, Railroad, as mapped today

  5. loop-323 1957

    Loop 323 is the roughly 19.7-mile state loop around Tyler, which TxDOT designated on October 30, 1957, from what had been FM 1803.

    Used on: the 1957 page, Loop 323

  6. downtown-improvement-project-scope 2025

    The Downtown Improvement Project began in September 2025, converts the streets around the square to two-way traffic, rebuilds the square with green space (due by May 2027) and restrooms, and later adds roundabouts on South Broadway starting November 2027.

    Used on: the 2025 page, Downtown rebuild

  7. downtown-improvement-phase-1-north-broadway 2026

    Phase I of the Downtown Improvement Project, covering Erwin Street, Broadway Avenue, Ferguson Street and College Avenue, finished in May 2026, and North Broadway work began the week of September 7, 2026, after Labor Day.

    Used on: the 2025 page, Downtown rebuild

  8. college-avenue-bricks-lifted-2025 2025

    In September 2025, crews took up every brick on College Avenue between Ferguson and Erwin streets for the Downtown Improvement Project, palletized and stored them.

    Used on: the 2025 page, Downtown rebuild

  9. college-avenue-bricks-relaid-2026 2026

    On March 2, 2026, bricks saved from the streets went back down on College Avenue in front of Plaza Tower.

    Used on: the 2025 page, Downtown rebuild

  10. dip-state-registration-scope 2025

    The state accessibility registration for the downtown project lists a June 1, 2025 start, a November 30, 2028 completion and a scope covering College/Spring from Erwin to Ferguson, Erwin/Ferguson from College to Fannin, and Broadway from Elm to Locust.

    Caveat: Existing facts (Tyler Morning Telegraph, KLTV) give an expected finish by April 2028; the state registration lists November 30, 2028.

    Used on: the 2025 page, Downtown rebuild

  11. oakwood-cemetery-1849 1849

    The Tyler MPS calls Oakwood Cemetery, on North Palace Avenue at West Oakwood Street, Tyler's oldest cemetery and dates it to 1849, when John Lollar sold land and reserved five acres for burials, though it says the first burials there are thought to date to 1846; the oldest marked grave is from 1852.

    Caveat: The MPS also lists Oakwood as dating to 1846, the year of the first burials thought to have occurred there.

    Used on: the 1852 page, Oakwood Cemetery

  12. goodman-legrand-house-history 1859

    The Goodman-LeGrand House at 624 N. Broadway was built in 1859 as 'Bonnie Castle' by Samuel Gallatin Smith, gained a second story in 1880, and got its circular porticos and two-story columns in a 1926 remodel; after Sallie Goodman-LeGrand died in 1939, the City of Tyler took ownership in 1940.

    Used on: the 1859 page, Goodman-LeGrand House

  13. ordnance-plant-1862-1863 1862

    Tyler's ordnance plant was founded in 1862 by gunsmiths J.C. Short and William S.N. Biscoe with Col. George Yarbrough, in a two-story brick building on a 125-acre site, to make 5,000 rifles for Texas; it was sold to the Confederate government in October 1863. A 1969 marker near the site stands in Bergfeld Park at South College and Fourth Street.

    Used on: the 1863 page, Near the ordnance plant

  14. civil-war-ordnance-plant-camp-ford 1863

    During the Civil War, Tyler had the largest Confederate ordnance plant in Texas, and Camp Ford, four miles northeast of town, became a prisoner-of-war camp in 1863 and was the largest Confederate prison camp west of the Mississippi.

    Used on: the 1863 page, Camp Ford

  15. camp-ford-historic-park undated

    The site of Camp Ford's stockade is now Camp Ford Historic Park, owned by Smith County and managed by the Smith County Historical Society, on US Highway 271 about 0.8 miles outside Loop 323; it has an interpretive kiosk and walking trail and is free from dawn to dusk.

    Caveat: The same Historical Society page also lists the park at 6600 US Highway 271.

    Used on: the 1863 page, Camp Ford

  16. then-smith-county-jail-1881 1881

    The Smith County Jail, built between September 1880 and April 1881 on East Erwin Street just east of the square, served as the county's third jail until 1916; on March 9, 1916, the county sold it to Jefferson Y. Lewis for $1,800, and he made it the Lewis Hotel.

    Used on: the 1881 page, Smith County Jail (1881)

  17. st-james-cme-church 1888

    St. James C.M.E. Church at 408 North Border Avenue, built in 1888 as a wooden Gothic Revival church and bricked between 1921 and 1929, is called by the Tyler MPS (2001) the only known surviving 19th-century African American church building in Tyler; it was listed on the National Register on August 20, 2004.

    Caveat: The church's cornerstones read 1889 and 1888.

    Used on: the 1888 page, St. James C.M.E. Church

  18. st-james-cme-oldest-black-church-building-1891 1891

    The St. James CME Church building at 408 North Border Avenue, likely built between 1889 and 1891 under the Rev. I. S. Persons and bricked and remodeled about 1920, is called by its 2004 National Register nomination the oldest surviving African American church in Tyler.

    Used on: the 1888 page, St. James C.M.E. Church

  19. marvin-methodist-1890 1890

    Marvin Methodist Episcopal Church, South, built in 1890 at the southwest corner of West Erwin Street and South Bois D'Arc Avenue for $60,000, is called by the downtown nomination the oldest building in the district and the only remaining 19th-century brick church in the city; it was listed on the National Register on November 15, 2000.

    Caveat: The downtown nomination's landmarks list says Marvin Methodist was listed in 2000 and the depot in 2000; the Atlas gives the depot's listing as August 8, 2001.

    Used on: the 1890 page, Marvin Methodist Church

  20. texas-college-founded-north-of-city-1894 1894

    Texas College was founded in 1894 by ministers of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, with help from St. James C.M.E., on land north of the city limits, because Black Tylerites were restricted in where they could own property; its area was annexed to the city in 1936.

    Used on: the 1888 page, the 1894 page, Texas College

  21. texas-college-campus-shrank 2005

    Texas College's campus, about two miles northwest of the square at North Grand Avenue and Barrett Street, once covered more than 101 acres; after the sale of 77 acres it covered 24.5 acres.

    Used on: the 1894 page, Texas College

  22. carnegie-library-1904 1904

    Tyler's first public library, the Carnegie Library at 125 South College Avenue, had been built by 1904 with a $15,000 Carnegie grant and held 12,000 books when it opened; it was the 15th of 34 Carnegie libraries in Texas, designed by Patton & Miller of Chicago.

    Used on: the 1904 page, Carnegie Library

  23. carnegie-library-running-water-1934-addition 1934

    According to the Smith County Historical Society, the Carnegie Library was the first building in downtown Tyler with running water; it doubled in size in 1934 with a Public Works Administration grant and has housed the historical society since the mid-1980s.

    Used on: the 1904 page, Carnegie Library

  24. cotton-belt-depot-built-1905 1905

    The Cotton Belt Depot at 210 E. Oakwood St. was built in 1905 by the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, known as the Cotton Belt, and passenger service ended in April 1956.

    Used on: the 1905 page, Cotton Belt Depot

  25. bergfeld-park-plat-1906-deed-1909 1906

    Rudolph Bergfeld set aside the land for Bergfeld Park in a 1906 plat and deeded it to the city in 1909 on condition that park work begin within six months.

    Used on: the 1906 page, Bergfeld Park

  26. bergfeld-park-bought-1913 1913

    When the park-work deadline passed, Bergfeld offered to sell the Bergfeld Park land for $4,000, and the city council approved the purchase on June 21, 1913.

