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    Bell County
    Bell County
    Bell County
    Ebook133 pages42 minutes

    Bell County

    By Michael Kelsey and Nancy Kelsey

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    About this ebook

    The establishment of Fort Hood during World War II ushered in a period of rapid progress for Bell County. Its predominately agrarian identity was transformed into a modern, multidimensional economy focused on defense, health care, education, transportation, and heritage tourism. Beginning in the 1960s, the county experienced a population shift to the suburbs, and its numbers tripled, from 94,097 in 1960 to 310,235 in 2010. The Centroplex of Killeen, Belton, and Temple is one of the fastest-growing regions in Texas. In 2014, Killeen ranked 18th in the nation for growth. US News & World Report ranked Baylor Scott & White Hospital in Temple 10th among Texas hospitals for 2014-2015. Today, the culturally diverse population respects its history and anticipates a bright future for the county.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateNov 30, 2015
    ISBN9781439653852
    Bell County
    Author

    Michael Kelsey

    Michael and Nancy Kelsey are members of the Bell County Historical Commission and serve on the Central Texas Area Museum Board of Directors. Both served on the Belton Public Library Board. Nancy is on the Salado Historical Society Board of Directors. Michael chaired the first Belton Heritage Preservation Board and currently serves on the Temple Historic Marker Committee. They selected images from collections of these organizations to tell about the people and places of Bell County.

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      Book preview

      Bell County - Michael Kelsey

      assistance.

      INTRODUCTION

      When the Texas Legislature created Bell County in 1850, the area was on the fringe of the frontier. In the ensuing 100 years, the people of Bell County derived much of their livelihood from the soil. This changed following the Great Depression and World War II. Rapid advancements in the mechanization of agriculture and the modernization and expansion of the transportation system brought many changes to the area. Improved technologies in agriculture reduced the need for both animal and human farm labor to plant, harvest, and process crops. Employment in agriculture decreased. Improved roads made it possible for people living in small towns and rural communities to work and shop in larger cities that offered a greater variety of commodities and higher wages. These changes altered the people’s living, working, driving, and purchasing patterns.

      The shift from a predominately rural society to a more urban one brought with it unexpected consequences. Although Bell County’s population increased from 73,824 in 1950 to 124,483 in 1970, small towns and farming communities, including Rogers, Bartlett, and Holland, experienced a decrease in population.

      Post–World War II construction of the federal Interstate Highway System from 1956 through the 1960s gave Central Texas and Bell County a modern transportation network. Bell County cities located along the Interstate Highway 35 corridor have benefited from continued economic growth associated with its construction. Expansion and improvements to the Interstate Highway 35 corridor ongoing since 2000 will accommodate increased traffic, projected population growth, and anticipated economic growth.

      Bell County’s industrial base includes both national and international corporations representing the agribusiness, computer, communication, distribution, energy, school-furniture manufacturing, plastics, and transportation sectors. Facilities reserved and restricted to promoting manufacturing are located in the major cities of Bell County. The Temple Industrial Park, formed in the early 1970s in north Temple, occupies over 3,000 acres and serves more than 70 companies. The Killeen Business Park, established in 1990, provides 361 acres for industrial development.

      Fort Hood, the largest military post in the United States, is located near Killeen and covers 214,000 acres, extending west into Coryell County. Among the many units stationed at Fort Hood are III Armored Corps, 1st Cavalry Division, and Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center. Named in honor of Confederate general John Bell Hood, the post has played an important role in every military conflict since World War II. In recent years, Department of Defense funding cuts, troop withdrawals, reassignments, and deployments have negatively affected the local economy. However, the post continues to provide economic advantages to the area. Currently, there are 8,900 civilians employed by Fort Hood.

      Killeen–Fort Hood Regional Airport is centrally located in the heart of Texas on the site of Robert Gray Airfield at Fort Hood. Killeen signed an agreement with the Army in 2000 providing for joint use of the airfield. The airport, built in 2004 at a cost exceeding $80 million, provides the Killeen, Belton, and Temple centroplex with commercial airline service directly to and from Atlanta, Dallas–Fort Worth, and Houston.

      In the early 20th century, Temple emerged as a major hospital center in the Southwest. The healthcare industry throughout Bell County grew and today provides premier health care in a wide range of specialties. Area hospitals and associated fields of nursing, medical research and development, nursing homes, retirement centers, and medical-supply services are a major source of employment. In 2013, Baylor Medical Center merged with Scott & White to become Baylor Scott & White, the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in Texas. Recent developments include the newly formed hospital district in Temple, which encompasses a broad working alliance with Texas A&M University, Olin E. Teague Veterans Medical Center, Baylor Scott & White, regional educational institutions, and the City of Temple.

      Educational opportunities abound in Bell County. Local postsecondary schools in the area are University of Mary Hardin–Baylor, Central Texas College, and Texas A&M University–Central Texas. It appears that the presence of University of Mary Hardin–Baylor in Belton is so important to the area that the City of Belton favors all things for and in the interest of the school.

      The relocation of Scott & White Hospital to south Temple and the opening of Temple’s first mall, Town and Country Mall, in the 1960s set in motion a chain of events that redirected the city’s urban and commercial growth.

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