- Dallas was founded by John Neely Bryan, a Tennessee lawyer, in 1841. When oil was struck 100 miles east of the city in 1930, Dallas became a center of the industry; as oil consumption increased, Dallas flourished and grew. The city took a national spotlight in 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated on a downtown street.
- Today, Dallas is the ninth-largest city in the U.S., home to over 1.2 million people. The entire Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area has a population of just under 5.5 million.
- The city has a total area of 384 square miles, with elevations ranging from 450-750 feet above sea level. January temperatures average 33-54 degrees Fahrenheit, and July features 74- to 97-degree averages.
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is one of the busiest in the nation and a frequent stopover for flights across the country. The city is served by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail system, which features the only subway station in the Southwest.
