Friendswood, Texas

Friendswood is a city in the U.S. state of Texas outside of the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. The city lies in Galveston and Harris counties. As of the 2010 census, the population of Friendswood was 35,805.

In 2007, CNN/Money Magazine listed Friendswood as one of 100 "America's Best Places to Live" for that year, making it one of 900 small towns recognized since the rankings first began in 2005.

History

Friendswood was founded in 1895 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).

Geography

Friendswood is located at 29°30′45″N 95°11′53″W / 29.51250°N 95.19806°W / 29.51250; -95.19806 (29.512532, -95.197933).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city covers a total area of 20.9 square miles (54.1 km²), of which 20.7 square miles (53.7 km²) is land area and 0.15 square miles (0.4 km²), or 0.69%, is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 29,037 people, 10,107 households, and 8,085 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,381.2 people per square mile (533.4/km²). There were 10,405 housing units at an average density of 495.0 per square mile (191.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.09% White, 2.70% African American, 0.40% Native American, 2.39% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.79% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.79% of the population.

Friendswood (novel)

Friendswood is a 2014 novel by René Steinke. It is about an incident of dumping toxic waste in Friendswood, Texas.Riverhead Books is the publisher. The waste site featured in the book never was located in Friendswood and has never been under the jurisdiction of Friendswood.

The novel's plot involves a superfund site that is based on the real Brio Superfund site in the South Belt area, located in an unincorporated area in Harris County. The author, who lived in Brooklyn in 2014, originated from and was raised in Friendswood. The author stated that she "wanted to write about the particular textures of Friendswood itself—the Quaker church in the center of town, the humidity and heat, the local Mexican restaurant, the country music I heard so often in the background." She added that "The Friendswood in the novel is fictional. I was more interested in creating the essence of the place than its actual, factual geography."

In 2014 Elizabeth Fowler, Susan Duff, and Dannielle Thomas obtained the rights to make a film version of Friendswood.