Tyler, Texas, United States

🇺🇸 Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. Tyler is the 33rd most populous city in Texas and 299th in the United States. It is the principal city of the Greater Tyler metropolitan statistical area, which is the 198th most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. and 16th in Texas after Waco and the College Station–Bryan areas.

The city is named for John Tyler, the tenth President of the United States. In 1985, the international Adopt-a-Highway movement began in Tyler. After appeals from local Texas Department of Transportation officials, the local Civitan International chapter adopted a two-mile (three kilometer) stretch of U.S. Route 69 to maintain. Drivers and other motorists traveling on this segment of U.S. 69 (between Tyler and nearby Lindale) will see brown road signs that read, "First Adopt-A-Highway in the World".

Tyler is known as the "Rose Capital of America" (also the "Rose City" and the "Rose Capital of the World"), a nickname it earned from a long history of rose production, cultivation, and processing. It is home to the largest rose garden in the United States, a 14-acre public garden complex that has over 38,000 rose bushes of at least 500 different varieties. The Tyler Rose Garden Center is also home to the annual Texas Rose Festival which attracts thousands of tourists each October.

As Northeast Texas and Smith County's major economic, educational, financial, medical and cultural hub, Tyler is host to more than 20,000 higher-education students; the University of Texas at Tyler; a university health science center; and regional hospital systems. It is also the headquarters for Brookshire Grocery Company, Cavender's, Southside Bank, and Synthesizers.com. Other corporations with major presence within the city and surrounding area include AT&T, T-Mobile US, Cricket Wireless and Metro by T-Mobile, Chase Bank, BBVA, Best Buy, and Walmart. Tyler is also home to the Caldwell Zoo and Broadway Square Mall.

History Legal recognition of Tyler was initiated by an act of the state legislature on 11 April 1846. The Texas government created Smith County and authorized a county seat.

The first plat designated a 28-block town site centered by a main square within a 100-acre (40 ha; 0.16 sq mi) tract acquired by Smith County on 6 February 1847. The new town was named for President John Tyler, who advocated for the annexation of Texas by the United States. A log building on the square's north side served as a courthouse and public meeting hall until a brick courthouse displaced it in 1852. On 29 January 1850, Tyler was incorporated. Early religious and social institutions included the First Baptist church and a Methodist church, a Masonic lodge and an Odd Fellows lodge, and Tyler's first newspaper.

Though Tyler's early economy from 1847–1873 was based on agriculture, it was also well-diversified during this period. Logging was a second major industry, while complementary manufacturing included metalworking, milling wood, and leather tanning. As the seat of Smith County, the town also benefited from government activity. The local agricultural economy relied on slave labor before the Civil War. In 1860, the population of enslaved people in Smith County was 4,982, the 4th most in east Texas.

By 1860, Tyler held over 1,000 enslaved persons, which represented 35 percent of the town's population. There was strong support for secession and the Confederacy within Tyler, as a high percentage of its residents voted for secession and many of its men joined the Confederate Army. The town was secure enough for the Confederate States of America to establish the largest ordinance plant in Texas. In 1870, Bonner and Williams established Tyler's first bank. Though both the Texas and Pacific Railroad and the International Railroad (Texas) eschewed routes through Tyler, the town gained an important rail connection when the Houston and Great Northern built a branch line in 1874.

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, fruit orchards emerged as an important business in the regional economy. Eighty percent of the county's agricultural revenue derived from cotton as it persisted as the dominant crop in the first decades of the twentieth century. Peaches were the principal fruit crop as the county fruit tree inventory surpassed one million by 1900. Disease struck the peach trees, though, and local farmers moved toward growing roses by the 1920s. Twenty years later, most of the U.S. rose supply originated in the Tyler area.

On 29 October 1895, an African American suspect named Robert Henry Hillard was burned at the stake in the Smith County Courthouse Square for the alleged murder of a nineteen-year-old white woman. Denied a trial and due process, Hillard was taken from law enforcement personnel by a white mob. Hillard's executioners were never punished. Later, two entrepreneurs combined photographs from the actual lynching with others staged with actors and sold the 16-image production as a stereographic set. One of the original sets sits in the United States Library of Congress.

In 1912, Dan Davis, an African-American man suspected of attacking a sixteen-year-old white girl named Carrie Johnson, was burned at the stake in the Smith County Courthouse Square.

In 1971, the University of Texas system established the University of Texas at Tyler and Broadway Square Mall opened in 1975. By 1980, the population grew to 70,508 and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tyler and East Texas Islamic Society were established in the following years.

During the 2010 East Texas church burnings, two Tyler churches were destroyed, and historic preservation city planning began in 2016 as the population increased and the city continued development.

