League City, Texas | |
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City | |
City of League City | |
Location in Galveston county and in the state of Texas |
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Coordinates: 29°29′59″N 95°5′23″W / 29.49972°N 95.08972°WCoordinates: 29°29′59″N 95°5′23″W / 29.49972°N 95.08972°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Texas |
Counties | Galveston |
Government | |
• Type | Council-Manager |
• Mayor | Pat Hallisey |
• City Council | Dan Becker Keith Gross Heidi Hansing Todd Kinsey Geri Bentley Nick Long |
• City Manager | Mark Rohr |
Area | |
• Total | 137.3 km2 (53.0 sq mi) |
• Land | 132.8 km2 (51.3 sq mi) |
• Water | 4.4 km2 (1.7 sq mi) |
Elevation | 6 m (20 ft) |
Population (2015) | |
• Total | 98,312 |
• Density | 720/km2 (1,900/sq mi) |
Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
• Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
ZIP codes | 77573-77574 |
Area code(s) | 281/346/713/832 |
FIPS code | 48-41980 |
GNIS feature ID | 1339753 |
Website | http://www.leaguecity.com |
League City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. The city is in the county of Galveston As of the 2010 census, League City's population was 83,560, up from 45,444 at the 2000 census. The city has a small portion north of Clear Creek within Harris County zoned for residential and commercial uses.
League City is home to several waterside resorts popular with residents of nearby Houston.
League City surpassed Galveston as Galveston County's largest city between 2000 and 2005.
League City was settled at the former site of a Karankawa Indian village. Three families, the Butlers, Cowarts, and Perkinses, are considered to be founding families of the city. The Cowart family settled on a creek now called Cowart's Creek after them (now often called "Coward's Creek"). The Perkins family built on a creek notably lined with magnolia trees, and named it Magnolia Bayou. The Butler family settled inland.
The first resident of the town proper, George W. Butler, arrived from Louisiana in 1873 and settled at the junction of Clear Creek and Chigger Bayou. The area was known as Butler's Ranch or Clear Creek until J. C. League acquired the land from a man named Muldoon on his entering the priesthood. League laid out his town site along the Galveston, Houston, and Henderson Railroad, already established in the area. This began a small feud over the name, as Butler was the postmaster. The name was changed several times, alternating between Clear Creek and the new League City. In the end, League City was chosen.
In 1907, League had two railroad flatcars of live oak trees left by the railroad tracks. These were for the residents to plant on their property. Butler and his son Milby supervised the planting of these trees, now known as the Butler Oaks. Many of them line Main Street to this day.
In the 2000s, rising real estate costs in Galveston forced many families to move to other areas, including League City. This meant an influx of children out of Galveston ISD and into other school districts like Clear Creek ISD and Dickinson ISD.