    Used on: the 1906 page, Bergfeld Park

  27. courthouse-1910-dedicated-1955-demolished 1910

    Smith County says the courthouse commonly remembered in the county, which stood where Broadway now runs, was dedicated in 1910 and used for 45 years; the Smith County Historical Society says it was torn down in September 1955, while the downtown nomination says it was razed before the new courthouse was built.

    Caveat: The Handbook dates this courthouse to 1909 and the downtown nomination says construction began in 1908; the county and KETK give a 1910 dedication. The downtown nomination says the county razed it first and then built the new courthouse; the Historical Society dates its demolition to September 1955, the year the new courthouse was dedicated.

    Used on: the 1910 page, the 1955 page, The 1910 courthouse (site)

  28. courthouse-1909 1909

    Work on a Classical Revival courthouse in the middle of the square began in 1908; the Handbook dates the three-story courthouse to 1909, and it served until the 1950s.

    Used on: the 1910 page, The 1910 courthouse (site)

  29. black-wall-street-east-erwin 1920

    In the early 20th century Black entrepreneurs and professionals bought buildings and ran businesses along the 200 block of East Erwin Street and an alley called Wall, an area remembered as Tyler's 'Black Wall Street.'

    Used on: the 1920 page, Black Wall Street (210 E. Erwin)

  30. senate-building-210-east-erwin 1934

    Dr. Archie S. Senate, a Black physician born in Tyler in 1878, moved his practice by 1934 to the building at 210 East Erwin Street that still carries a 'SENATE' plaque; Robert W. Porter's People's Cafe also occupied it.

    Used on: the 1920 page, Black Wall Street (210 E. Erwin)

  31. tjc-opened-1926 1926

    Tyler Junior College opened on Sept. 17, 1926, at Tyler High School with 93 students and nine faculty members.

    Used on: the 1926 page, Tyler Junior College, Tyler High School in 1926

  32. liberty-hall-discovery-science-place 1930

    Liberty Hall, a city venue downtown at 103 E. Erwin St., seats about 300 and opened as the Liberty Theater in 1930, and the Discovery Science Place, a UT Tyler children's museum founded in 1993, is a short walk north at 308 N. Broadway.

    Used on: the 1930 page, Liberty Hall

  33. peoples-national-bank-building-1932 1932

    The 15-story People's National Bank Building at the northwest corner of North College Avenue and West Erwin Street, designed by Houston architect Alfred C. Finn and financed through Samuel A. Lindsey's People's National Company for more than $910,000, was under construction by April 1932.

    Used on: the 1930 page, People’s National Bank Building

  34. federal-building-1934 1934

    The Tyler U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, designed by Tyler architect Shirley Simons Sr. under Treasury supervising architect James A. Wetmore, replaced the old federal building at the northeast corner of West Ferguson and North Bois D'Arc; it was dedicated on August 4, 1934.

    Caveat: The Atlas gives the address as 211 West Ferguson Street; the downtown nomination's inventory lists 221 W Ferguson St.

    Used on: the 1934 page, U.S. Post Office and Courthouse

  35. blackstone-building-1938 1938

    Construction of the Art Deco Blackstone Building at 315 North Broadway, designed by Fort Worth architect Preston M. Geren, began in February 1938; its ground floor held Tyler's first union bus terminal, and by 1945 fifteen oil-related businesses rented offices above.

    Used on: the 1930 page, Blackstone Building

  36. rose-garden-land-1912-wpa-1938 1912

    The city acquired the Rose Garden land in 1912, and the garden began as a 1938 WPA project; the city and the garden's marker put the federal grant for the park and rose garden project at $181,255.

    Used on: the 1938 page, Tyler Rose Garden

  37. rose-garden-opened-1952 1952

    The Tyler Municipal Rose Garden officially opened in 1952 with nearly 3,000 bushes donated by local nurseries.

    Used on: the 1938 page, Tyler Rose Garden

  38. segregated-parks-1937-1949 1938

    In 1937 the Tyler Park Board recommended six new parks, four for white residents and two 'colored' parks; Lincoln Park, 2.5 acres at North Confederate Avenue and West Nutbush Street, was given for park use in 1938, and in 1949 the city had six white playgrounds and three for Black children.

    Used on: the 1938 page, Lincoln Park

  39. rose-stadium 1942

    Rose Stadium, at 609 Fair Park Dr., is owned by Tyler ISD, opened in 1942 and seats 10,566; its field is Earl Campbell Field, and it is also home to the TJC Apaches and the Texas College Steers.

    Used on: the 1938 page, Rose Stadium

  40. tyler-civic-theatre-in-the-round-1951 1951

    In 1951 Tyler Civic Theatre opened what it calls the nation's first building built specifically for theatre in the round, and a 2007 KLTV report says the theatre center houses two theatres in the round, the Braithwaite and the Rogers Children's Theatre.

    Caveat: The "nation's first" is the theatre's own claim.

    Used on: the 1938 page, Tyler Civic Theatre

  41. tyler-civic-theatre-origins 1927

    Tyler Civic Theatre, at 400 Rose Park Dr., traces back to the Tyler Little Theatre (1927), which stopped during World War II and was revived as Tyler Civic Theatre in 1949.

    Used on: the 1938 page, Tyler Civic Theatre

  42. courthouse-1955-dedicated-six-story 1955

    The current Smith County Courthouse, six stories, was dedicated in 1955 to house two district courts, two justice of the peace courts, the jail and county offices.

    Caveat: The Handbook says the present courthouse was constructed in 1954.

    Used on: the 1955 page, Smith County Courthouse

  43. courthouse-1950s-square-split 1954

    In the mid-1950s Smith County replaced the 1909 courthouse, extended Broadway through the split square, kept the western half as a park and put the new courthouse at the center of the eastern half; the downtown nomination says the old courthouse was demolished first, while the Smith County Historical Society dates the demolition to September 1955.

    Used on: the 1955 page, Smith County Courthouse

  44. ut-tyler-history 1971

    UT Tyler was founded in 1971 as Tyler State College, became Texas Eastern University in 1975, and joined the UT System after Gov. Bill Clements signed Senate Bill 906 on June 2, 1979.

    Used on: the 1971 page, UT Tyler

  45. tyler-museum-of-art 1971

    The Tyler Museum of Art opened in 1971 through the efforts of the Junior League of Tyler and sits on the Tyler Junior College campus at 1300 S. Mahon; it grew out of the Tyler Service League's Community Arts Committee (1952) and an art center in the Jamie T. Smith home (1960), and its building was designed by E. Davis Wilcox.

    Used on: the 1971 page, Tyler Museum of Art

  46. broadway-square-mall-1975 1975

    Broadway Square Mall on South Broadway opened on April 1, 1975, when that part of town was considered 'out in the country.'

    Used on: the 1949 page, Broadway Square Mall

  47. bergfeld-center-1949 1949

    Bergfeld Center opened in 1949 as Tyler's first shopping center outside downtown.

    Caveat: Attributed: the city's 2000 historic-resources survey calls it both Tyler's 'first' and 'one of the first' suburban shopping centers; say 'the city's survey calls it the first' or 'one of the first'.

    Used on: the 1949 page, Bergfeld Center and Bergfeld Square

  48. bergfeld-square-on-1876-fairground 1876

    In 1876 the East Texas District Fair Association acquired a 75-acre site south of First Street between Broadway, Donnybrook and Troup Highway; Rudolph Bergfeld bought the land in 1904, his family subdivided it in the 1920s and 1930s, and Tyler's first suburban shopping center, Bergfeld Square, went up there in the late 1940s.

