Rhome, Texas--The ‘Rip Van Winkle’ of the DFW Metro Area

By: Dee Brown
REAE 5311 Blog Post

This report is intended to enlighten myself and perhaps some readers on reasons I fail to understand why one small township, with a seemingly ideal location for access, fails to grow at the same rate or even close to the same rate of some similar townships that have seemingly less favorable conditions.

Rhome, Texas
Rhome is located approximately 25 miles northwest of downtown Fort Worth. This sleepy little town is located at the intersection of US 81/287 and SH 114. Upon first glance, one might think that this would have been an ideal location for growth explosion during the real estate and business booms of the 1990s and the early 2000s. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, it did not occur on the scale one would expect.


Why have businesses not taken advantage of the location? What makes it less attractive than an alternative town with less access? The railroad runs through town; does this make it more or less attractive? There has been some modest growth in residential areas but nothing substantial. The residential growth that has occurred is mostly lower to middle income housing. What will make it attractive to the higher income families? These are just some of the questions that I will attempt to answer during my research of the area.

Surrounding Area
Rhome is surrounded with the typical pre-suburban growth. Three miles to the south, down FM 3433, is the town of Newark. Newark is another sleepy little town with even less growth potential than Rhome but with a larger base of residents. I believe this is largely due to the proximity of the town to the local lake. On the way to Newark you’ll pass the local middle and primary schools along with a stretch of middle to lower income housing to the west of the road, and to the east of the road you’ll see mostly open pasture land.

South on US 81/287, there is a small truck/trailer business on the west side and on the east side of the highway there is a septic tank business and a few more trucking related businesses. These businesses are set amongst a small subdivision of starter homes. There is also a 230 acre mobile home community with the lots ranging from 1 to 5 acres. This area is considered in the Rhome extraterritorial jurisdiction but not in its city limits. Beyond the mobile home community are a few middle income homes scattered around the existing pastures. Most of these are of the original families that were raised in, or had family ties to, the area.

East of Rhome on SH 114, there is a small RV park on the south side of the highway and on the north side of the highway is a construction equipment company. Further out on the north side of the highway is another small mobile home community. This mobile home community appears to have better ordinances in place to control the size and age of the mobile homes allowed than the one south and east of town. Along this particular stretch of SH 114 along with the aforementioned property types is mostly sparsely populated pasture land.

Heading north on US 81/287 is open highway. Not much development at all, residential or commercial, has occurred just outside of town to the north.

Heading west out of town on SH 114 you’ll see country side scattered with older homes, farms and a few small private businesses set back away from the highway. In about 2 miles you will be in Aurora, famous for the space alien being buried there (not much else to speak of though). The one bright spot of the area is a small subdivision called Aurora Vista. The homes built here are of the upper middle income and possibly some of the lower upper income types.

Rhome Proper
Rhome itself has a few small businesses. Its core businesses, both of them, are in the manufacturing business. One of these is for building metal storage tanks and the other I believe builds tanker trailers for the trucking industry. There are three convenience stores, two liquor stores, two banks, a Subway sandwich shop, a Dairy Queen restaurant, and a Grandy’s Restaurant built on with one of the convenience stores. There is also a hamburger joint in one of the other convenience stores. The same person who owns two of the convenience stores also owns one of the liquor stores. Rhome is the proud home of a pharmacy, an insurance office, a real estate office, a water well digging company, a John Deere dealership, and four different denominations of churches. It does boast of a doctor’s office, a post office (which is closed 1½ hours for lunch), a brand new hotel/motel and new Dollar General store. There are a few, perhaps two or three, small private businesses that operate out of some of the older buildings “downtown” Rhome. Of course, no thriving rural metropolis would be complete without a volunteer fire department that uses the old school building as a fire house, a police department housed in a metal building and a city hall. Now that I’ve discussed the entire business aspect of Rhome, I’ll discuss the residential side.

