History
The Coppell area was settled by German and French immigrants in the 1840s.
Originally named "Gibbs Station," the town was renamed in 1890 for George Coppell, an engineer who brought the railroad
to the area. In 1955, the community was incorporated through a ballot measure that passed by a vote of 41 to 1. Spurred by
the opening of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in 1974, the city was radically transformed from a tiny farming village
to a large, upper-middle class suburban community in the 1980s and 1990s. By 2000, almost all of the residentially zoned land
in the city was developed, and the population grew to over 35,000. In addition to suburban homes, the city has a growing commercial
base of warehouses and transportation centers on the south and west sides of the city, closest in proximity to the DFW airport.
Geography
Coppell is located at 32°58′2″N, 96°59′12″W
(32.967341, -96.986564)[3].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total
area of 14.94 square miles (38.6 km²), of which, 14.9 square miles (38.5 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles
(0.1 km²) of it (0.20%) is water.
Coppell occupies the northwest corner of Dallas County
and lies in proximity to DFW Airport, a portion of the airport property is within the city limits of Coppell. It is bordered
on the west by Grapevine, on the north by Lewisville, on the east by Carrollton, and on the south by Irving and Dallas.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 35,958 people, 12,211 households,
and 9,781 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,418.5 people per square mile (933.7/km²). There
were 12,587 housing units at an average density of 846.6/sq mi (326.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.23%
White, 3.26% African American, 0.34% Native American, 9.30% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.88% from other races, and 1.97%
from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.92% of the population.
There were 12,211 households out of which 54.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.7% were married
couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.9% were non-families. 16.1% of all
households were made up of individuals and 1.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household
size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.34.
In the city the population was spread
out with 34.7% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 39.0% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 2.6% who were 65 years
of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and
over, there were 93.2 males.
The median income for a household
in the city was $96,935, and the median income for a family was $106,630. Males had a median income of $76,681 versus $43,750
for females. The per capita income for the city was $40,219. About 1.4% of families and 1.9% of the population were below
the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Coppell residents are served by one of three school districts.
Coppell Independent School
District (CISD) is responsible for the K-12 education of the majority of the City of Coppell's children. A portion of
the CISD also covers parts of north Irving in the Valley Ranch area and those portions of Lewisville that fall south of the
current Dallas/Denton county boundary.
Carrollton/Farmers Branch ISD serves easternmost Coppell,
south of Sandy Lake Rd. and to the east of Macarthur Blvd., including the Riverchase area.
Lewisville
ISD serves the northernmost section of Coppell falling in Denton County, including the Coppell Greens subdivision. This area
is north of State Highway 121.
Every school in Coppell has a 5 star exemplary rating[citation
needed] and in 2007-2008 Coppell Middle School North was named one of the top 50 middle schools in Texas
Sport and Recreation
Due to its proximity to Valley Ranch practice facilities, many
athletes and coaches on the Dallas Stars NHL team, such as Jere Lehtinen, and the Dallas Cowboys NFL team live in Coppell.
George "Jub Jub" Dunham is notable former resident, best known as the voice of Texas Stadium and a Marconi-nominated
radio personality on 1310 AM The Ticket where he frequently ranted about the injustices of the Robin Hood school funding program.
Celebrated Dallas Cowboys football star and Hall of Famer Troy Aikman also owns a house in Coppell.
Coppell High School won Texas state championships in baseball (1995), marching band (1999), softball (2002), boy's
soccer (2004), and ice hockey (2003). CHS was one of four inaugural members of the Metroplex High School Hockey League (1997),
the first high school hockey league in Texas. CHS enjoys fine athletic facilities, including a 10,000 seat football stadium
and an indoor football practice fieldhouse.
Other
Coppell is opening a new high school which will start serving students in the 2008-2009 school year, the school's
name is NTH@C. It will feature its own colors, mascot, prom, and other school activities. NTH@C is located at former Lee Elementary, which was closed to be renovated to become the new high school. There is NO Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) transportation in the City of Coppell. The service was in use until
1989 when the city voted not to be part of the service any longer. They chose to exit because of a member of DART you pay
a 1% sales tax, and the city felt they might go in to debt at the time so they cancelled the service.[[4]
Housing development has recently begun in Coppell. The Developing Sites are called,
The Chateaus of Coppell, Arbor Manor, and Alaxander Court. The Arbor Manors will feature 75 available housing units with sq.
ft ranging from 2800 to 4500. All are located next to Denton Tap Rd.
Coppell was ranked the
14th best suburb in Dallas/Fort Worth for 2008 in the July edition of D Magazine.[citation needed]
References
^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ "US Board on Geographic
Names". United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000
and 1990". United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^
http://www.ci.coppell.tx.us/ 
