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is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown Metropolitan Area. Stafford is mostly in Fort Bend County with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 15,681.
Due to its abundance of revenue-generating industry and prime business location between Sugar Land and Houston, Stafford has perhaps one of the most distinctive and financially strong municipal governments in the state of Texas.
The city has the only municipal school district (Stafford Municipal School District) in all of Texas. Stafford is served by the Houston Community College System and has a campus within the city.
Stafford does not have a municipal property tax as of 1995 and the sales tax is 0.5% less than all of the surrounding cities. Even though it is known as a bedroom community of the greater Houston area, it is estimated that four times as many people work in Stafford on a week day, which is evidence of the large amount of commercial activity that helps the city financially.
Many corporations both large and small including United Parcel Service, Texas Instruments, and Tyco all maintain significant operations in Stafford.
As of 2008 the Mayor of Stafford is Leonard Scarcella, who was first elected in 1969 and has been a lifelong resident of the city.
William Stafford established a plantation with a cane mill and a horse-powered cotton gin in 1830. On April 15, 1836, during the Texas Revolution, the forces of Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana stopped at Stafford's plantation and ordered it to be burned. Stafford rebuilt his plantation and resided there until his 1840 death. A settlement called
established itself around the plantation; it became a townsite in August 1853 when the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway began stopping at Stafford Point. Stafford Point had a post office from 1854 to 1869.
had a post office from January 5, 1869 to February 26, 1869. The settlement, now known as
In 1884, Stafford had 50 residents, two general stores, and a grocer. By 1896 the settlement had a population of 300. By 1914 the population fell to 100. In 1931 320 people lived in Stafford. This increased to 400 residents in 1946. Stafford incorporated as a city in 1956.