Dallas County / What to Know

WORDS ALEXIS PATTERSON dallas county

BEFORE BIG TEX BECAME THE FACE AND VOICE OF THE STATE FAIR, HE WAS A SMALL TOWN’S SANTA CLAUS TO PROMOTE HOLIDAY SHOPPING. THE FIGURE WAS SOLD TO THE FAIR IN 1951 FOR $750.

TRANSFORMED INTO A COWBOY, HE STOOD OVER THE FAIR UNTIL BURNING IN 2012. A YEAR LATER, A REIMAGINED BIG TEX WAS BACK. (SEE HIM SEPT. 30—OCT. 23 AT FAIR PARK.)

ABOVE // ADDISON PACKS NEARLY 200 RESTAURANTS INTO ITS 4.4 SQUARE MILES. AND WITH A POPULATION OF 15,800, THE TOWN HAS MORE RESTAURANTS PER CAPITA THAN ANY OTHER CITY IN THE COUNTY—LEADING TO THE NICKNAME “THE RESTAURANT CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES.”

BIG D is indeed big. Dallas is the third most populous city in Texas and ninth in the nation. But while Dallas gets a lot of attention, 31 cities and towns (in part or in full) make up the county. And the county is no slouch in population either. Dallas County has the most residents—2.6 million—of the four major metro counties.

THE ORIGIN OF DALLAS’ NAME IS UNCLEAR. POSSIBILITIES INCLUDE: • U.S. VICE PRESIDENT GEORGE DALLAS • NAVY COMMODORE ALEXANDER DALLAS • LOCAL SETTLER JOSEPH DALLAS

THE NEIGHBORING TOWNS OF HIGHLAND PARK AND UNIVERSITY PARK (TOGETHER KNOWN AS THE PARK CITIES) ARE AMONG THE MOST AFFLUENT AREAS OF TEXAS. THE MEDIAN LIST PRICE FOR A HOME IN APRIL 2022 WAS $2 MILLION.

THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY PERMANENTLY DISPLAYS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL COPIES OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, PRINTED ON JULY 4, 1776, AND THE 1623 FIRST FOLIO OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S COMEDIES, HISTORIES & TRAGEDIES.