Geography The city of Tyler is in the Southern United States, in Northeast Texas. It is sometimes considered part of the wider Ark-La-Tex region where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. Tyler is located at 544 ft (166 m) above sea level. The city is approximately 38 mi (61 km) from Longview; 61 mi (98 km) from Marshall; 100 mi (160 km) from Dallas; 132 mi (212 km) from Texarkana; 230 mi (370 km) from the state capital of Austin; and 98 mi (158 km) from Shreveport, Louisiana.

Tyler is the seat of government of Smith County, and is surrounded by many suburban communities, including Whitehouse, Lindale, New Chapel Hill, Bullard, Edom, Brownsboro, Kilgore, Flint, and Chandler. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 57.97 sq mi (150.1 km²), of which 57.45 sq mi (148.8 km²) is land and 0.52 sq mi (1.3 km²) is covered by water. Tyler is the principal city of the Greater Tyler metropolitan area, and a principal city in the Tyler–Longview area, a conurbation of the Tyler and Longview metropolitan and combined statistical areas.

Cityscape Tyler has a modest skyline and downtown area. Downtown architecture features the Art Deco and neoclassical styles, many dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Modernist- and postmodernist-era structures are also present throughout the cityscape.

Central Tyler is anchored by Brick Streets Historic District and Charnwood Residential Historic District, areas characterized by dense retail, restaurants, nightlife, and historic landmarks. Brick Streets Historic District is the largest geographic area of Tyler. It encompasses 29 blocks and primarily consists of buildings constructed in the 1900s. The district area is predominantly residential though it sometimes serves as a mix-use district. Brick Streets Historic District has brick-paved streets and stone-lined drainage channels. Nearby, Charnwood is Tyler's first historic district. It comprises 12 blocks of late 19th and early 20th century architecture.

Economy In addition to the city's role in the rose-growing industry, Tyler is the headquarters for Brookshire Grocery Company, which operates Brookshire's, Fresh, Super 1 Foods, and Spring Market supermarkets in the Ark-La-Tex and parts of Dallas–Fort Worth. The company's main distribution centre is in south Tyler, while SouthWest Foods, a subsidiary that processes dairy products, is just north-east of the city.

The city and metropolitan area also has a growing manufacturing sector including: Tyler Pipe, a subsidiary of McWane Inc. that produces soil and utility pipe products; Trane Technologies Inc., formerly a unit of American Standard Companies, which manufactures air conditioners and heat pumps (this plant was originally built in 1955 by General Electric); Delek Refining, an Israeli-owned oil refinery formerly La Gloria Oil and Gas Co (a Crown Central Petroleum subsidiary); PCSFerguson, an operating company of Dover Corporation that specializes in equipment for the measurement and production of natural gas using the plunger lift method; DYNAenergetics Tyler Distribution Center, part of DYNAenergetics USA, which manufactures perforating equipment and explosives for the oil and gas industry; and Vesuvius USA, a manufacturer of refractory ceramics used in the steel industry.

Economy: Top Employers According to the city's 2012–2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's top ten employers were: 1 Trinity Mother Frances Health System; 2 UT Health - Tyler; 3 Brookshire Grocery Company; 4 Tyler Independent School District; 5 Trane Technologies; 6 SuddenLink; 7 Walmart; 8 The University of Texas at Tyler; 9 UT Health - Tyler (north campus); 10 Tyler Junior College.

Recreation and tourism Annually, the Texas Rose Festival draws thousands of tourists to Tyler. The festival, which celebrates the role of the rose-growing industry in the local economy, is held in October and features a parade, the coronation of the Rose Queen, and other civic events. The Rose Museum is within the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden and features the history of the festival.

Tyler is home to Caldwell Zoo, several local museums, Lake Palestine, Lake Tyler, and numerous golf courses and country clubs. A few miles away in Flint, Texas is The WaterPark @ The Villages, a year-round, indoor water park.

There is an "Azalea Trail" in Tyler, which consists of two officially designated routes within the city that showcase homes or other landscaped venues adorned with azalea shrubs. The Azalea Trail also is home to the long-standing tradition of the Azalea Belles. The official greeters of the Azalea Trail are known as the Azalea Belles, young women from the Tyler area who dress in antebellum gowns. The belles are chosen each year from area high schools or home school families.

Tyler State Park, a few miles north of the city limits, attracts visitors with opportunities to camp, canoe, and paddle boat on the lake. Other available pastimes include picnicking, boating (motors allowed – 5 mph speed limit), boat rentals, fishing, birding, hiking, mountain biking, hiking trails, lake swimming (in unsupervised swimming area), and nature study.

The Smith County Historical Society operates a museum and archives in the old Carnegie Library. The East Texas State Fair is held annually in Tyler. Harvey Convention Center, the largest building at Tyler's fairgrounds is slated for demolition in August 2021. Lake Tyler was the location of the HGTV Dream Home contest in 2005. The 6,500 sq ft (600 m²) house helped to boost tourism and interest in the community and surrounding areas. It was subsequently sold at public auction in January 2008, for US$1,325,000 (equivalent to $1,667,616 in 2021).

