Friendswood

History

Friendswood, situated in the northwestern corner of Galveston County, has the distinction of being the only permanent town in Texas that started as a Quaker colony. It was established in 1895 by a group of Quakers led by T. Hadley Lewis and Frank J. Brown. They were looking for a "promised land" to start a colony of the people who belonged to the religious denomination called Friends or Quakers. From its founding, life in Friendswood revolved around church and school. After the small church and school building was demolished in the 1900 Storm, the two-dozen families living in Friendswood erected a large two-story frame structure for their church and school. The building, called The Academy, housed the school and sanctuary until a larger, stone building replaced it. Through the 1940s, Friendswood was predominately a small, remote, farming Quaker community with less than 500 citizens. The economy depended largely on growing and preserving Magnolia figs. After 1950, it became increasingly a suburban bedroom community, as Houstonians discovered the idyllic country setting the farmlands were converted to subdivision home-sites. The community became a city when it incorporated in 1960.

Geography

Friendswood is located at (29.512532, –95.197933). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city covers a total area of , of which are land area and , or 0.69%, is covered by water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  24,377
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,895
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  19,668
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  18,550
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,622
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  14,898
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,478
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  13,991

Largest nearby schools

• CLEAR SPRINGS H S
  High · LEAGUE CITY · 2,732 students · 17.9:1 ratio
• CLEAR CREEK H S
  High · LEAGUE CITY · 2,400 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• FRIENDSWOOD H S
  High · FRIENDSWOOD · 1,980 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• FRIENDSWOOD J H
  Middle · FRIENDSWOOD · 1,467 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• SANTA FE H S
  High · SANTA FE · 1,369 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• LEAGUE CITY INT
  Middle · LEAGUE CITY · 1,118 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• VICTORY LAKES INT
  Middle · LEAGUE CITY · 937 students · 18:1 ratio
• CREEKSIDE INT
  Middle · LEAGUE CITY · 872 students · 15.9:1 ratio