Allen

History

The Allen area was previously home to the Caddo, Comanche, and other indigenous peoples. The first immigrants from the United States and Europe arrived in the early 1840s. The town was established by the Houston and Texas Central Railway and named in 1872 for Ebenezer Allen, a state politician and railroad promoter. The railroad allowed the sale of crops across the country before they rotted, causing a shift from the previous cattle-based agriculture. On February 22, 1878, Eight were killed, along with the shooter, and seven were injured. The perpetrator was 33-year-old Mauricio Martinez Garcia, a known white supremacist and Nazi admirer, although his specific motive for the shooting was not clear.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. In 2019, an EF-0 tornado touched down in west Allen.

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,635
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,621
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  18,515
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  14,306
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,860
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,391
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,614
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  11,301

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2024-05-01
  7 km SSW of Mansfield, Texas
• M 3.2 — 2024-05-01
  7 km S of Mansfield, Texas
• M 2.51 — 2022-07-20
  9 km WSW of Lebanon, Oklahoma
• M 3.2 — 2019-10-01
  8 km SSW of Mansfield, Texas
• M 2.5 — 2019-07-08
  4 km SSE of Rendon, Texas
• M 2.8 — 2019-06-24
  1 km NW of Pottsboro, Texas