Historical Tyler has a Cotton Belt Railroad Depot Museum near the Chamber of Commerce office.

Individuals and business firms dedicated to discovering, collecting, and preserving data, records, and other items relating to the history of Smith County, Texas, founded The Smith County Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, in 1959. The society operates a museum and archives in the former Carnegie Public Library building in downtown Tyler. Permanent museum exhibits include life-size dioramas of Smith County history, with topics ranging from the Caddo Indians to the 20th century.

Other items from the society's collections are showcased in revolving, temporary exhibits. The society's archival library contains historical artifacts of Smith County, including newspapers, city directories, school records, photographs, maps, historical papers, and rare books. The archives are open to the public for research on a limited schedule with volunteer staff on duty. The society is also the official caretaker of Camp Ford Historic Park.

Camp Ford was the largest Confederate Prisoner of War camp west of the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. The original site of the camp stockade is a public historic park managed by the Smith County Historical Society. The park contains a kiosk, paved trail, interpretive signage, a cabin reconstruction, and a picnic area. It is on Highway 271, 0.8 mi (1.3 km) north of Loop 323.

Sport

College and university teams • University of Texas at Tyler Patriots (NCAA Division II) • Texas College Steers (HBCU) • Tyler Junior College Apaches (NJCAA)

Baseball teams • Tyler Elbertas (1912) • Tyler Trojans (1924–1929, 1931, 1935–1940, 1946–1950) • Tyler Sports (1932) • Tyler Governors (1933–1934) • Tyler East Texans (1950–1953) • Tyler Tigers (1954–1955) • Tyler Wildcatters (1994–1997) • Tyler Roughnecks (2001)

Sport: Football • East Texas Twisters (2004)

Road races • Fresh 15 Road Race (Annual)

Soccer • Tyler FC (2016–Present)

Disc golf • Tyler features fifteen disc golf courses and seven leagues, and the surrounding area features a total of thirty-six courses and seventeen leagues. For these reasons, users of the disc golf app UDisc ranked Tyler as the third best disc golf destination in Texas and second best in the United States.

Education: Universities Tyler's higher education institutions include the University of Texas at Tyler and the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, both part of the University of Texas System, as well as Texas College, the city's only HBCU, and Tyler Junior College.

Media Tyler has 24 media outlets and one newspaper. There are many others in the surrounding area.

Newspaper • Tyler Morning Telegraph

Healthcare Hospitals in Tyler include UT Health Tyler, Trinity Mother Frances Health System, UT Health North Campus Tyler, and Texas Spine & Joint Hospital. There are also many clinics including the Direct Care Clinic.

Transport The most common form of transportation is the motor vehicle. Tyler is a nexus of several major highways. Interstate 20 runs along the north edge of the city going east and west, U.S. Highway 69 runs north–south through the centre of town and State Highway 64 runs east–west through the city. Tyler also has access to U.S. Highway 271, State Highway 31, State Highway 155, and State Highway 110. Loop 323 was established in 1957 and encircles the city, which has continued to grow outside of this loop. Loop 49 is a limited access "outer loop" around the city and currently runs from State Highway 110 south of Tyler to US 69 north-west of Tyler near Lindale. Loop 124 is 1.524 mi (2.453 km) in length.

Public transportation Tyler Transit provides customers with public transportation service within the City of Tyler. The buses run daily, excluding Sundays and holidays. Tyler Transit offers customers the option to purchase tickets, tokens, or passes at the Tyler Transit office, at 210 E. Oakwood Street inside the Cotton Belt Railroad Depot at the main transfer point. The City of Tyler paratransit service is a shared-ride, public transportation service. Requests for service must be made the day before the service is needed. Trips can be scheduled up to 14 days in advance. ADA compliant paratransit service is provided to all origins and destinations within the service area defined as the city limits of Tyler. Greyhound Lines bus service is available through a downtown terminal.

Transport: Air Tyler Pounds Regional Airport offers service to and from Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport via American Eagle, providing service with Embraer ERJ-135 and ERJ-145 regional jets. General Aviation services are provided by two fixed-base operators, Johnson Aviation and the Jet Center of Tyler.

Train Tyler was the hub for a series of short-line railroads which later evolved into the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, better known as "The Cotton Belt Route", with the city last being a stop on the unnamed successor to the Morning Star between St. Louis and Dallas. This line later became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which itself merged with the Union Pacific Railroad, which continues to serve the city today with freight traffic. No passenger train service to Tyler has occurred since April 1956, but Amtrak's Texas Eagle runs through the city of Mineola, a short distance north of Tyler.

Walkability A 2014 study by Walk Score ranked Tyler with a walkability score of 32 (out of 100) with some amenities within walking distance.