    Used on: the 1949 page, Bergfeld Center and Bergfeld Square

  49. emmett-scott-high-school-1918-1970 1970

    Emmett J. Scott High School, Tyler's high school for Black students, operated from 1918 until 1970, when it closed under the integration order; it stood on what is now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and its students and teachers were sent to John Tyler High School.

    Used on: the 1918 page, Emmett J. Scott High School

  50. brookshire-grocery-1928 1928

    Tyler-based Brookshire Grocery Co. traces its start to Sept. 1, 1928, when Wood T. Brookshire opened a 2,500-square-foot grocery on the downtown Tyler courthouse square, and today it runs more than 200 stores under the Brookshire's, Super 1 Foods, Spring Market, FRESH by Brookshire's, Reasor's and FRESH by Reasor's names.

    Caveat: The store count is undated ("today"); re-check.

    Used on: the 2026 page, Brookshire's first grocery, on the courthouse square

  51. eight-national-register-districts-list 2026

    THC Atlas listings give these Tyler historic districts and their National Register listing dates: Charnwood (August 20, 1999), Donnybrook Duplex and East Ferguson Street (June 14, 2002), Short-Line (August 22, 2002), Azalea (June 23, 2003), Brick Streets (April 28, 2004), Tyler Downtown (October 24, 2022) and Pollard (January 29, 2026).

    Used on: the 1999 page, The historic districts

  52. smith-county-courthouse-construction 2024

    The new Smith County courthouse, under construction since August 2024, is expected to open at the end of 2026.

    Caveat: The opening is an expectation; sources say end of 2026, December 2026 or late 2026. Re-check.

    Used on: the 2025 page, The new Smith County courthouse

  53. new-courthouse-groundbreaking-2024 2024

    Smith County broke ground on its new courthouse on August 15, 2024, after demolition of buildings on East Erwin Street and Fannin and Spring avenues began that July; Fitzpatrick Architects presented courthouse planning to the commissioners in 2021, and Hoar Construction, teamed with SCI Construction, heads the courthouse and parking garage project.

    Used on: the 2025 page, The new Smith County courthouse

  54. tyler-authorized-1846 1846

    Tyler was authorized on April 11, 1846, when the Texas Legislature created Smith County and its county seat, and it was named for President John Tyler for his support of admitting Texas to the Union.

    Used on: the 1847 page

  55. avenues-and-streets-widths 1847

    Tyler's founders named its north-south roads avenues and its east-west roads streets; downtown, the avenues measure 50 feet wide and the streets 35 feet.

    Used on: the 1847 page

  56. tyler-incorporated-1850 1850

    Tyler was incorporated on January 29, 1850, and is the county seat of Smith County.

    Used on: the 1847 page

  57. courthouses-county-sequence-1846-1848 1846

    Smith County's own courthouse history says its first courthouse was a log cabin on West Erwin Street in 1846, followed by a log courthouse on East Ferguson in 1847 and a 520-square-foot log courthouse on the square in 1848; the Handbook and the downtown nomination place the first log courthouse on or north of the square.

    Caveat: Smith County's own history lists a log cabin on West Erwin Street (1846), a log courthouse on East Ferguson (1847) and a 520-square-foot log courthouse on the square (1848); the Handbook says the first log courthouse stood on the north side of the square and another was built in the center of the square in 1847.

    Used on: the 1852 page

  58. courthouse-log-to-brick-1852 1852

    The Handbook of Texas says a log courthouse on the north side of the square served as meeting hall and church and another log courthouse was built in the center of the square in 1847; in 1852 the county built a two-story brick courthouse, 40 by 60 feet, in the middle of the square. Smith County's own history gives a different early sequence.

    Caveat: The downtown nomination says the brick courthouse came 'after two log building replacements'; the Handbook describes one log courthouse on the north side and another built in 1847 in the center.

    Used on: the 1852 page

  59. marvin-methodist-first-congregation 1848

    The downtown nomination calls Marvin Methodist's congregation the first of any denomination organized in Smith County; it met in the log cabins on the courthouse square starting in 1848.

    Caveat: The Handbook says a Methodist church was organized in 1846; the nomination says the congregation met on the square starting in 1848.

    Used on: the 1852 page

  60. courthouse-1852-brick-57-years 1852

    Smith County's first brick courthouse, built in 1852 in the center of the square, was remodeled and expanded and served until 1908; the old log courthouse was moved and used as the jail.

    Used on: the 1852 page

  61. ferguson-yarbrough-stores-1855 1855

    Between 1855 and 1858 Alfred W. Ferguson built five brick stores on the northwest side of the square, and Col. George Yarbrough built a three-story dry-goods building on the northeast side.

    Used on: the 1852 page

  62. goodman-legrand-house-visiting 2025

    As of September 2025 the Goodman-LeGrand House was open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free admission and a suggested $3 donation, and the Azalea Trail starts there.

    Caveat: Hours and donation as of September 2025; re-check.

    Used on: the 1859 page

  63. smith-county-csa-activities 1863

    A 1965 state marker on the courthouse grounds says Tyler's Confederate-era activity included a quartermaster depot, training camps, a transportation depot, a foundry, a general hospital and medical laboratories, and calls the ordnance plant the largest west of the Mississippi.

    Caveat: The Handbook calls it the largest Confederate ordnance plant in Texas; the 1965 marker says the largest west of the Mississippi River.

    Used on: the 1863 page

  64. camp-ford-origin-1862 1863

    Camp Ford began in 1862 as a Confederate conscript-training camp four miles northeast of Tyler, named for Col. John S. (Rip) Ford; on July 21, 1863, the Trans-Mississippi Department ordered a prison camp there.

    Used on: the 1863 page

  65. trans-mississippi-transport-hq-1863 1863

    After mid-1863 Tyler was the transportation headquarters of the Confederacy's Trans-Mississippi Department, according to the 1968 City of Tyler marker on the courthouse lawn.

    Used on: the 1863 page

  66. camp-ford-stockade-1864 1864

    Camp Ford's stockade, built in November 1863, enclosed two to four acres beside a spring; after about 3,000 prisoners arrived in April 1864 it was doubled in size, and it held 4,725 men that spring.

    Used on: the 1863 page

  67. ordnance-plant-workforce-output-1864 1864

    Under Lt. Col. G.H. Hill the Tyler ordnance plant had 150 to 200 workers and shops for leather, tin and carpentry; in three months of 1864 it made 394,156 cartridges, 411 rifles and 3,531 canteens.

    Used on: the 1863 page

  68. camp-ford-totals-1865 1865

    About 6,000 prisoners were held at Camp Ford over two years, and 286 died there; the last 1,200 left for Shreveport on May 17, 1865, and a Union cavalry detail destroyed the compound that July.

    Used on: the 1863 page

  69. confederate-arms-factory-marker-1936 1936

    A 1936 Texas Centennial marker titled 'Confederate Arms Factory' stands at Mockingbird Lane and Robertson Street in Tyler.

    Used on: the 1863 page

  70. then-tyler-tap-chartered-1871 1871

    The Tyler Tap Railroad was chartered on December 1, 1871, by a special act of the legislature after 23 Tyler citizens led by Richard B. Hubbard and Maj. James P. Douglas applied; it could build up to 40 miles to a connection with another railroad.

