In
the late 1930s the Craddock
food company, which manufactured
pickles, moved to town.
In 1937 the KRLD (Dallas)
radio tower was constructed
in Garland. During World
War II several aircraft
plants operated in the
Garland area. After the
war Kraft Foods bought
the Continental Motors
Plant to retool for its
manufacture. As a station
on two railroads, Garland
was a major onion-shipping
point in the 1940s.
Garland is an original
member city of the North
Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD). The vision of
the city fathers in the
early 1940s resulted in
Garland and its companion
member cities benefitting
from reliable, high quality,
affordable water from the
water district’s many reservoirs.
The
effluent from Garland's
wastewater
treatment plant flows through a NTMWD man-made,
1,840-acre (7.4 km2) wetland.
This provides a natural
habitat for a wide variety
of birds and reduces the
sediment, nitrogen, and
phosphorus contents of
the water to a drinkable
level. Through the use
of selected aquatic plants,
this environmentally friendly
project will provide millions
of gallons of reusable
water and reduce the environmental
impact. |
In
the early 1980s Garland
had one of the lowest poverty
rates of cities in the
country. In 1990 it had
a population of 180,650
and 2,227 businesses, making
it Dallas
County's second
largest city and the tenth
largest in the state.
Garland
had a variety of industries,
including electronics,
steel fabrication, oilfield
equipment, aluminum die
casting, hat manufacture,
dairy products, and food
processors.
Garland
Power & Light (GP&L) was founded
in 1923 to provide Garland
residents not-for-profit
public utility services,
locally controlled by its
citizens. GP&L provides
services to nearly 68,000
customers making it the
third largest municipal
utility in Texas and the
41st largest in the nation.
The Nicholson
Memorial Library System is the Major
Resource Center, or headquarters,
of the Northeast Texas
Library System (NETLS).
NETLS serves a 33-county
area that includes 105
member libraries. The NETLS
headquarters and offices
have been housed in NMLS’
Central Library since 1983. |