Keller, Texas

History

Before establishment

Keller is in the western fringe of the Eastern Cross Timbers in northeast Tarrant County, part of the frontier of the Peters Colony settlers of the 1840s. In the mid-1840s, the area was first settled by a group of families from Missouri who homesteaded near the headwaters of Big Bear Creek. Mount Gilead Baptist Church was established on July 13, 1850. In 1859, the little log church was burned in an Indian raid. It served as the only schoolhouse in that part of the county until about 1910.

Establishment of Keller

The Texas and Pacific Railway between Fort Worth and Texarkana was completed in June 1881, and the first train ran on this track on May 9, 1881, which ran parallel with parts of the old Chisholm cattle drive trail. With the advent of rail service, new villages were established all along the line. The Keller of today was one of them. On July 19, 1881, H.W. Black, a druggist of Tarrant County, set aside 40 acre out of the north end of the 62 acre deeded to him by A.C. Roberts (being a part of the Samuel Needham survey) for a town site to be known as Athol, situated 14 mi northeast of Fort Worth. The land was dedicated to the public for streets and alleyways, but title to the remainder of the 62 acre was held by Mr. Black. Settlers migrated to the new village, and before a year had passed, the name of the town was changed from Athol to Keller, honoring John C. Keller, a foreman on the railroad. Streets were named and those in the original 40 acre site still carry the names given to them in 1881. Streets going north and south are Lamar, Main, and Elm; those running east and west are Price, Taylor, Hill, Vine, Bates, Olive, and Pecan.

Modern Keller

The U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey listed Keller as one of the "Nation's Richest Cities" with a population over 20,000 in 2021, ranked number 45 with median household income of $141,364. Neighboring Southlake was ranked number one.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.4 square miles (47.8 km). Keller is east of Interstate 35W, south of Highway 114 and Alliance Gate Freeway.

Surrounding cities

Fort Worth, Southlake, and Roanoke are included in the list cities surrounding the City of Keller, which are located in either Denton or Tarrant County.

(6 miles) (6 miles) (6 miles) (8 miles) (8 miles) (7 miles)

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification, Keller has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps.

|Keller, Texas |35|57|2.12 |39|60|2.09 |46|68|3.09 |54|76|3.60 |64|83|3.96 |71|90|4.12 |75|95|2.28 |75|95|2.33 |67|88|2.71 |56|78|3.33 |46|67|2.05 |37|57|1.93

|Jan record high F = 86 |Feb record high F = 90 |Mar record high F = 95 |Apr record high F = 100 |May record high F = 102 |Jun record high F = 108 |Jul record high F = 109 |Aug record high F = 112 |Sep record high F = 112 |Oct record high F = 99 |Nov record high F = 89 |Dec record high F = 90 |year record high F= 112

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, 45,776 people, 16,383 households, and 13,148 families resided in the city.

Government

City government

The City of Keller is a full-service city, providing police, fire and emergency services, parks and recreation, library, senior center, animal control, planning, building inspection, economic development, public works, street maintenance, water, wastewater, drainage, and solid waste disposal. Organized under the council-manager form of government, the Keller city council has seven representatives elected at-large and responsible for enacting local legislation, setting policies, and adopting Keller's annual operating budgets. Keller City Hall is located at 1100 Bear Creek Parkway in Keller Town Center. The current mayor of Keller is Armin Mizani, the city's first mayor of Iranian and Cuban descent, and the city manager is Aaron Rector.

The Keller Police Department serves the City of Keller and the Town of Westlake. The police department shares a 9-1-1 dispatch center, regional jail, regional animal services, and adoption center with neighboring cities of Southlake, Colleyville, and Westlake. The department consists of five service divisions - patrol, traffic, investigations, confinement, and administrative.

The City of Keller is a voluntary member of the North Central Texas Council of Governments association. The member's purpose is to coordinate individual and collective local governments, assist regional solutions, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and enable joint decisions.

The city prides itself as "Texas's Most Family-Friendly City."

State representation

Republican Representative Giovanni Capriglione of District 98 represents Keller citizens in the Texas House of Representatives. The seat of Senate District 9, in which Keller is located, is currently vacant. An election is scheduled to be held for the seat on January 31, 2026.

Federal representation

Republican Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz represents Texas in the United States Senate. In the United States House of Representatives, Republican Representative Beth Van Duyne represents the 24th Congressional District of Texas.

Education

The Keller Independent School District has 39 campuses serving more than 34,000 students. Students zoned to Keller ISD attend 23 different elementary schools, 12 different intermediate/middle schools, and five different high schools. Most of the schools within the district are located in northeast Fort Worth. This means Keller's school district is substantially larger than the city itself.

Infrastructure

One source of Keller's bedroom-community serenity comes from having no contact with any interstate highways. U.S. Route 377, a north–south United States highway runs along Keller's western border, parallel to Interstate 35W. Davis Boulevard (FM1938), a north–south Farm to Market Road from North Richland Hills to Southlake, runs through Keller. Keller Parkway (FM 1709) runs from Interstate 35W in Fort Worth, where it is named Golden Triangle Boulevard to State Highway 114 (SH 114) in Southlake, where it is named Southlake Boulevard.

In September 2004, Verizon Communications, launched their FiOS fiber-optic communications network; 9,000 customers in Keller, Texas, were the first in the nation. Verizon replaced copper wires with optical fibers, commencing service in 2005.

Keller consistently scores as a very safe city, in United States cities by crime rate (40,000–60,000) in Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports statistics.

Notable people

• Taylor Ball, actor (Still Standing)
• Jeff Banister, manager of the Texas Rangers from 2015 to 2018
• Joel Bolomboy, basketball player for the Utah Jazz
• Bryce Boneau, soccer player
• Nolan Frese, football long snapper, Seattle Seahawks
• Garrett Hartley, football placekicker, New Orleans Saints
• Jack Mull, baseball player
• Sheldon Neuse, professional baseball player
• Michelle Royer, Miss Texas USA 1987, Miss USA 1987
• Debby Ryan, actress (Jessie)
• Zack Sanchez, Canadian football cornerback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders
• Austen Jewell Smith competitive sports shooter and Olympic medalist
• Hank Thompson, country music entertainer

References

References

1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Keller city, Texas". Census.gov.
3. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
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9. (May 11, 2021). "America's Richest Cities".
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12. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-kits/2024/national-state-population-estimates.html
13. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
14. "Explore Census Data".
15. "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin".
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17. (2025-11-17). "Governor Abbott Sets Runoff Election For Texas Senate District 9". Office of the Texas Governor.
18. "District Identity".
19. (July 2014). "2014-15 KISD Campus Locator Map". Kellerisd.
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21. "Crime in the United States by Metropolitan Statistical Area, 2010 (Table 6)". [[FBI]].
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