    Used on: the 1873 page

  71. first-railroad-troup-branch-1873 1873

    The International and Great Northern (then the Houston and Great Northern) bypassed Tyler in 1872 by routing its main line through Troup, 19 miles southeast; after lobbying, Tyler got a branch from Troup, completed in April 1873 by one account and extended to Mineola in 1874.

    Caveat: Sources disagree on when the first railroad reached Tyler: the Tyler MPS says the I&GN (then the Houston and Great Northern) completed its line from Troup in April 1873, and the Handbook's Tyler Tap entry says the Houston and Great Northern 'built through Tyler' in 1873; the Handbook's Tyler entry says the Houston and Great Northern began service to Tyler in April 1874, and the downtown nomination says rail service reached Tyler in 1874.

    Used on: the 1873 page

  72. tyler-tap-first-train-1877 1877

    On October 1, 1877, the Tyler Tap's only locomotive, the Governor Hubbard, brought the line's first train into Tyler over 21 miles of three-foot-gauge track from Big Sandy; the company's offices stood northwest of the crossing of East Valentine and North Fannin streets.

    Used on: the 1873 page

  73. tyler-tap-renamed-1879 1879

    The Handbook of Texas says the Tyler Tap was renamed the Texas and St. Louis Railway Company by charter amendment on May 14, 1879 (the Tyler MPS says it was reorganized in the fall of 1878); the company is considered the beginning of the Cotton Belt.

    Caveat: The Tyler MPS says the Tyler Tap was reorganized as the Texas and St. Louis 'in the fall of 1878'.

    Used on: the 1873 page

  74. downtown-rail-lines-shape 1880

    The Cotton Belt laid its tracks east-west in an arc across the north edge of downtown, and the International and Great Northern (later Missouri Pacific) ran north-south along its eastern edge.

    Used on: the 1873 page

  75. railroad-shop-workers-population-1880s 1880

    The Handbook of Texas says an influx of railroad-shop workers nearly tripled Tyler's population between 1880 and 1890.

    Caveat: Covers the span 1880–1890.

    Used on: the 1873 page

  76. population-1880 1880

    Tyler's population was 2,423 in the 1880 census.

    Used on: the 1873 page

  77. population-1890 1890

    Tyler's population was 6,908 in the 1890 census, up 185.1 percent from 1880.

    Used on: the 1873 page

  78. then-cotton-belt-hospital-1888 1888

    The Cotton Belt's first hospital for railroad workers was completed in Tyler in 1888 at West Elm Street and the Cotton Belt tracks and operated for 17 years; the original wooden shops northeast of the square employed about 100 to 150 men.

    Used on: the 1873 page

  79. cotton-belt-oil-fuel-1898 1898

    In 1898 the Cotton Belt began burning crude oil in its locomotives, which the Tyler MPS, citing a railroad history, calls the first railroad in the Southwest to use oil as fuel; new shops were built in Tyler that year on the site of the wooden ones.

    Used on: the 1873 page

  80. cotton-belt-headquarters-lawsuit-1904 1904

    When Cotton Belt executives announced in 1904 that they would move the line's headquarters and shops to Texarkana, the City of Tyler sued; the railroad lost and had to keep its headquarters in Tyler.

    Used on: the 1873 page

  81. jail-mob-violence-1897-1898 1897

    According to the jail's National Register nomination, a mob lynched an African American man held at the Smith County Jail in 1897, and in 1898 another mob shot an Anglo American man to death in his cell.

    Used on: the 1881 page

  82. jim-hodge-lynching-1909 1909

    On May 1, 1909, a mob broke into the Smith County Jail with sledgehammers, seized Jim Hodge, held on a rape charge, and lynched him on the courthouse square; later statements by his accuser led many to believe he was innocent. The MPS says the last lynching in Tyler occurred in the 1920s.

    Caveat: The downtown nomination spells the name 'Jim Hodges' in one citation and 'Jim Hodge' in another.

    Used on: the 1881 page

  83. smith-county-jail-historic-tyler-1986 1986

    Historic Tyler, Inc., bought the 1881 jail in 1986, and it was listed on the National Register on August 22, 1996.

    Used on: the 1881 page

  84. immaculate-conception-1882-1935 1882

    Tyler's first Immaculate Conception church was built in 1882 at the northwest corner of North College Avenue and West Locust Street; many early parishioners were Irish railroad workers, joined by the 1890s by Lebanese, Syrian, Hispanic and other immigrants. The present church at South Broadway and West Front Street was dedicated on March 17, 1935.

    Caveat: The diocese dates the parish to 1878; the MPS says it became a permanent parish in 1880. The MPS says the present church was built in 1934; the diocese says it was dedicated March 17, 1935.

    Used on: the 1890 page

  85. congregation-beth-el-1887 1887

    Congregation Beth El was founded on April 11, 1887, first met in the Odd Fellows hall on the square, and dedicated its first temple at South College Avenue and University Place in 1889; a second congregation, Ahavath Achim, formed in 1898.

    Used on: the 1890 page

  86. bethlehem-baptist-brick-church-1891 1891

    Bethlehem First Baptist, Tyler's first Black Baptist congregation, formed after the Civil War and first met in the basement of the Smith County Courthouse; in 1891 it built a church on West Front Street that the Tyler MPS, citing the City of Tyler, calls the first brick church in Texas built by African Americans. It held its last Front Street service in 1931 and built a new church on West Lollar Street in 1933.

    Used on: the 1890 page

  87. first-baptist-church-1913 1913

    First Baptist Church, organized in 1848 and first meeting in the log courthouse, built its Classical Revival church at the northwest corner of West Ferguson Street and North Bois D'Arc Avenue in 1913, after breaking ground in October 1911.

    Used on: the 1890 page

  88. christ-episcopal-church-1918 1918

    Christ Episcopal Church, begun as a mission in 1867, bought two lots in 1913 and completed its Gothic Revival church at 118 South Bois D'Arc Avenue in 1918, according to the downtown nomination's narrative (its inventory dates the church 1917).

    Used on: the 1890 page

  89. texas-college-names-accreditation 1909

    Texas College was renamed Phillips University in 1909 and changed back to Texas College in 1912; it was accredited as a junior college in 1924 and as a four-year senior college in 1932.

    Used on: the 1894 page

  90. martin-hall-1924 1924

    Martin Hall at Texas College, built in 1924 for about $30,000 with a 1,000-seat auditorium and named for C.M.E. Bishop Joseph C. Martin, is the only surviving intact 1920s school building in Tyler, according to its National Register nomination; it was listed December 6, 2005.

    Used on: the 1894 page

  91. texas-college-housed-tjc-campus 1946

    Texas College housed one campus of Tyler Junior College from 1946 to 1966.

    Used on: the 1894 page

  92. glass-library-mckissack 1948

    The D. R. Glass Library at Texas College, built about 1948, was likely designed by the noted African American firm McKissack & McKissack of Nashville or a subcontractor under its supervision, according to its National Register nomination; it was listed on March 7, 2007.

    Used on: the 1894 page

  93. carnegie-library-national-register-1979 1979

    The Carnegie Public Library was listed on the National Register on March 26, 1979.

    Used on: the 1904 page

  94. cotton-belt-depot-ordered-1905 1905

    The 1905 brick passenger depot on the north side of Oakwood Street was built after the Texas Railroad Commission ordered the Cotton Belt to replace its 1880s frame depot at the southwest corner of Oakwood (then Common) Street and Fannin Avenue.

