Creating a Community

Creating a Community. . , Fixing Up Farmland , In 1950, Plano had 2,126 residents. The city's population began to grow when new companies opened plants in Plano. In 1958, the North Central Expressway was completed. With business booming for Texas Instruments in Dallas, Plano became an attractive city for many to live, including immigrant families from Asia. They enjoyed sharing similar cultural values, such as putting their children through a good education system. and living in a location that was not overcrowded., Suburban Spread , By 1960, Plano was Collin County's fastest growing city. Wishing to draw even more residents to Plano's ranch lands, Herbert Hunt created the Texas Pool, which opened in 1961. This pool was part of a housing development called the Dallas North Estates, which provided the first big push towards a more suburban Plano. Enrollment for new students skyrocketed, and the Plano Independent School District soon needed more schools. Plano became more progressive, allowing African American students at Douglass High to move to an integrated Plano High School. In both 1965 and 1967, the Plano Wildcats won the State Championship in football., Urban Arrival , Between 1960 and 1970, Plano experienced a population increase of 384%, now numbering 17,872 citizens. In 1971, the Wildcats won the State Championship again, followed by one more in 1977. Herbert Hunt continued to build North Texas housing divisions, planning a 3,959 acre development which allowed for the rise of residential and commercial interests in Plano. By 1975, Plano's last cotton gin closed its doors. The city had finally completed the transition from small farming community to bustling urban center. By the end of the decade, Plano's population exceeded 72,000 citizens., Plano has experienced periodic growth since its founding, in no small part due to the transportation systems that have carved their way through the city. Native American trails, stage coach lines, railways, and highways have intersected this area to support heavy expansion and make Plano what it is today., Captions , (Photo #1) Central Expressway , Highway 75 running through Downtown Plano in 1955. Image courtesy of Dallas-Fort Worth Freeways, Oscar Slotboom , (Photo #2) The Planonian , Plano High School's 1965 yearbook highlights moments from the school's first year of desegregated classes. Photo courtesy of the Genealogy Center, Plano Public Library, Plano, Texas. From the Collin County Yearbooks Collection. , (Photo #3) Downtown Plano, 1958 , A business in downtown Plano in 1958, at the corner K Avenue and 15th Street, before the city's population boom. Photo courtesy of the Genealogy Center, Plano Public Library, Plano, Texas.