Cedar Hill

History

Cedar Hill was founded circa 1846 by a small group of settlers from the Peters Colony. They came from Kentucky, Alabama, and surrounding areas to arrive in the Dallas area of North Texas; 197 families and 184 single men settled in what is now Cedar Hill, making it the largest settlement in the area at the time. Cedar Hill has five homes listed on the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, four historical structures on the Texas Historical Commission's list of Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks, and two graveyards designated as "Historical Texas Cemeteries" by the Texas Historical Commission, one of which is believed to be the oldest integrated cemetery in Dallas County. On April 29, 1856, Cedar Hill was struck by a tornado that claimed at least nine lives, damaged property, killed livestock, and reportedly left only two structures standing. Among the survivors was teacher and pastor, Robert Crawford. Crawford donated four acres of his land to church trustees to be designated as a free and indiscriminate public graveyard. Nine victims of the tornado were buried on Crawford's land. The graveyard lay lost for about 100 years. It was rediscovered and certified by the Texas Historical Commission in 2006, and was named the Crawford Tornado Graveyard. The graveyard was reconsecrated in a blessing ceremony on October 7, 2011. The Texas Historical Commission marker was officially placed on the site on April 29, 2012, the 156th anniversary of the tornado. On October 8, 1932, the then First State Bank of Cedar Hill was robbed by Raymond Hamilton, a sidekick of bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde. After taking the money, he locked the employees in the vault and made his getaway. When Hamilton got wind of reports that some of the cash had been hidden during the…

Geography

Cedar Hill is located in North Texas. Adjacent cities are Grand Prairie to the southwest, west, and northwest; Dallas to the north; Duncanville to the north and northeast; DeSoto to the northeast and east; Glenn Heights and Ovilla to the southeast; and Midlothian to the south. Most of the city of Cedar Hill is in Dallas County, but a small southern section of the city spills over into Ellis County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.26%, is water. The city is sometimes referred to as the "hill country of Dallas" (in comparison to the "hill country" surrounding Austin and San Antonio). The city is full of native eastern red cedar evergreen trees and stands at an elevation of about above sea level—the highest point in a straight line from the Red River at the Texas-Oklahoma border to the Gulf Coast. The "Austin chalk" limestone uplift on which most of Cedar Hill is spread is covered with "gumbo"-cleche-clay topsoil from a few inches to many feet. The western edge of the city, primarily the Lake Ridge neighborhood, falls below the limestone uplift on the Eagle Ford shale strata surrounding Joe Pool Lake.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,667
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  7,978
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  7,395
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  6,493
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,297
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  5,658
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,350
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,146

Largest nearby schools

• DUNCANVILLE H S
  High · DUNCANVILLE · 4,501 students · 19.7:1 ratio
• SOUTH GRAND PRAIRIE H S
  High · GRAND PRAIRIE · 3,351 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• DESOTO H S
  High · DESOTO · 2,216 students · 17.2:1 ratio
• CEDAR HILL H S
  High · CEDAR HILL · 2,197 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• JOHN A DUBISKI CAREER H S
  High · GRAND PRAIRIE · 1,488 students · 15:1 ratio
• VILLAGE TECH SCHOOLS
  Other · DUNCANVILLE · 1,316 students · 17.1:1 ratio
• JUSTIN F KIMBALL H S
  High · DALLAS · 1,192 students · 14.4:1 ratio
• DAVID W CARTER H S
  High · DALLAS · 1,082 students · 15.7:1 ratio

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 3.2 — 2019-10-01
  8 km SSW of Mansfield, Texas
• M 2.5 — 2019-07-08
  4 km SSE of Rendon, Texas
• M 3.4 — 2018-05-19
  8 km NW of Venus, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2017-09-14
  Northern Texas