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Grand Prairie

Grand Prairie, Texas
City
City of Grand Prairie
Watertower at Market Square
Watertower at Market Square
Nickname(s): GP
Location of Grand Prairie in Dallas and Tarrant County, Texas
Location of Grand Prairie in Dallas and Tarrant County, Texas
Grand Prairie, Texas is located in the US
Grand Prairie, Texas
Grand Prairie, Texas
Location in the contiguous United States
Coordinates: 32°42′55″N 97°1′1″W / 32.71528°N 97.01694°W / 32.71528; -97.01694Coordinates: 32°42′55″N 97°1′1″W / 32.71528°N 97.01694°W / 32.71528; -97.01694
Country  United States
State  Texas
Counties Dallas, Tarrant, Ellis
Government
 • Type Council-Manager
 • City Council Mayor Ron Jensen
Richard Fregoe
Jeff Wooldridge
Greg Giessner
Tony Shotwell
Jim Swafford
Jorja Clemson
Lila Thorn
 • City Manager Tom Hart
Area
 • City 81.091 sq mi (210.02 km2)
 • Land 72.105 sq mi (186.75 km2)
 • Water 8.986 sq mi (23.27 km2)
Elevation 515 ft (157 m)
Population (2010)
 • City 175,396
 • Estimate (2013) 183,372
 • Rank (US: 127th)
 • Density 2,433/sq mi (939/km2)
 • Urban 5,121,892 (6th)
 • Metro 6,810,913 (4th)
 • Demonym Grand Prairian
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 75050-75054
Area code(s) 972, 214, 469, 817
FIPS code 48-30464
GNIS feature ID 1336802
Website www.gptx.org

Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas County, Tarrant County, and Ellis County, Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Grand Prairie has a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it the fifteenth most populous city in the state.

The city of Grand Prairie was first established as Dechman by Alexander McRae Dechman in 1863. Prior to then, he resided in Young County near Fort Belknap. The 1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules shows an A McR Dechman as having 4 slaves, ages 50, 25, 37 and 10. Dechman, learned that he could trade his oxen and wagons for land in Dallas County. In 1863, Dechman bought 239.5 acres (96.9 ha) of land on the eastern side of the Trinity River and 100 acres (40 ha) of timber land on the west side of the river for a broken-down wagon, oxen team and US$200 in Confederate money. He tried to establish a home on the property, but ran into difficulties, so he returned to his family in Birdville before joining in the Civil War. In 1867 he filed a town plat consisting of 50 acres (20 ha) with Dallas County.

After the war, he returned to Birdville for two years before selling that farm in 1867 and moving to Houston, where yellow fever broke out, causing the family to settle in Bryan. In 1876, Dechman traded half his "prairie" property to the T&P Railroad to ensure the railroad came through the town. The railroad named the depot "Dechman", prompting its namesake to relocate his home from Bryan to Dechman. His son Alexander had been living in Dechman and operating a trading post and farm. The first church in the area was the Good Hope Cumberland Sabbath School, established in 1870 by Rev. Andrew Hayter. The church was later renamed West Fork United Presbyterian Church and remains an active church.


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