Marble Falls, Texas

"Marble Falls" redirects here. For the location in the Ozarks, see Marble Falls, Arkansas.

Marble Falls, Texas
City
Lake Marble Falls at Marble Falls, Texas
Location of Marble Falls, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Burnet
Area
• Total	6.7 sq mi (17.4 km2)
• Land	6.1 sq mi (15.9 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (1.4 km2)
Elevation	823 ft (251 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	4,959
• Density	807.1/sq mi (311.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	78654, 78657
Area code	830
FIPS code	48-46584Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1362162Template:GR

Overview of Marble Falls, Texas

Marble Falls City Hall is located just off U.S. Route 281.

Marble Falls Public Library

The Uptown Theater in downtown Marble Falls hosts community gatherings; Country singer Suzy Bogguss appeared at the Uptown on April 29, 2011.

Old Oak is among gift shops in downtown Marble Falls.

Skateboarding in Marble Falls

Texas Ranch to Market Road 1431 shown here in Marble Falls extends westward toward Granite Shoals and Kingsland, Texas.

Marble Falls is a city in Burnet County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,959 at the 2000 census.

Marble Falls is about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Austin and 85 miles (137 km) north of San Antonio. Lake Marble Falls is part of the Highland Lakes, the largest chain of lakes in Texas.

Due to its location in the middle of the Texas Hill Country and the Highland Lakes, Marble Falls is a popular vacation destination for watersports enthusiasts, boaters, fishermen, campers, and hunters. Marble Falls also hosts one of the largest drag boat races in the United States each August.

Marble Falls, as of December 1, 2009, is the anchor of the Marble Falls, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area. The census bureau has defined this area as including all of Burnet County and has a total population of 42,896. This Micropolitan area, due to close ties to nearby Austin, is a component of the Austin-Round Rock-Marble Falls, TX Consolidated Statistical Area.

The city's slogan is: Marble Falls... for a weekend, or a lifetime.

History

Marble Falls was founded in 1887 by Adam Rankin Johnson, a former Indian fighter and Confederate general, known as "Stovepipe" Johnson for his American Civil War escapades, which included duping the Union army in Newburgh, Indiana, with fake "cannons," constructed from stovepipes and wagon wheels. Johnson had viewed the natural Marble Falls during his pre-war days as a Burnet County surveyor, and had dreamed of building an industrial city, powered by the tumbling Colorado River, not to be confused with the river of the same name in Colorado and Arizona. Despite a "friendly fire" incident which blinded him near the end of the Civil War, General Johnson followed through with his dream, facilitating the construction of a railroad to nearby Granite Mountain in 1884, then (with ten partners, including one son, one nephew and two sons-in-law) platting the townsite and selling lots, beginning July 12, 1887. Johnson built a fine home, a college (soon to be home of the "Falls on the Colorado Museum") and a large factory near the falls. The town grew to a population of 1,800 within ten years.

Marble Falls made history in 1917 by electing Ophelia Crosby "Birdie" Harwood as the nation's first woman mayor, three years before women were allowed to vote!

When the Max Starcke Dam was completed in 1951, the marble falls which had given the town its name were submerged under the new Lake Marble Falls. While the town's economy struggled through the drought of the 1950s, a new economy based on tourism and retirement began to grow in the 1970s. During the last thirty years, Marble Falls has grown into the retail and entertainment center for the Highland Lakes area, and continues to attract tourists, retirees and new businesses.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.7 square miles (17.4 km²), of which, 6.1 square miles (15.9 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.4 km²) of it (8.21%) is water.

The town is located on the banks of Lake Marble Falls. According to the Handbook of Texas website, the former falls were flooded by the lake, which was created by a shelf of limestone running diagonally across the Colorado River from northeast to southwest. The upper layer of limestone, brownish on the exterior but a deep blue inside, was so hard and cherty it was mistaken for marble. The falls were actually three distinct formations at the head of a canyon 1.25 miles (2.01 km) long, with a drop of some 50 feet (15 m) through the limestone strata. The natural lake and waterfall was covered when the Colorado River was dammed with the completion of Max Starcke Dam in 1951. A photo of the falls as they once existed can be seen at the local bed and breakfast website for the Lake Marble Falls sits between Lake LBJ to the north and Lake Travis to the south. The falls for which the city is named are now underwater but are revealed every few years when the lake is lowered.

Equally noteworthy is the huge igneous batholith called Granite Mountain looming on the towns' western edge that secured Marble Falls' place in Texas history. The famed pink granite was used for the construction of the Texas State Capitol, and can also be found in the Galveston Seawall and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Marble Falls is located at 30°34′27″N 98°16′41″W (30.574135, -98.278180)Template:GR.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 4,959 people, 1,931 households, and 1,266 families residing in the city. The population density was 807.1 people per square mile (311.8/km²). There were 2,085 housing units at an average density of 339.3/sq mi (131.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.80% White, 2.48% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 8.87% from other races, and 2.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.54% of the population.

There were 1,931 households out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.7% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,880, and the median income for a family was $38,382. Males had a median income of $30,242 versus $18,771 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,059. About 13.9% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people from Marble Falls

Gerald Lyda (1923–2005), general contractor and cattle rancher, born and raised in Marble Falls.

John Arthur Martinez, second place winner on USA Network's "Nashville Star", taught English and tennis at Marble Falls High School.

Leonel Manzano, NCAA 1500m Champion, member of the USA 2008 Beijing Olympic Team.

Rod Penner, Hyper-realist artist known for his depictions of Texas towns.

See also

• Marble Falls Independent School District
• Texas Tech University at Highland Lakes

External links

• City of Marble Falls
• Marble Falls, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce
• The (Marble Falls) Highlander newspaper
• Granite Mountain Article