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Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls (/ˈwɪtʃɪtɑː/ WITCH-ih-tah) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita Counties. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 102,316, making it the 43rd-most populous city in Texas. Wichita Falls is home to Midwestern State University, enrolling more than 5,500 students.
From the early 18th century to the mid 19th century, the Wichita Falls area was inhabited by the Wichita and the Comanche people. The Spanish called the lands controlled by the Comanche as Comancheria. The Wichita were forced onto a reservation in Oklahoma after 1859. The last battle with the Comanche in this area occurred in 1872 and the Comanche were finally defeated in 1874.
Anglo American presence in the area began in the 1860s. The future city was platted and named Wichita Falls on September 27, 1876, as the Wichita River runs through the area and a waterfall was in the river's course in 1876. The first permanent resident arrived in 1879. In 1886, a flood destroyed the original waterfall on the Wichita River for which the city was named. The city built an artificial waterfall in 1987 beside the river in Lucy Park. The recreated falls are 54 ft (16 m) high.
On the day the city was named in 1876, a sale of town lots was held at what is now the corner of Seventh and Ohio Streets – the birthplace of the city. The Fort Worth & Denver City Railway arrived in September 1882, the same year the city became the county seat of Wichita County. The city grew westwards from the original FW&DC train depot which was located at the northwest corner of Seventh Street and the FW&DC. This area is now referred to as the Depot Square Historic District, which has been declared a Texas Historic Landmark.
The early history of Wichita Falls well into the 20th century also rests on the work of two entrepreneurs, Joseph A. Kemp and his brother-in-law, Frank Kell. Kemp and Kell were pioneers in food processing and retailing, flour milling, railroads, cattle, banking, and oil.
The city is home to the Newby-McMahon Building (otherwise known as the "world's littlest skyscraper"), constructed downtown in 1919 and featured in Robert Ripley's Ripley's Believe It or Not!.[citation needed]
Downtown Wichita Falls was the city's main shopping area for many years. Those shops lost ground to the creation of new shopping centers throughout the city beginning with Parker Square in 1953 and other similar developments during the 1960s and 1970s, culminating with the opening of Sikes Senter Mall in 1974. The city has been seeking funding to rebuild and restore the downtown area since 2010.
Wichita Falls was once home to offices of several oil companies and related industries, along with oil refineries operated by the Continental Oil Company (now ConocoPhillips) until 1952 and Panhandle Oil Company (founded in Wichita Falls, sold to American Petrofina in 1965). Both firms continued to use a portion of their former refineries as gasoline/oil terminal facilities for many years.
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Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls (/ˈwɪtʃɪtɑː/ WITCH-ih-tah) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita Counties. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 102,316, making it the 43rd-most populous city in Texas. Wichita Falls is home to Midwestern State University, enrolling more than 5,500 students.
From the early 18th century to the mid 19th century, the Wichita Falls area was inhabited by the Wichita and the Comanche people. The Spanish called the lands controlled by the Comanche as Comancheria. The Wichita were forced onto a reservation in Oklahoma after 1859. The last battle with the Comanche in this area occurred in 1872 and the Comanche were finally defeated in 1874.
Anglo American presence in the area began in the 1860s. The future city was platted and named Wichita Falls on September 27, 1876, as the Wichita River runs through the area and a waterfall was in the river's course in 1876. The first permanent resident arrived in 1879. In 1886, a flood destroyed the original waterfall on the Wichita River for which the city was named. The city built an artificial waterfall in 1987 beside the river in Lucy Park. The recreated falls are 54 ft (16 m) high.
On the day the city was named in 1876, a sale of town lots was held at what is now the corner of Seventh and Ohio Streets – the birthplace of the city. The Fort Worth & Denver City Railway arrived in September 1882, the same year the city became the county seat of Wichita County. The city grew westwards from the original FW&DC train depot which was located at the northwest corner of Seventh Street and the FW&DC. This area is now referred to as the Depot Square Historic District, which has been declared a Texas Historic Landmark.
The early history of Wichita Falls well into the 20th century also rests on the work of two entrepreneurs, Joseph A. Kemp and his brother-in-law, Frank Kell. Kemp and Kell were pioneers in food processing and retailing, flour milling, railroads, cattle, banking, and oil.
The city is home to the Newby-McMahon Building (otherwise known as the "world's littlest skyscraper"), constructed downtown in 1919 and featured in Robert Ripley's Ripley's Believe It or Not!.[citation needed]
Downtown Wichita Falls was the city's main shopping area for many years. Those shops lost ground to the creation of new shopping centers throughout the city beginning with Parker Square in 1953 and other similar developments during the 1960s and 1970s, culminating with the opening of Sikes Senter Mall in 1974. The city has been seeking funding to rebuild and restore the downtown area since 2010.
Wichita Falls was once home to offices of several oil companies and related industries, along with oil refineries operated by the Continental Oil Company (now ConocoPhillips) until 1952 and Panhandle Oil Company (founded in Wichita Falls, sold to American Petrofina in 1965). Both firms continued to use a portion of their former refineries as gasoline/oil terminal facilities for many years.