Commerce, Texas

Commerce's Federal Building in 1920

The town of Commerce was formed when two merchants named William Jernigan and Josiah Jackson established a trading post and mercantile store where the present-day downtown area is. The rural area just to the northeast was an open prairie originally known as Cow Hill. The town was established in 1872 and named "Commerce" due to the thriving economic activity among the cotton fields and ideal farm and ranch lands between the Middle and South Sulphur rivers on the rich, black gumbo prairie in northeast Hunt County. The town incorporated in 1885. Two years later, a railroad was built through Commerce to transport merchandise from Fort Worth, and nine years later, William L. Mayo, a college educator, moved East Texas Normal College from the northeast Texas town of Cooper to Commerce after the original school in Cooper was destroyed in a fire. Mayo continued as president of the college, now known as Texas A&M University–Commerce, until his death in 1917 and is buried on the campus grounds.

Bois d'Arc Bash 2015

Commerce was named the "Bois d'Arc Capital of Texas" (pronounced "bow-dark") by the Texas Legislature because of its location in the geographic center of the indigenous range of the bois d'arc tree. The second largest bois d'arc tree in Texas, "Big Max", recognized by the National Forests Famous and Historic Trees, is located within the city limits. Held every September, the annual Bois d'Arc Bash pays homage to the native trees which played a vital part in the frontier days, providing foundations, fences and weapons of the Native Americans. The Bash celebrates with arts & crafts vendors, food, parade, kids' game area, pageant, wine, musical entertainment, 5K run, and car & truck show.

Gee Lake of Texas A&M University-Commerce

Commerce is located in northeastern Hunt County at 33°14′42″N 95°54′0″W (33.244959, −95.899957).[6]

It is 66 miles (106 km) northeast of Dallas,[7] 53 miles (85 km) southeast of Sherman, 38 miles (61 km) southwest of Paris, and 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Sulphur Springs. Greenville, the Hunt county seat, is 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Commerce via Highway 224 or 18 miles (29 km) via Highway 24 and I-30.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Commerce has a total area of 8.0 square miles (20.7 km²), of which 7.9 square miles (20.5 km²) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²), or 0.94%, are water.[4] The Middle Sulphur River, part of the Red River watershed, runs past the north side of Commerce and forms part of its northern border.

Commerce's climate is part of the humid subtropical region. The temperature varies greatly throughout the year. Commerce has hot, humid and dry summers, typical of much of Texas, and above average spring temperatures. Commerce has cooler fall and winter temperatures, with higher wind chills due to its northern location and location on a natural prairie. During the spring is the strongest part of the storm season as thunderstorms are very common and tornadoes have been known to form in and around the area.

As of the census[2] of 2010, there were approximately 8,078 people, 2,881 households, and 1,524 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,183.3 people per square mile (456.9/km²). There were 3,405 housing units at an average density of 525.4 per square mile (202.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.07% White, 20.78% African American, 0.42% Native American, 2.59% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 3.13% from other races, and 1.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.65% of the population.

There were 2,881 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.0% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.1% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 3.02.

Age demographic: 21.5% under the age of 18, 28.2% age 18 to 24, 26.3% age 25 to 44, 14.3% age 45 to 64, and 9.8% age 65 or older. The median age was 25.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,946, and the median income for a family was $34,901. Males had a median income of $17,666 versus $14,515 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,320. About 29.3% of families and 35.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.2% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

1920 map of Commerce and surroundings

Commerce is served by the following highways:

• Texas State Highway 11–An east-west route through Commerce that connects with Sulphur Springs and Winnsboro to the east, and Wolfe City, Whitewright and Sherman to the west. Runs concurrent with Loop 178 along the south side of the university on a street known locally as "Culver Street" and then runs concurrent with Highway 24 before heading west towards Wolfe City.
• Texas State Highway 24–Major north-south route that runs through the city of Commerce and the University. It connects with Campbell and Interstate 30 to the south and with Cooper and Paris to the north. Most of the major businesses of Commerce line Highway 24. It is the only highway in Commerce that has a frontage road. It is a four-lane divided highway.
• Texas State Highway 50–Serves the northwest part of Commerce, particularly the area by Commerce Municipal Airport. Connects with Ladonia to the north. Formerly, the highway ran concurrent with Highway 24 from Interstate 30; this portion of the highway was reassigned in 2009.[9]
• Texas State Highway 224–Is the Commerce-to-Greenville route, as it is the only highway that directly connects the two largest cities in Hunt county. It also goes through Neylandville before reaching its terminus in Greenville.
• Texas State Highway Loop 178–a 3/4 loop that runs a semi-circle around Commerce. It runs concurrent with Highway 11 along Culver Street south of the university before the junction with Highway 24, and after the junction it continues west towards Highway 224.
• Texas Farm to Market Road 71–Serves the northeast rural area of Commerce and continues into Hopkins County, going through some of the smaller rural communities.
• Texas Farm to Market Road 2874– Heads toward some unincorporated parts of Hunt County from a Junction with highway 224.
• Texas Farm to Market Road 3218–Serves the southeast area of Commerce, running through a small industrial and rural area. It also passes by a few Commerce ISD schools.
• 
  Business 224–A business route of highway 224 through Commerce along Live Oak Street, Main Street and Park Street.
• 
  Business 11–A business route of highway 11 through Commerce along Maple Street, Park Street, and Wolfe City Drive, this route was formerly a part of Highway 11 before it was rerouted to run concurrent with Loop 178 and Highway 24.

