Wise County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 68,632. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Decatur. Wise County is part of the

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

–

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

– Arlington

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

. Its Wise Eyes crime-watch program, eventually adopted by mostly rural counties in several states, was started in 1993 by then-Sheriff Phil Ryan.

History

On November 10, 1837, the Battle of the Knobs was fought in what is now Wise County between about 150 Native American warriors and 18

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

soldiers under Lieutenant A. B. Benthuysen. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Texan soldiers held their ground, killing or wounding an estimated 50 Native Americans and losing 10 of their own men. More settlers began coming into the area not long afterward, with people relocating from both the Upper South and Deep South. Wise County was not founded until 1856. It was named after Virginia Congressman

Henry A. Wise Henry Alexander Wise (December 3, 1806 – September 12, 1876) was an American attorney, diplomat, politician and slave owner from Virginia. As the 33rd Governor of Virginia, Wise served as a significant figure on the path to the American Civil W ...

, who had supported annexation of Texas by the United States. He was elected

governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

in 1856. As few residents of Wise County were slaveholders, opinions were mixed at the time of the Civil War, and many people opposed secession. Unionists were persecuted in North Texas, and some were lynched. Forty-two men were murdered in the

Great Hanging at Gainesville The Great Hanging at Gainesville was the execution by hanging of 41 suspected Unionists (men loyal to the United States) in Gainesville, Texas, in October 1862 during the American Civil War. Two additional suspects were shot by Confederate troops ...

in October 1862, over the course of several days in neighboring Cooke County. This was one of the worst examples of vigilante justice in American history. In recent years, Wise County allowed an increase in

hydraulic fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...

. In 2011, the Parr family and others filed a lawsuit against several energy companies, including Republic Energy, Inc. and Ryder Scott Petroleum, claiming the extracting processes have created health complications for their family and neighbors. In April 2014, the Parrs won a $2.9 million award from a Dallas jury.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which (2.0%) are covered by water.

Adjacent counties

* Montague County (north) * Cooke County (northeast) *

Denton County Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the 7th-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton. The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was establis ...

(east) *

Tarrant County Tarrant County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2020, it had a population of 2,110,640. It is Texas' third-most populous county and the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County, one of 2 ...

(southeast) * Parker County (south) *

Jack County Jack County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,472. Its county seat is Jacksboro. The county was created in 1856 and organized the next year. It is named for P ...

(west)

National protected area

Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) National Grassland is a national grassland located in the Great Plains of the northern part of the U.S. state of Texas near Decatur, and within an hour's drive from Fort Worth. It is primarily used for recreation, such ...

(majority)

Communities

Cities

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

* Decatur (county seat) *

(mostly in

with small parts in Denton,

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado * Parker, Florida * Parker, Idaho * Parker, Kansas * Parker, Missouri * Parker, North Carolina *Park ...

and Wise Counties) *

Lake Bridgeport Lake Bridgeport is a city in Wise County, Texas, United States. The population was 339 in 2020. Geography Lake Bridgeport is located at (33.207240, –97.830997). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.5& ...

* New Fairview *

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

(small part in

) *

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

* Rhome * Runaway Bay

Towns

* Alvord *

Boyd Boyd may refer to: Places Canada * Boyd Conservation Area, a conservation area located northwest of Toronto, Ontario * Boyd Lake (disambiguation) United States * Boyd County (disambiguation) * Boyd, Indiana * Boyd, Iowa * Boyd, Kansas * B ...

* Chico

Census-designated places

* Briar (partly in Tarrant and

Counties) * Pecan Acres (mostly in

)

Unincorporated communities

* