20 - Year Growth Plan - City of Kendleton

DEMOGRAPHICSLocationKendleton is a small community of 1.4 square miles. As a city of less than 5,000 inhabitants, Kendleton’scurrent extraterritorial jurisdiction spans ½ mile from city limits. Located near the Houston‐Sugar Land‐Baytown metropolitan area of southeast Texas, Kendleton’s proximity to the Sugar Land and Houstonareas offers the benefits of small town life combined with easy access to the variety and amenitiesfound in larger cities, including several top‐rated hospitals located within the county, MemorialHermann and St. Luke’s, as well as numerous opportunities for entertainment and recreation. Fort BendCounty is predicted to grow to over 1,000,000 residents by 2030, according to the County web site, andhas been named one of the safest communities in America.Kendleton is located in Fort Bend County with the cities of Richmond (the county seat), Arcola, Beasley,Fulshear, Meadows Place, Missouri City, Orchard, Rosenberg, Simonton, Stafford, Sugar Land, andWeston Lakes as well as numerous unincorporated areas. Portions of the cities of Katy and Houstonhave also expanded into the Fort Bend County, though they are incorporated in Harris County. Fort BendCounty is a part of the Houston‐Sugar Land‐Baytown metro area and is a member of the Houston‐Galveston Area Council of Governments. The county is approximately 875.0 square miles (562,560 acres)in area. Sugar Land is its largest city with a population of 78,817 as of 2010. The county’s most populouscity is Sugar Land, followed by Missouri City. In 2007 Fort Bend County had one of the highestpercentages of families in the nation with 84% of the population in family households and an over 83%homeownership rate. 1PopulationAccording to the Texas State Historical Association, Kendleton, Texas has a long history dating back tothe William E. Kendall Plantation. Kendall divided this plantation in the 1860s, creating small farmswhich he then sold to former slaves. The New York, Texas, and Mexican Railway Company laid trackbetween Rosenberg and Victoria, passing through Kendleton, in 1882, foreshadowing a future in whichover a hundred years later rail would still be a vital part of the city’s growth. 2 By 1890 Kendleton washome to 25 residents and a general store, though by 1896 the city had grown to include 3 general storesand 2 churches, which served approximately 2,000 people from the surrounding rural area. In 1903 atown documented by the 1900 census as home to 116 residents was also home to a thriving schooldistrict with 2 schools for 12 white students and three schools for 202 black students. Kendleton wasincorporated in 1973 with a population of more than 600 after decades of fluctuation. In 1990Kendleton’s population had fallen and would decrease again slightly in the 2000 census with a1 Fort Bend County in Association with CDS Market Research, Copyright 2008 Knudson LP. 2007. “Fort BendCounty Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan Update 2007.”2 Wikipedia, July 2011, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendleton,_Texas>Appendix A, Page 7