Commerce is the proposed terminus in the third and final stage for the proposed Blacklands Turnpike, a toll road that would run from far northeastern Dallas County, through Collin and Rockwall counties, as a faster way to get from Dallas to the major cities in Hunt County.

Commerce is served by Commerce Municipal Airport.

Public transit called "The Connection" serves Commerce and all of Hunt County. The Connection operates Monday through Friday from 7 am to 7 pm. Reservations have to be made one day in advance, and the transit charges $2 ($4 round trip) if the passenger is traveling to a place within the same community or city, and $3 ($6 round trip) if the passenger is traveling from one city or community to another within Hunt County. The Connection will also take Hunt County residents to Dallas, as a round trip only: passengers are charged $34, and a minimum of three passengers is required.[10]

KETR's 40th anniversary celebration in April 2015

KETR[12] serves as the radio station for the city of Commerce, Texas A&M University–Commerce, Hunt County, and surrounding cities. The station was founded in 1975 at the A&M-Commerce campus where it still remains today. KETR is a 100,000 watt radio station that can reach up to 75 miles away, the radio frequency is 88.9 FM in honor of the year 1889 which is the year the university was founded. The station provides news, music, and sports for its listeners. In fact the station has two NPR talk shows. Commerce High School football games are broadcast on KETR, as well as A&M–Commerce Lions football and basketball games. KGVL in nearby Greenville also has a strong presence due to the proximity of the two cities. Commerce is served by the Dallas/Fort Worth Television Stations on local cable and also regular programming. Commerce residents have three newspapers that serve the city, The Dallas Morning News, (Daily) The Greenville Herald-Banner, (Daily) and the Commerce Journal. (Weekly) Texas A&M University-Commerce also has its own student-led newspaper, The East Texan (weekly).

Due to being a rural college town with proximity to Dallas, Commerce has an economy that remained steady for years, with gradual increases with new businesses opening and others being renovated. Most of the bigger businesses of the town surround the local university, and the university's student body is bigger than the town itself. The downtown area is approximately one mile from the university and is the hub for town festivities. The downtown area includes bars, dining, a fashion retailer, an office supplies retailer, a thrift shop, real estate offices, tax preparation offices, an insurance agency, the Chamber of Commerce, banks, and loft-style living.

Employment

Walmart location in Commerce

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	Texas A&M University-Commerce	900
2	Walmart	251
3	Commerce ISD	250
4	Legacy Housing	178
5	City of Commerce	85
6	Ben E. Keith Company	84

[13]

Samuel H. Whitley Hall of A&M-Commerce

The most notable landmark of the city of Commerce is Samuel H. Whitley Hall, a 12-story building on the A&M-Commerce campus. It is the tallest building between Dallas and Texarkana.[16] The building is named in honor of former university president Samuel Whitley, who served from 1924 to 1946. The 146-foot-tall (45 m) building serves as a dormitory for traditional freshmen on campus.

• George C. Butte, Republican candidate for governor of Texas
• Claire Chennault, World War II general and noted war hero
• Ben Kweller, rock musician who penned a song called "Commerce, TX" that was loosely based on Kweller's time living in a duplex near college students
• Larry Lemanski, director of the Biomedical Institute for Regenerative Research at Texas A&M-Commerce
• Adam Kelly Ward, convicted murderer of code enforcement officer Michael Walker in 2005; executed in March 2016
• Wade Wilson, former All-Pro NFL quarterback and current quarterbacks coach for the Dallas Cowboys
• Brandon Jones, former student at Commerce High School and East Texas State University.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Commerce, Texas.

• City of Commerce official website
• Commerce Independent School District
• Texas A&M University-Commerce
• A&M-Commerce Lions
• KETR