    Used on: the 1905 page

  95. depot-shared-ign-separate-depot 1905

    The 1905 Cotton Belt depot, just south of the Cotton Belt tracks and west of the I&GN tracks, was shared with the I&GN for a few years; the I&GN later built its own depot on North Fannin Avenue between Ferguson and Locust streets.

    Used on: the 1905 page

  96. the-levee-district 1900

    The Levee, a rail business district across Oakwood Street from the depot, took its name from a levee the Cotton Belt built north of its tracks; established before 1900, it had hotels, restaurants and stores serving trainmen and travelers, and the Tyler MPS says none of the barber shop, hotel and restaurant buildings it names survive.

    Used on: the 1905 page

  97. cotton-belt-shops-enlarged-1910 1910

    In 1910 the Cotton Belt spent $200,000 to more than double its Tyler shops, just northeast of the square; the shops and roundhouse stood north of the tracks, and the depot and a commercial strip called the Levee south of them.

    Used on: the 1905 page

  98. cotton-belt-employment-1923-1935 1923

    The Cotton Belt employed 1,543 people in Tyler in 1923, with a $2.29 million payroll; that fell to 1,055 in 1927 and 711 in 1935. At its peak it provided more than 1,500 Tyler jobs.

    Used on: the 1905 page

  99. cotton-belt-depot-segregated-1986 1956

    For 50 years the Cotton Belt depot had separate waiting rooms for white and Black passengers; after passenger service ended in 1956 it handled only freight and storage, and the downtown nomination says rail operations ended in 1986, when the railroad donated it to the city (another source gives 1988).

    Caveat: Existing fact cotton-belt-depot-donated-reopened-national-register says the depot was donated in 1988; the downtown nomination says 1986.

    Used on: the 1905 page

  100. last-passenger-train-1956 1956

    The last Cotton Belt passenger train passed through Tyler on April 22, 1956, ending just over 83 years of direct passenger rail service.

    Used on: the 1905 page

  101. cotton-belt-depot-donated-reopened-national-register 1988

    The Cotton Belt Depot was donated to the City of Tyler in 1988 and reopened after a major renovation in 2003; it was listed on the National Register on August 8, 2001.

    Caveat: Sources differ on the donation year: 1988 here; the 2022 Downtown Tyler Historic District nomination says 1986. Show both or omit the year.

    Used on: the 1905 page

  102. cotton-belt-depot-today undated

    Tyler Transit uses the depot's old waiting area, and the Cotton Belt Depot Museum fills the former baggage area, centered on Clyde Bragg's model-train collection.

    Used on: the 1905 page

  103. bergfeld-park-amphitheater-1936 1936

    Bergfeld Park, first called South Side Park, gained a stone amphitheater built with $10,000 given in 1936 by Sears, Roebuck president Robert Wood, and hosted the Texas Rose Festival's coronation in 1934.

    Used on: the 1906 page

  104. utilities-1888-1908 1888

    A group of residents formed the Tyler Electric Light and Power Company in 1888; the Tyler Gas Company, set up in 1907, was lighting fixtures around the square by 1908, the year the city engineer built concrete sidewalks on North Spring Avenue.

    Used on: the 1910 page

  105. courthouse-square-lynchings 1895

    A footnote in the downtown nomination says three documented lynchings took place at the Tyler courthouse square between 1895 and 1912, that newspapers of the period suggest there were others, and that none led to arrests or prosecution; the Smith County Jail nomination says a district judge ordered many of the 1909 mob arrested.

    Used on: the 1910 page

  106. brick-paving-began-july-2-1906-mps 1906

    According to the Tyler MPS, paving began on July 2, 1906, with Thurber red brick laid at railroad crossings by contractors Allen and Harrison; streets around the square followed in 1907 with brick from the Mineral Wells Brick Co.

    Caveat: The existing fact brick-paving-began-1906-nomination (Brick Streets nomination) says the 1906 crossings used Thurber brick, consistent with this; the Tyler Morning Telegraph (2015) puts the first brick streets around 1912. Attribute the July 2, 1906 date to the MPS.

    Used on: the 1910 page

  107. sanborn-1907-streets-not-paved 1907

    The Sanborn fire insurance map of Tyler dated September 1907 says on its first sheet: 'Grades generally level. streets not paved.'

    Caveat: The National Register documents (2000, 2003) say the streets around the courthouse square were paved in 1907, and the 2000 survey dates the first paving (railroad crossings) to July 2, 1906; see sanborn-1907-vs-national-register-square.

    Used on: the 1910 page

  108. sanborn-1912-one-mile-brick 1912

    The Sanborn map of Tyler dated February 1912 says on its first sheet: 'About one mile of brick paved streets.'

    Caveat: Fits neither start date cleanly: the 2000 survey dates the first paving to 1906 and the square to 1907; the 2015 Tyler Morning Telegraph, citing city data, says the first streets were built around 1912.

    Used on: the 1910 page

  109. emmett-scott-namesake 1918

    Emmett J. Scott High was named for Wiley College graduate Emmett J. Scott, a Black author, editor and civic leader; students came from towns such as Chandler that had no high school for them.

    Used on: the 1918 page

  110. segregated-theaters-1918 1918

    By 1918 Tyler had three movie theaters: the Electric Palace and the Queen for white patrons and the Rapeeds Theater for African Americans; the Queen survives as the Arcadia on North Spring Avenue.

    Used on: the 1918 page

  111. city-plans-segregation 1931

    The Pollard nomination says Tyler's 1931 and 1945 city plans promoted segregation by recommending that services be withheld from Black neighborhoods near white ones and that Black schools and parks be placed away from white neighborhoods, setting aside parts of northwest, southwest and central Tyler for Black residents; Black neighborhoods near downtown were displaced for new development.

    Used on: the 1918 page

  112. naacp-lawsuit-tyler-1956 1956

    In September 1956 the Texas attorney general seized NAACP records and filed suit in Tyler to bar the organization from doing business in Texas; the resulting injunction left the group nearly dormant.

    Used on: the 1918 page

  113. restrictive-covenants-segregated-areas 1964

    Until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, restrictive covenants on subdivisions and deeds confined Tyler's African Americans to parts of central, northwest and southwest Tyler, according to the Tyler MPS.

    Used on: the 1918 page

  114. us-v-tyler-isd-1970 1970

    The federal government sued Tyler ISD to desegregate on July 15, 1970; that July Judge William Wayne Justice rejected the district's neighborhood-school plan and ordered its schools consolidated, which brought more busing.

    Used on: the 1918 page

  115. bi-racial-committee-1971 1971

    After Black and white students were listed separately on a cheerleader ballot at John Tyler High School, Judge Justice set up a Bi-Racial Committee for Tyler ISD by order of July 8, 1971.

    Used on: the 1918 page

  116. tyler-isd-unitary-2016 2016

    In August 2016 U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider declared Tyler ISD integrated and dismissed the 1970 desegregation suit; the case had been closed for administrative purposes in 1976 while the court kept jurisdiction.

    Used on: the 1918 page

  117. black-churches-1910-1934 1910

    By 1910 Tyler's African Americans had at least seven churches, including Bethlehem First Baptist on Front Street and Miles Chapel Methodist at North Palace and West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; by 1934 there were 16 Black congregations.

    Used on: the 1920 page

  118. population-race-1920 1920

    In 1920 Tyler's population was about 77 percent white and 23 percent African American, according to the downtown nomination.