Rhome’s residential area nearest the “downtown” area is older, wood sided homes mixed with a few brick homes. Just east of the downtown area are more of the older homes but also a few late 1970s and 1980s homes and a newer section of starter homes. At one point in time, some of these older homes were government sponsored low income houses. Rhome also presents one set of government subsidized apartments. The rent on these is based on the applicant’s income and in general has a cut-off amount of income to qualify; in other words if you make too much, you don’t qualify.

If you have ever been to an older section of a town in the size range of 15,000 people; the neighborhood that has two or three competing convenience stores; the section where our grandparents used to live; then you’ve been to Rhome. The biggest difference in the two is that the old part of the small town probably has more personality. Rhome is old, there’s not much else way to describe it and that’s the aura of the entire town.

The population as of July, 2008, posted by City-Data.com was 1051. That was close to a 91% increase over the 2000 census, meaning that Rhome in 2000 had approximately 550 residents.

Using Comparisons
When deciding to compare a few of the outlying towns of the DFW metro area I consulted with and interviewed Mark Schluter, a graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in civil engineering. Mr. Schluter worked for the Texas Department of Transportation in the DFW area for 28 years and is currently employed as Regional Transportation Director for Halff Associates, a company whose services range from environmental assessments to multi-million dollar highway projects. During his tenure with TxDOT, Mark at one time worked in advance planning. He stated, “We would look at roadways 20 years in the future. We studied growth patterns to determine when and where roadways would be needed. As Area Engineer, I worked with a lot of developers to review their access.” Mr. Schluter also served as Planning and Zoning Chairman for Rhome from 1998 to 2004.

Some of the questions I asked Mr. Schluter were: “Why hasn’t Rhome grown any more than it has?” “What will it take for Rhome to expand?” “What makes Rhome different from the Friscos, the Argyles and the Roanokes?” Considering my inexperience in such matters, the information to follow was very enlightening. Mark began by explaining a few things which I was somewhat familiar with but had never put them all together. “For a city to grow it must have a good location. Along with location, as a subset, it must have access. The city must offer a reason for people to stop, an identity that people will relate to the town. This in turn will attract businesses to take advantage of the opportunity of the growth. Should a city begin a growth cycle, it must have the infrastructure to support such growth.”

Rhome has no identity. Mark’s opinion was, “There is an old run down feel to Rhome. For Rhome to expand, it has to find out what it wants to be known for, create that identity, that personality.” There has been a long standing rumor around some of the long-time residents that the city council was more of an anti-growth council than that of a progressive, forward-thinking one. Mark said that the mayor and council are attempting to find what Rhome’s niche might be. Most of the businesses in the general vicinity are industrial. Mark questions whether or not it would be in the best interest of the residents and the town for Rhome to have this sort of identity.

Rhome’s location isn’t as attractive as I once believed it to be. As stated earlier, Newark is approximately 3 miles to the south, or southwest. It is what I refer to as a dreary looking place. It strikes me as being dumpy from one end to the other. There are of course the nicer parts to it but for the most part, it’s old. When I asked Mark about the proximity of such a place having a bearing on Rhome’s fate he replied, “Unfortunately both Rhome and Newark are in Wise County. Wise County is known for the drug labs and rock trucks so that makes us all red-necks (or so they say). Newark has a lot of potential with recreation readily available. I’m not sure if they can ever establish themselves as the place to be because as you drive into town it looks old.”

Frisco
The first town I asked Mark to compare Rhome to was Frisco. Frisco is located north of Dallas off the Dallas North Toll way and Preston Road. Frisco’s population as of July, 2008 was 96,676, a growth of 187% since the 2000 census. Frisco hasn’t always been that big. The population in 1990 was approximately 6500. Frisco had a ten year growth of over 417% between 1990 and 2000 for a population of 33,700 in 2000. Mark described Frisco as “a whole different animal.” He had brought to my attention that the areas around Dallas were affected sooner by urban flight than the areas around Fort Worth. The population density of the immediate central business districts of Dallas was saturated which fueled expansion. Mark gave me a brief accounting of events, “Expansion to the north of the CMD (central meridian district) includes earlier growth in Carrolton, Farmers Branch, and Richardson. The upwardly mobile people, who typically want bigger and better, moved north to Plano, Allen, and Frisco. Along came the Dallas North Toll Way that terminated at SH 121 back in 1994.
This roadway connection took these yuppies from their plush mansions to the downtown Dallas, Las Colinas or IH-635 offices. A large mall, Stone Briar Center, popped up in Frisco followed by Stone Briar Country Club (very upscale). The identity was set. This was followed by the Plantation Resort Golf Club and Dr Pepper/7-Up Park (where the Roughriders play). While this looks like an amazing transformation you can still go to the old downtown and it looks like it did 30 years ago plus a few more shops.”

