Marlin, Texas
| Marlin, Texas | |
|---|---|
| City | |
Marlin Mineral Water Pavilion, 2011
|
|
| Nickname(s): The Mineral Water City of Texas | |
 Location of Marlin, Texas |
|
| Coordinates: 31°18′29″N 96°53′35″W / 31.30806°N 96.89306°WCoordinates: 31°18′29″N 96°53′35″W / 31.30806°N 96.89306°W | |
| Country |  United States of America |
| State |
 Texas
|
| County |
 Falls
|
| Settled | 1834 |
| Incorporated | 1867 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-Manager |
| • Mayor | Betty Nelson |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.6 sq mi (11.8 km2) |
| • Land | 4.5 sq mi (11.7 km2) |
| • Water | 0.04 sq mi (0.1 km2) |
| Elevation | 390 ft (119 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 5,967 |
| • Density | 1,321/sq mi (510.1/km2) |
| Demonym(s) | Marlinite |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC−6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC−5) |
| ZIP code | 76661 |
| Area code | 254 |
| FIPS code | 48-46740 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1362189 |
| Website | www |
Marlin is a city in Falls County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,628 at the 2000 census but decreased by 10 percent to 5,967 in 2010. Since 1851, it has been the third county seat of Falls County. Marlin has been given the nickname "the Hot Mineral Water City of Texas". Mineral waters were found there in 1892.
The city of Marlin is located 4 miles (6 km) east of the Brazos River, which runs through the center of the county. The low falls on the river southwest of present-day Marlin was the site of Sarahville de Viesca, established in 1834 by Sterling C. Robertson. Marlin was incorporated in 1867. It is named after a pioneer patriot, John Marlin. His son-in-law, Samuel A. Blain, laid out streets and lots and drafted a map around a square. Three churches – Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist — were given lots first and relocated to the east side of the square. Zenas Bartlett's General Store was the first business to be established in Marlin. When Bartlett's wife died, the store was deeded to the city and used as a town hall. A simple brick building temporarily stood as a school. The first of four county courthouses was a log cabin. It was used for county business and court, a school, a church, a meeting place for political and community events, and as a dance hall. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1938 and 1939, after the third courthouse, which was built in 1887, was declared unsafe.
Before Falls County was organized, the settlement of Marlin already had established private schools. A tuition school, Marlin Male and Female Academy, was located on Ward Street in 1871, north of the public square. The school was renamed and relocated before finally being sold in 1886, only to be destroyed by fire in 1900. A new public brick school was constructed in 1903. The Marlin Independent School District was established in 1923. Nearly half a century before in 1875, two other schools for African Americans were organized. The two black schools were dependent on state funds, and met in the African and Baptist churches. In 1916, the city council voted to build a school for blacks, which after it was first built, it was moved to Commerce Street, and named "Booker T. Washington". The two school districts merged in 1968 into the Marlin Independent School District. In 1900, the town's Jewish residents organized a Sunday school.
...
Wikipedia