    Used on: the 1920 page

  119. short-line-district 1930

    The Short-Line Residential Historic District, five blocks northwest of the square, is 11 nearly identical bungalows built about 1930-1935 by wealthy Tyler businessman J.H. Herndon for African American occupants; the nomination calls it the only known surviving concentration of intact early- to mid-20th-century housing tied to Tyler's African American community.

    Used on: the 1920 page, the 1999 page

  120. tyler-barber-college-1934 1934

    In 1934 Henry Miller Morgan opened Tyler Barber College at 212 East Erwin Street, which the downtown nomination calls the first barber college for African Americans in the country; it grew into a chain with schools in Houston, Jackson, Mississippi, and Manhattan.

    Used on: the 1920 page

  121. black-wall-street-lost-buildings 1930

    Several Black-owned businesses on Black Wall Street, including a shine parlor, cafes and People's Barber Shop at 216 and 218 East Erwin and the Wall Street Cafe at 224 Wall Street, stood where a parking lot now fills the northwest corner of East Erwin Street and North Fannin Avenue.

    Used on: the 1920 page

  122. tyler-high-school-1924-building 1924

    The 1924 Tyler High School building at 331 South College Avenue, now Caldwell Arts Academy, stands in the downtown district with its 1936 Caldwell Gymnasium.

    Used on: the 1926 page

  123. tjc-record-enrollment-2026 2026

    In fall 2026, its 100th year, Tyler Junior College enrolled a record 13,147 students, nearly 3% above its previous fall record.

    Used on: the 1926 page, the 2026 page

  124. east-texas-oilfield-discovered-1930 1930

    The East Texas oilfield, the largest and most prolific oil reservoir in the contiguous United States, was discovered when Dad Joiner's Daisy Bradford No. 3 in Rusk County was completed on October 3, 1930.

    Used on: the 1930 page

  125. daisy-bradford-tyler-25-miles 1930

    The Tyler MPS dates the Daisy Bradford No. 3 strike to October 5, 1930, and says the Tyler Chamber of Commerce immediately campaigned for the oil business, citing the city's location about 25 miles west on a good paved road.

    Caveat: Existing fact east-texas-oilfield-discovered-1930 (Handbook) says the well was completed on October 3, 1930; the MPS says October 5, 1930.

    Used on: the 1930 page

  126. oil-boom-regional-center-population 1930

    The oil boom made Tyler a regional center for the oil industry, and its population grew from 17,113 in 1930 to more than 25,000 by 1933 and 28,279 by 1940.

    Used on: the 1930 page

  127. oil-companies-offices-1930-31 1931

    With the discovery of the East Texas field in 1930-31, 33 companies opened offices in Tyler and almost all the larger independent operators set up land-leasing headquarters there.

    Used on: the 1930 page

  128. oil-boom-building-permits-1931 1931

    After the East Texas field came in, Tyler's building permit values passed $1 million by May 1931; the field had more than 3,600 wells by the end of that year.

    Used on: the 1930 page

  129. peoples-national-bank-site-fire-1930 1930

    The People's National Bank tower replaced Goldstein and Brown's two-story store, partly destroyed by fire in 1930; the downtown nomination says it served as Tyler's premier office building through the 1950s. It was listed on the National Register on August 22, 2002.

    Used on: the 1930 page

  130. blackstone-hotel-1922-1985 1922

    The five-story Blackstone Hotel at the northeast corner of North Broadway and East Locust Street opened in the early 1920s, added nine stories in 1932 for oil-boom newcomers, and was demolished in 1985; a parking lot took its place.

    Caveat: The downtown nomination says the hotel was completed in 1922; the Short-Line nomination says it opened in 1921.

    Used on: the 1930 page

  131. oil-boom-schools-valuations 1935

    As a result of the boom, Tyler's school population rose from 4,261 students in 1930 to more than 6,000 in 1936, and assessed valuations rose from $17,477,254 in 1930 to $28,679,113 in 1935.

    Used on: the 1930 page

  132. thirteen-art-deco-buildings 1935

    Thirteen Art Deco buildings went up in downtown Tyler during the oil boom years; the downtown nomination says several Art Deco highrises replaced many of the commercial block buildings that had lined downtown streets.

    Used on: the 1930 page

  133. mother-frances-hospital-1937 1937

    Mother Frances Hospital opened in Tyler on March 18, 1937, a day earlier than planned, to care for victims of the New London School explosion; sixteen Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth had come to Tyler to open it, and the system, by then named Trinity Mother Frances, joined CHRISTUS Health in 2016.

    Used on: the 1930 page

  134. population-1930-1940-oil-boom-growth-rate 1940

    Census tables show Tyler grew 41.6 percent in the 1920s (to 17,113) and 65.2 percent in the 1930s (to 28,279); the Handbook of Texas ties the 1930s growth to the 1930 discovery of the East Texas oilfield.

    Caveat: The Short-Line Residential Historic District nomination (2002) cites the U.S. Census for different figures: 9,255 in 1920, 13,009 in 1930, 20,879 in 1940 and 28,854 in 1950. The Census Bureau's own 1950 and 1960 tables and the Handbook give 12,085, 17,113, 28,279 and 38,968; prefer the Census tables.

    Used on: the 1930 page

  135. downtown-theater-buildings 1905

    The downtown nomination's inventory lists the 1905 Arcadia Theater at 121 North Spring Avenue and the 1940 Streamline Moderne Tyler Theater at 110 West Erwin Street; a photo caption identifies the 1930 Art Deco building at 103 East Erwin Street as the Liberty Theater building.

    Used on: the 1930 page

  136. federal-building-appropriation-razed-1933 1933

    Congress appropriated $360,000 for Tyler's new federal building, and by April 1933 the old one had been razed and construction was under way; Ralph Sollitt and Sons of Chicago built it.

    Used on: the 1934 page

  137. judge-randolph-bryant-oil-cases 1951

    Federal judge Randolph Bryant, an oil and gas specialist, heard East Texas oil field cases in the Tyler federal courthouse and served as district judge until 1951.

    Used on: the 1934 page

  138. federal-courthouse-annex-1976 1976

    In the 1970s the post office moved out of the federal building, and a Brutalist courthouse annex, approved by Congress in 1966, was finished in 1976 for more than $2.8 million on the site of the Mayer & Schmidt department store.

    Used on: the 1934 page

  139. federal-building-national-register-2001 2001

    The Tyler U.S. Post Office and Courthouse was listed on the National Register on April 25, 2001.

    Used on: the 1934 page

  140. tyler-state-park-desegregation-1949 1949

    In 1949 Thomas R. Register, Rev. J.W. Presley and Dr. P.E. Madlock of the Tyler Negro Chamber of Commerce sought access to Tyler State Park and then filed Register v. Sandefer; one side of the lake was minimally developed for Black visitors, and the park was fully integrated only after the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

    Used on: the 1938 page

  141. rose-garden-14-acres-free undated

    The Tyler Rose Garden at 420 Rose Park Dr. covers 14 acres and is free and open dawn to dark every day.

    Caveat: Hours and price as listed when researched; re-check.

    Used on: the 1938 page

  142. first-airplane-south-tyler 1920

    After World War I, Air Corps veteran O.C. Palmer kept a small biplane in South Tyler, east of Broadway about where Bergfeld Square is now, and took passengers up for short flights.

    Used on: the 1949 page

  143. bergfeld-first-suburban-shopping-center-sources 1949

    The city's National Register documentation calls the late-1940s Bergfeld Square 'Tyler's first suburban shopping center' in one passage and Bergfeld Center, opened in 1949 on South Broadway, 'one of Tyler's first suburban shopping centers' in another.