Argyle


The next town we discussed was Argyle. Argyle is a rural community located off of US 377, approximately 5 miles north of Roanoke. Its population as of July, 2008 was shown to be 3,525 an increase of 49% over its 2000 population of 2,365. I found the population of Argyle in 1990 to be 1,575. I’ve been in this area off and on since 1980 and I always thought of Argyle as just a post office on US 377 between Roanoke and Denton. “Strangely enough, Argyle’s focal point is its rural atmosphere. If you look at their web site they talk about the horse farms and proximity to Denton (which is less than 5 miles), Fort Worth and Dallas,” is how Mark begins to talk about Argyle. “They have virtually no tax base. They have a few shops, restaurants and a small business park near their new high school near US 377.” Mark goes on to state, “I feel that what separates Argyle from Rhome is they don’t have the baggage of no-growth thinking as Rhome does. Most of the residents in Argyle are transplants not lifelong residents or descendants. The new businesses in Argyle are upscale to match their new residents.” We can see the discrepancies in income by looking at the income levels of both towns
Rhome’s Income and Home Values
Estimated median household income in 2007: $56,729 (it was $40,667 in 2000)
Rhome:
$56,729
Texas:
$47,548
Estimated per capita income in 2007: $22,877
Rhome:
$22,877
Texas:
$23,938
Estimated median house or condo value in 2007: $146,001 (it was $79,500 in 2000)
Rhome:
$146,001
Texas:
$120,900
.

Argyle’s Income and Home Values
Estimated median household income in 2007: $111,350 (it was $91,161 in 2000)
Argyle:
$111,350
Texas:
$47,548
Estimated per capita income in 2007: $45,937
Argyle:
$45,937
Texas:
$23,938
Estimated median house or condo value in 2007: $333,944 (it was $236,800 in 2000)
Argyle:
$333,944
Texas:
$120,900
(Information found on http://www.city-data.com/)

Roanoke
Roanoke found itself in a unique situation several years back. As Mark and I discussed this thriving little area my eyes were opened to different explanations of how and why a city might grow. “Roanoke is one of those that just happened to be in the right place at the right time plus they had the foresight to take advantage of it. Back in the early 1990s, TxDOT had just completed SH 170 and the SH 114 bypass. In Rhome’s case, the bypass was completed in 1974. Being closer to a more dense population gave Roanoke the opportunity to attract large box retailers such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot. These anchors tend to bring in more people so the peripheral businesses came in to serve these masses. Mark adds further, “They have sufficient infrastructure to support growth but with the tax base they have acquired, they are able to enhance what it already had.” Mark almost seemed excited about the discussion we were having about Roanoke. You can tell he loves what he does. He continues, “Roanoke’s historic district exemplifies that once you have an attraction/destination, other like businesses like to feed on that economic energy. Babe’s Chicken developed a following and everyone else wanted to be a piece of that. Roanoke provided the climate for structured growth and the ball began rolling.”

After talking with Mr. Schluter, I feel like Roanoke will be the next Frisco. Roanoke’s population in July, 2008 was at 4,235 up 51% from 2,800 in 2000. I am beginning to see the pattern Mark mentioned at the beginning of our interview. Identity is important.

