Plano, Texas

Plano, Texas is located fifteen miles north of Dallas in southwestern Collin County. The town originated in the early 1840s as small groups of settlers, despite years of Native American attacks, settled in Collin County’s blackland prairie. Plano’s settlement, due in part to William Foreman, who built a sawmill and a gristmill--facilities that attracted neighbors. Eventually, a store and gin were added. Plano was named to mean “plain” to describe the surrounding terrain in Spanish. Raising livestock was the principal business in the county, and the populace grew as they began to farm the rich, black soil. Plano was the first depot by rail entering Collin County by the south, upon completion of the Houston and Texas Railroad. As the metroplex developed, other surrounding municipalities locked in Plano, with little undeveloped land remaining within the city limits.

Plano was one of the fastest growing cities in the 1970s, with a now stabilizing population of nearly 270,000. It is the 9th largest city in Texas, the 70th largest city in the United States, and home to many corporate headquarters, and planned communities.