    Caveat: Existing fact bergfeld-center-1949 (and its card) calls Bergfeld Center Tyler's first shopping center outside downtown; this document hedges once ('one of'). Consider softening the card or citing the Tyler Morning Telegraph wording explicitly.

    Used on: the 1949 page

  144. courthouse-1955-bond-architect-cost 1953

    Smith County voters approved a $1.5 million courthouse bond in a close May 1953 election; Arthur E. Thomas of Dallas won the architect contract and Rambo Construction of Fort Worth the building contract, and the $1.2 million courthouse had twice the 1909 building's space.

    Caveat: The nomination dates the courthouse both 1954 (inventory) and 1955 (narrative), and credits it to 'Jameson & Merrell' in one place, Arthur E. Thomas in another, and 'Thomas, Jameson and Merrill' in the inventory. The Handbook says 1954.

    Used on: the 1955 page

  145. square-plaza-1965-butler-fountain 1965

    In 1965 Smith County turned the western half of the square into a concrete plaza designed by Tyler architect Shirley Simons Jr., with a 70-by-20-foot lighted fountain; in 1966 the city announced it would be renamed T.B. Butler Fountain Plaza.

    Used on: the 1955 page

  146. loop-323-built-1950s-subdivisions 1958

    East Southeast Loop 323, built in the 1950s and completed in the late 1950s, opened land along its route to new subdivisions; a 'distributor' loop to carry traffic around downtown had been a major recommendation of the city plans.

    Used on: the 1957 page

  147. postwar-building-permits-early-1950s 1950

    By the early 1950s Tyler had issued more than $6 million in building permits, mostly in new subdivisions beyond its prewar neighborhoods, platted near highways on the southwest, west, northwest and southeast edges of town.

    Used on: the 1960 page

  148. national-homes-plant-1955 1955

    National Homes, which the Pollard nomination calls the largest prefabricated home company in the country, opened a plant in north Tyler in 1955, and about 540 of its houses went up in Tyler and Smith County between 1955 and 1975.

    Used on: the 1960 page

  149. annexation-1950s-population 1960

    Of Tyler's 51,230 residents in 1960, 10,893 lived in areas annexed since 1950; the city's 1950 area had gained only 1,369 people.

    Used on: the 1960 page

  150. annexation-1960s-highways-south 1965

    Most land Tyler annexed has been to the south, stretching the city vertically, and in the 1960s it annexed stretches of highways 69 and 271, giving the city limits their bug-shaped outline.

    Used on: the 1960 page

  151. annexation-1940-1980-28-square-miles 1980

    Between 1940 and 1980 Tyler added roughly 28 square miles, mostly along its southern and western edges, according to the Pollard nomination citing The Tyler Loop.

    Used on: the 1960 page

  152. city-area-housing-1990 1990

    In 1990 Tyler covered 39.7 square miles of land, with 1,900.5 people per square mile, and its housing units had grown from 20,318 in 1970 to 32,860.

    Used on: the 1960 page

  153. annexation-airport-2011-hsc-2012 2011

    Tyler annexed Tyler Pounds Regional Airport in 2011 and the UT Health Science Center the next year, and later a wedge of land along Highway 69 next to Interstate 20.

    Used on: the 1960 page

  154. ut-tyler-roberts-1973-campus-1975 1975

    Tyler State College opened upper-division classes in January 1973 in the abandoned O.M. Roberts Junior High School, and in 1975, as Texas Eastern University, moved to a 200-acre wooded tract in southeast Tyler bordered by Old Omen Road, Patriot Avenue and University Boulevard.

    Used on: the 1971 page

  155. ut-tyler-enrollment-campus-2026 2026

    UT Tyler's preliminary fall 2026 enrollment was a record 11,701 students, and its main campus in southeast Tyler covers more than 260 acres.

    Caveat: Enrollment is preliminary.

    Used on: the 1971 page, the 2026 page

  156. hispanic-earliest-directory-1893 1893

    Hispanic families appear in Tyler city directories as early as 1893, when Domingo Garcia, listed as Mexican, ran a restaurant at Broadway and Erwin.

    Used on: the 1977 page

  157. hispanic-1920s-south-of-tracks 1925

    In the 1920s more Spanish surnames appear in Tyler's city directories, most of them living just south of the Cotton Belt tracks and east of the Levee.

    Used on: the 1977 page

  158. plyler-tyler-tuition-1977 1977

    At the start of the 1977-78 school year Tyler ISD began charging $1,000 for each undocumented child, and MALDEF lawyers filed a class action against it on September 6, 1977; superintendent James Plyler's name went on the case.

    Used on: the 1977 page

  159. plyler-why-tyler 1977

    The Handbook of Texas says MALDEF chose Tyler as its venue for a progressive judge (William Wayne Justice), sympathetic clients in families whose children held different immigration status, and a rural area where the media glare would be less.

    • Handbook of Texas: Plyler v. Doe (tshaonline.org)The MALDEF lawyers found their clients in Tyler, Texas, where brothers and sisters in the same family held different immigration status.
    • Handbook of Texas: Plyler v. Doe (tshaonline.org)MALDEF had carefully selected Tyler as the perfect federal venue for arguing its case: a progressive judge, sympathetic clients, and a rural area

    Used on: the 1977 page

  160. plyler-justice-ruling-1978-supreme-court-1982 1982

    On September 14, 1978, Judge William Wayne Justice struck down the state law as applied to Tyler ISD, and on June 15, 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the children's right to attend, 5-4, in Plyler v. Doe.

    • Handbook of Texas: Plyler v. Doe (tshaonline.org)On September 14, 1978, after a two-day hearing, Judge Justice issued his opinion, striking down section 21.031 as applied to the Tyler ISD.
    • Handbook of Texas: Plyler v. Doe (tshaonline.org)On June 15, 1982, the Supreme Court gave Roos and Schey their win on all counts, by a 5–4 margin.

    Used on: the 1977 page

  161. hispanic-population-2000-2010 2010

    The census counted 13,234 Hispanic or Latino residents in Tyler in 2000 (about 16 percent of 83,650) and 20,511 in 2010 (about 21 percent of 96,900).

    Used on: the 1977 page

  162. tyler-isd-hispanic-2014 2015

    By the 2014-15 school year Tyler ISD had more than 18,000 students, about 45 percent Hispanic, nearly 30 percent Black and nearly 22 percent white.

    Used on: the 1977 page

  163. charnwood-district-details 1999

    The Charnwood Residential Historic District covers about 59.54 acres on Charnwood Hill, half a mile south of the original square, bounded by East Houston Street, the railroad tracks, East Wells, South Donnybrook and East Dobbs streets, and South Broadway; its period of significance is about 1870 to 1950, and 208 of its 331 resources contribute.

    Used on: the 1999 page

  164. donnybrook-duplex-district 1947

    The Donnybrook Duplex Residential Historic District is 18 one-story duplexes that developer R.J. Henderson built in 1947 and 1948 from plans by Tyler architect Homer H. Lansberry, on a block about 1.5 miles south of the square; the nomination calls it the only known concentration of intact mid-20th-century duplex housing in Tyler.

    Used on: the 1999 page

  165. east-ferguson-district 1926

    The East Ferguson Street Residential Historic District, at 423-513 East Ferguson Street three blocks east of the square, is six nearly identical Craftsman bungalows built between 1926 and 1930 as rental housing for working-class tenants; 12 of its 13 resources contribute.