Justin
One other town we discussed briefly was Justin. Justin is located off of FM 156, northwest of Texas Motor Speedway. Its population in 2008 was 3,473, an increase of 84% from the count in 2000 of 1,890. One would think that with its proximity to the raceway that this little old country town would be thriving more so than it is. Mark’s comments were, “Justin wants to grow but doesn’t know how. They are like Rhome but without the freeway. They have begun to have a few businesses like Sonic and the businesses park south of town. The FM 156 corridor through there makes them seem old and less receptive to growth.” They have no identity yet. There is a Justin boot retailer there but from what I remember it isn’t much. I knew Justin from the feed store and the salvage store that used to be there.

Southlake

This description of what took place really surprised me. I didn’t know the history of Southlake’s development and never thought it was anything like Rhome. Mark’s response: “Southlake had many of the same early hang-ups as Rhome. They were an old town with the central business area long gone. They let mobile home parks come in and really trash up a great rural atmosphere. The same growth that we previously discussed in Dallas was moving westward and northward out of Fort Worth. They began to reexamine their ordinances and how they wanted to grow. Again, because of the population density they were able to attract the Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Lowes. In 2004, the expansion of SH 114 was completed which provided quick east-west connectivity. They came upon the brilliant idea of the Town Square. They had modeled this off of several cities around the country that had done the same. It is a great economic engine for them.”

My Conclusion
Rhome doesn’t have an identity at all, not even close to having one. With this being said, I want to look at what might be hindering the progress. In examining the needs for growth we find that Rhome has ample access. Its positioning to US 81/287 and SH 114 make it an ideal place for an eventual commerce center. Its location is lacking though. I at first struggled with the idea of location and access being different, but they are. Its location in Wise County goes against it. Also, through no fault of its own, the population density of Fort Worth has not forced the urban flight mode that we saw out of Dallas, at least not as of yet. It is happening but in all other directions besides Rhome. Next, we’ll consider the ‘if’ of growth. What if it grows? Can Rhome handle it? Rhome doesn’t have the infrastructure at the moment to handle growth. As far I know it still has outdated sewer systems. The water was just recently updated with a new water tower and the contracting of purchasing water from Lake Bridgeport through Walnut Creek Municipal Utility District. Rhome sells water to Aurora and New Fairview along with the Rhome residents. This does serve as some sort of income base for the city and it is a start.

From the interviews with Mr. Schluter I have concluded that Rhome is its own worst enemy. Mark applauded the mayor for his attempts to stimulate the growth of the town but felt that more was needed. The city council and the mayor need to be more realistic in their expectations of businesses looking to relocate in their area. They, at one point, were offering no tax incentives. The cost of doing business in Rhome would be the same as in Roanoke or Frisco. That doesn’t make sense. The city needs to be proactive in deciding what it wants and what kind of growth to promote. If it wants to be an industrial area, then they should not expect the nice neighborhoods and big anchor stores to come along with it. Rhome does have a few old attractions around town that could be rehabbed to look nice. However, it is highly improbable any investor is going to sink hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars in to an area without the city council knowing what they want and without all of them being on the same page. Another problem Rhome faces is its lack of size. The annexation laws prohibit any municipality with a population less than 5,000 from enforcing a general annexation for expansion. If Rhome wants to annex, they will have to build the population from within or get permission from landowners to do so. With this being said, Rhome needs to get busy doing something to make itself more attractive to businesses and residents alike. An industrial identity will not do this. Marketing the city would be easy, if it had its base, just by utilizing its name. The bottom line is, Rhome can control its destiny or let destiny control Rhome.

Rhome you’ve been asleep for forty years, it’s time to wake up.


I would like to sincerely thank Mark Schluter for his time and input.




http://www.texasescapes.com/CentralTexasTownsNorth/RhomeTexas/RhomeTxRockGasStation0207BG.jpg
http://www.halff.com/aboutus.php
http://www.city-data.com/city/Rhome-Texas.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Frisco-Texas.html
http://www.halff.com/aboutus.php
http://www.infoplease.com/us/census/data/texas/frisco/
http://www.city-data.com/city/Argyle-Texas.html
http://www.localcolorart.com/Argyle,_Texas/encyclopedia.htm
http://www.argyletx.com/
http://www.ci.frisco.tx.us/Pages/Default.aspx
http://www.roanoketexas.com/

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/?link=LG