Pleasanton, Texas

Pleasanton is a city in Atascosa County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,934 at the 2010 census.Pleasanton's official motto is "The City of Live Oaks and Friendly Folks." It is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Pleasanton honors its cowboy heritage with the "Mr. Cowboy" sculpture in front of City Hall and across from the giant oak tree downtown. The roots of the cattle kingdom can be traced to Atascosa County in the 1860s, which calls itself "the birthplace of the cowboys." The sculpture is a gift of Ben and Mona Parker. The Longhorn Museum in east Pleasanton on Highway 97 contains artifacts and memorabilia of the cowboy years. The Cowboy Homecoming, begun in 1966, is an annual event held at the Atascosa River Park in Pleasanton.

City

Giant oak tree in Downtown Pleasanton across from "Mr. Cowboy" sculpture

Location of Pleasanton, Texas

Coordinates: 28°58′1″N 98°29′6″W

History

Pleasanton was established in 1858 when conflicts with the Indians caused the settlers to move the location of the county seat from Amphion. The settlers chose the current town site because of its location at the mouth of Bonita Creek. John Bowen (died 1867), San Antonio's first Anglo-American postmaster, founded and named the town of Pleasanton after his good friend and fellow early Texas Settler John Pleasants.

At one time Pleasanton had two newspapers, the Pleasanton Picayune, which became the Pleasanton Express in 1909, and the Pleasanton Reporter. The county seat was relocated from Pleasanton to Jourdanton in 1910. Pleasanton was incorporated in 1917.

Along with San Antonio, Uvalde, Crystal City, Carrizo Springs, and Corpus Christi, Pleasanton was a major stop on the now-defunct San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf Railroad, which operated from 1909 until it was merged into theMissouri Pacific Railroad in 1956. The rail headquarters was located in a modern two-story depot in North Pleasanton beginning in 1913. However, headquarters closed in 1926, and later the SAU&G, or the Sausage Line as it was called, was merged into the Missouri Pacific. The headquarters depot has been razed, but an earlier depot in Pleasanton is displayed at the Longhorn Museum. The remaining San Antonio-to-Corpus Christi freight line is under the Union Pacific system.

In November 1957, the citizens of Pleasanton voted overwhelmingly to desegregate the public schools. This came some two months after the crisis at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. Some three dozen African Americanpupils were then integrated into the Pleasanton school.

Geography and climate

Pleasanton is located at 28°58′1″N 98°29′6″W (28.966953, -98.484937), about 35 miles (56 km) south of downtown San Antonio, 110 miles (180 km) south-southwest of Austin and 110 miles (180 km) north by north-northwest of Corpus Christi.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.8 square miles (20.3 km²), all land.The elevation at the center of Pleasanton is 360 feet (110 m) above sea level.

The average annual temperature of Pleasanton is 70 °F (21 °C). The mean temperature on January 1 is 50 °F (10 °C) and on June 1 is 78 °F (26 °C). Average annual precipitation is 26.1 inches (660 mm).

Most soils of Pleasanton are quite sandy at the surface but have a clay-rich subsoil which holds moisture. They belong to the Alfisol soil order. Common soil series in town are Nusil, Poth and Rhymes.

Culture

Part of the film The Sugarland Express was filmed around the intersection of 2nd Street and Commerce Street. Every year, Pleasanton hosts the "Cowboy Homecoming Festival", which commemorates the time when the cowboys driving cattle from South Texas to the rail heads up north would return home. This event takes place each October.

Gallery

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  A view of downtown Pleasanton near the intersection of U.S. Highway 281 south and Farm to Market Road 3350 west
 
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  Pleasanton City Hall is located across from the great oak tree downtown.
 
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  The Pleasanton Expressoffice is located next to City Hall.
 
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  Deputy Sheriffs Thomas Monse, Jr., and Mark Stephenson and state police trooper Terry Wayne Miller are commemorated in a marker in Pleasanton. The three were killed in the line of duty on October 12, 1999.
 
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  First Baptist Church of Pleasanton was founded by seven charter members in 1866. The congregation originally met in the courthouse when it was located in Pleasanton.
 
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  The Old Rock Schoolhouse, built of locally procured redsandstone, housed the First Baptist Church (located next door) from 1875-1883.
 
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  First United Methodist Church in downtown Pleasanton was founded in 1857 by circuit riders, a year before Pleasanton was established.
 
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  St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Pleasanton
 
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  Covered wagon sign attracts motorists off Highway 97 to the Longhorn Museum in Pleasanton.
 
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  Union Pacific rail car at Longhorn Museum
 
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  The Pleasanton High School Eagles playfootball in Eagle Stadium.
 
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  Modern sports complex for Pleasanton Independent School District, located across from Eagles Stadium
 
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  Performing Arts Center of Pleasanton public schools
 
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  Coastal Bend College ofBeeville operates a branch campus in Pleasanton.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasanton,_Texas

Classifieds in Pleasanton