Garland, Texas
City | |
Motto: "Texas Made Here" | |
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Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is a large city northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located almost entirely within Dallas County, except a small portion located in Collin Countyand Rockwall County.As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 226,876, making it the eighty-seventh most populous city in the United States of America and the twelfth most populous city in the state of Texas.
In 2008, Garland was ranked #67 on CNN and Money magazine's list of the "Top 100 Places to Live".
On May 9, 1927, a tornado destroyed much of the city and killed seventeen people, including a former mayor, S. E. Nicholson. Six years later the Nicholson Memorial Library opened in his honor.
Seeking to provide a lasting memorial to his mother and brother, W. R. Nicholson of Longview, Texas, purchased a former bank building and donated it to the city. In 1933 the building was opened as a community center and library. Initially, a volunteer project, the library became its own department and joined the Dallas County Library System shortly after WWII. In 1965 the library became fully funded by the city of Garland. Today the library serves as the Central Library and operates four branches under the Nicholson Memorial Library System.
The Nicholson Memorial Library System is also the Major Resource Center, or headquarters, of the Northeast Texas Library System (NETLS). NETLS serves a 33-county area that includes 105 member libraries. The NETLS headquarters and offices have been housed in NMLS’ Central Library since 1983.
Garland includes over 2,880 acres (1,170 ha) of park land, 6 recreation centers, and 60 parks.