The story
History
College Station's origins date from 1860, when the Houston and Texas Central Railway began to build through the region. Eleven years later, the site was chosen as the location for the proposed Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, a land-grant school. In 1876, as the nation celebrated its centennial, the school (renamed Texas A&M University in 1963) opened its doors as the first public institution of higher education in the state of Texas.
College Station's population grew slowly, reaching 350 in 1884 and 391 at the turn of the century. However, during this time, transportation improvements took place in the town. In 1900, the I&GN Railroad was extended to College Station (the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company abandoned the line in 1965), and 10 years later, electric interurban service was established between Texas A&M and the neighboring town of Bryan. A city bus system replaced the interurban in the 1920s.
In 1930, the community to the north of College Station, known as North Oakwood, was incorporated as part of Bryan. College Station did not incorporate until October 19, 1938, after a 217-39 vote, with John H. Binney as the first mayor. Within a year, the city established a zoning commission, and by 1940, the population had reached 2,184.
The city grew under the leadership of Ernest Langford, called by some the "Father of College Station", who began a 26-year stretch as mayor in 1942. Early in his first term, the city adopted a council-manager system of city government.
Population growth accelerated following World War II as the nonstudent population reached 7,898 in 1950, 11,396 in 1960, 17,676 in 1970, 30,449 in 1980, 52,456 in 1990, and 67,890 in 2000. The Bryan-College Station metropolitan area's population crossed 270,000 people in 2018.
In the 1990s, College Station and Texas A&M University drew national attention when the George Bush Presidential Library opened in 1997. Attention was drawn again in 1999, when 12 people were killed and 27 injured when the Aggie Bonfire collapsed while being constructed.
In 2022, it became one of the first areas served by Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery service, along with Lockeford, California.
2020 census
The median age was 22.5 years, 17.1% of residents were under the age of 18, and 6.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 103.6 males age 18 and over.
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98.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.2% lived in rural areas.
There were 42,433 households in College Station, of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 32.3% were married-couple households, 29.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 48,782 housing units, of which 13.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 31.6% were owner-occupied and 68.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 12.1%.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, 67,890 people, 24,691 households, and 10,370 families resided in the city.
Of the 24,691 households, 21.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.2% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 58.0% were not families. About 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.98. The racial makeup of the city as of 2019 was 77.45% White, 7.74% African American, 0.30% Native American, 10.25% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 6.32% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any ethnicity/nationality were 15.6% of the population.
In the city, the population was distributed as 14.4% under the age of 18, 51.2% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 9.4% from 45 to 64, and 3.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.0 males.
Parks and recreation
Sports facilities
Kyle Field
Texas World Speedway (demolished)
Reed Arena
Olsen Field
Ellis Field
From Wikipedia’s article on College Station, Texas, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5