Princeton, Texas

For the ghost town in Newton County, see Princeton, Newton County, Texas.

For communities with a similar name, see Princeton (disambiguation).

Princeton, Texas
City
Location of Princeton in Collin County, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Collin
Area
• Total	4.3 sq mi (11.2 km2)
• Land	4.3 sq mi (11.2 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	574 ft (175 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	3,477
• Density	801.4/sq mi (309.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	75407
Area code	972
FIPS code	48-59576Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1344570Template:GR

Princeton is a city in Collin County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,807 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Princeton is located at 33°10′52″N 96°30′00″W.Template:GR

A long running dispute about the size of the City of Princeton ended with a District Court Judge's ruling on June 30, 2011. At issue was a tract of land consisting of about five miles (8 km) of the FM 982 right of way that was claimed by the city for the first time in late 2003. In August of 2003, the city passed Ordinance No. 2003-08-12-01, which retroactively asserted that ~five miles of FM 982 were inside the City of Princeton since Jan. of 1971. However, this claim ignored the fact that the City of Branch owned part of the same tract from Aug. 1971 to Apr. 1977. No other governmental body recognized this ~five-mile tract as part of the City of Princeton. Area maps from 1971 through 2003 do not show this tract inside the City of Princeton.{See 32 years of Princeton maps in the Collin Co. Case No. 366-00108-2010, submitted again 11-25-12}

After numerous attempts to work with the city proved fruitless, approximately 61 landowners with ~1,000 acres asked the Collin County District Attorney for help in getting the city's claim to the tract voided. On January 12, 2010 a case was filed in the 401st District Court, by Specially Deputized Prosecutors Robert J. Davis and Timothy A. Dunn (Tad). It was titled "The State of Texas Ex Rel. Collin County, Texas vs. The City of Princeton, Texas" and referred to as Cause No. 401-00108-2010 at the Collin County District Clerks Office in the Collin County Courthouse. The city asked for a new judge when the original judge, Mark Rusch, stated there may be the appearance of potential conflict if he heard the case. Although he was not involved with the case, Judge Rusch was employed by the Collin County DA in 1990, when an unrelated case involving Princeton was heard.{See the change to a new judge in the Collin Co. Case No. 366-00108-2010, submitted again 11-25-12}

The case was then moved to the 366th District Court with Judge Ray Wheless presiding. The new Cause No. was 366-00108-2010. On June 9th, 2011 Judge Wheless held a hearing on The State of Texas' Motion for Summary Judgement. Twelve days later on June 21st, 2011, a General Docket Entry onto the Collin County website stated, "Collin County's motion for summary judgement is granted." On June 30th, 2011, Judge Wheless issued his one-page "Final Judgement," defining Princeton's new south boundary: "...the City of Princeton's southern most corporate city limit extends to approximately 0.610 miles south of F.M. Road 982's intersection with U.S. Highway 380"... "as was depicted in maps provided by the City of Princeton to local, county, state and federal authorities prior to the enactment of City of Princeton Ordinance No. 2003-08-12-01." {See Judge Ray Wheless' one-page Summary Judgement granting the Prosecutors 37-page Motion for Summary Judgement in the Collin Co. Case No. 366-00108-2010, submitted again 11-25-12}

The city council voted at their July 11, 2011 meeting not to appeal the judge's ruling. On Oct. 10th, 2011, by Ordinance No. 2011-10-10-01, the city council repealed Princeton Ordinance No. 2003-08-12-01, adopted a new map, and placed the south city limit sign back where it had stood since Jan. of 1985.{See Princeton July 11, 2011 council minutes and see Princeton Ordinance No. 2011-10-10-01, submitted again 11-25-12}

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 3,477 people, 1,238 households, and 932 families residing in the city. The population density was 801.4 people per square mile (309.3/km²). There were 1,377 housing units at an average density of 317.4 per square mile (122.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.94% White, 0.95% African American, 0.98% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 4.57% from other races, and 2.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.90% of the population.

There were 1,238 households out of which 40.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,590, and the median income for a family was $45,948. Males had a median income of $32,852 versus $25,021 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,092. About 6.6% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 20.9% of those age 65 or over.

In the elections of Nov. 2007, May 2008, Nov. 2008 voters rejected the adoption of a Home Rule charter. The margin against adoption increased at each election.{See Princeton council minutes, The Princeton Herald, and the McKinney Courier-Gazette for results for each of these 3 elections, submitted 11-25-12}

History

In the late 1870s T. B. Wilson and his brother George began farming near the site of future Princeton. In 1881 the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad Company extended its line from Greenville to McKinney, passing through land owned by the brothers. The name Wilson's Switch was commonly used to designate the area. When residents applied for a post office branch, however, they learned that the name Wilson was already being used. The community then submitted the name Princeton in honor of Prince Dowlin, a landowner and promoter of the town. This name was accepted, and a post office was established in 1888.[1]

Princeton was the site of a prisoner of war camp for German prisoners during the Second World War. The local farmers paid the POWs to work on their farms. Before and after the war the camp was used as a camp for migrant farm workers. Under a special bill, the German prisoners of war were contracted to work on the City Park located across from the city hall. The park was built in memory of the men who served in the armed forces during World War II.

See also: List of POW camps in the United States

Members of the Princeton Independent School District and the Princeton Lions Club have teamed up to annually hold the Princeton Onion Festival. It is a major festival for the town that began in 2005 and is expected to occur on the fourth Saturday of April each year. Among the various events at the festival are an a 5K Run, antique/classic car show, and tennis round robin tournament. Individuals and groups selling arts and crafts also attend the festival. For more information on the festival, visit http://www.princetononionfestival.com/

Education

The City of Princeton is served by the Princeton Independent School District.

Public health

As recently as November 4, 2010 the city has been running legal notices required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality stating drinking water from their system has repeatedly tested positive for coliforms. Coliforms are bacteria that are naturally present in the environment and are used as indicators that other, potentially harmful bacteria may be present. The contamination was discovered in the North Western part of the city.{See The Princeton Herald legal notices page from 11-04-10, submitted 11-25-12}

External links

• City of Princeton
• Princeton Community Library
• The Princeton Herald