    Used on: the 1999 page

  166. azalea-district-details 2003

    The Azalea Residential Historic District spans 76 city blocks and 36 platted subdivisions on about 458.9 acres one to two miles south of the square; it developed between about 1900 and 1953, most intensively from 1925 to 1953, and 1,047 of its 1,614 resources contribute.

    Caveat: Existing facts say about 950 houses (Historic Tyler, Visit Tyler); the nomination counts 1,614 resources, which include garages and other outbuildings.

    Used on: the 1999 page

  167. brick-streets-district-details 2004

    The Brick Streets Neighborhood Historic District covers about 132.6 acres in 29 blocks and 16 subdivisions; it developed from about 1848 to 1953, most intensively from about 1890 to 1940, and 369 of its 586 resources contribute.

    Used on: the 1999 page

  168. downtown-historic-district-listed-2022 2022

    The Tyler Downtown Historic District, listed on the National Register on October 24, 2022, covers about 71.6 acres and about 19 blocks roughly situated between West Front Street, Border Avenue, the Cotton Belt railroad tracks and Fannin Avenue; 96 of its 134 resources are contributing and 38 noncontributing.

    Caveat: The nomination's form gives a period of significance of 1885-1976, but its narrative says 1890 to 1976; it also gives both 241 and 271 parcels.

    Used on: the 1999 page

  169. pollard-district-details 2026

    The Pollard Residential Historic District, listed January 29, 2026, covers about 580 acres and more than 85 blocks about three miles southeast of downtown, bounded by Troup Highway, Paluxy Drive, East Southeast Loop 323 and New Copeland Road; 1,224 of its 1,338 resources contribute, and its period of significance is 1947-1974.

    Used on: the 1999 page

  170. pollard-family-name 1950

    The Pollard district is named for Tomas and Edna Pollard, whose family owned most of its original acreage; it holds 17 subdivisions platted between 1930 and the early 1970s, and 706 of its resources (53 percent) were built in the 1950s.

    Used on: the 1999 page

  171. population-2000 2000

    Tyler's population was 83,650 in the 2000 census.

    Used on: the 2020 page

  172. population-2010 2010

    Tyler's population was 96,900 in the 2010 census.

    Used on: the 2020 page

  173. black-population-2000-2010 2010

    The census counted 22,275 residents who were Black or African American alone in Tyler in 2000 (about 27 percent of 83,650) and 23,986 in 2010 (about 25 percent of 96,900).

    Used on: the 2020 page

  174. tyler-population-2020-2025 2025

    Tyler had 105,995 residents in the 2020 census, and the Census Bureau estimates 113,723 as of July 1, 2025, up about 7.4% from its April 2020 estimates base of 105,867.

    Caveat: The 2025 figure is a Census Bureau estimate.

    Used on: the 2020 page

  175. tyler-metro-is-smith-county 2025

    The Tyler metro area (the Tyler, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area) is Smith County alone, with an estimated 252,549 people on July 1, 2025, up about 8.2% from its April 2020 estimates base of 233,470.

    Used on: the 2020 page

  176. smith-county-growth-from-migration 2025

    Smith County grows mainly because people move in from elsewhere in the U.S.: from July 2020 to July 2025, Census estimates show net domestic migration added about 13,980 people, compared with about 2,340 from international migration and about 1,845 from births minus deaths.

    Used on: the 2020 page

  177. smith-county-courthouse-bond-2022 2022

    A new Smith County Courthouse is going up downtown under a $179 million bond that passed with 53.73% of the vote on November 8, 2022, and the county plans to move in and demolish the current courthouse by fall 2027.

    Used on: the 2025 page

  178. county-parking-garage-2024 2024

    The free, five-story, 543-space Smith County Parking Garage at 210 East Ferguson Street, paid for with $19 million of the courthouse bond, opened on November 12, 2024.

    Used on: the 2025 page

  179. dip-two-phases-fain-group 2025

    The $25.6 million Downtown Improvement Project, built by The Fain Group of Fort Worth, has two phases: Phase I rebuilds Erwin Street, Broadway Avenue, Ferguson Street and College Avenue with water and sewer lines, and Phase II builds new green space on the west side of the square.

    Used on: the 2025 page

  180. dip-august-2026-status 2026

    In August 2026 the city's engineering director said underground work on College Avenue and Ferguson Street was largely done, that roadway work would move next to Broadway starting near Locust Street, and that two-way traffic would return to the west side of the square.

    Used on: the 2025 page

  181. downtown-improvement-project-overview 2026

    Downtown Tyler is in the middle of a $25.6 million city-county rebuild of its streets, utilities and square, which includes $10.7 million in ARPA funds and is now expected to finish by April 2028.

    Caveat: Status as of September 2026. Completion dates have moved, so re-check before reuse.

    Used on: the 2025 page

  182. brookshires-west-tyler-store-2026 2026

    Brookshire's, founded in Tyler in 1928, broke ground July 9, 2026, on a $17 million, roughly 58,467-square-foot store at 3765 Earl Campbell Parkway in west Tyler, which will include a full-service Stanley's and is expected to be complete by fall 2027.

    Used on: the 2026 page

  183. south-broadway-retail-planned 2026

    New retail is planned on South Broadway near The Village at Cumberland Park, including a BJ's Wholesale Club at 8667 S. Broadway that the company says will bring up to 150 jobs and a Dave & Buster's at 8930 S. Broadway.

    Caveat: Neither had announced an opening date as of the research check (2026-09-29).

    Used on: the 2026 page

  184. population-1900 1900

    Tyler's population was 8,069 in the 1900 census.

    Used on:

  185. population-1910 1910

    Tyler's population was 10,400 in the 1910 census.

    Used on:

  186. population-1920 1920

    Tyler's population was 12,085 in the 1920 census.

    Caveat: The Short-Line Residential Historic District nomination (2002) cites the U.S. Census for different figures: 9,255 in 1920, 13,009 in 1930, 20,879 in 1940 and 28,854 in 1950. The Census Bureau's own 1950 and 1960 tables and the Handbook give 12,085, 17,113, 28,279 and 38,968; prefer the Census tables.

    Used on:

  187. population-1950 1950

    Tyler's population was 38,968 in the 1950 census, up 37.8 percent from 1940.

    Caveat: The Short-Line Residential Historic District nomination (2002) cites the U.S. Census for different figures: 9,255 in 1920, 13,009 in 1930, 20,879 in 1940 and 28,854 in 1950. The Census Bureau's own 1950 and 1960 tables and the Handbook give 12,085, 17,113, 28,279 and 38,968; prefer the Census tables.

    Used on:

  188. population-1960 1960

    Tyler's population was 51,230 in the 1960 census.

    Used on:

  189. population-1970 1970

    Tyler's population was 57,770 in the 1970 census.

    Used on:

  190. population-1980 1980

    Tyler's population was 70,508 in the 1980 census.

    Used on:

  191. population-1990 1990

    Tyler's population was 75,450 in the 1990 census.

    Caveat: The Handbook's narrative gives 82,316 residents in 1992, a later estimate, not a census count.

    Used on:

  192. population-1860-handbook 1860

    The Handbook of Texas says Tyler had 1,021 people in 1860, more than 35 percent of them enslaved; the Tyler MPS's census table gives 1,024 (608 white, 416 African American).

    Used on:

  193. population-1870-not-separately-counted 1870

    The 1880 census gives no separate 1870 count for Tyler city; it reports 1,750 people in 1870 for Justice Precinct 1, which included the town.

    Used on:

Every source

124 sources from 34 sites, by site. The fact ids are the ones each supports.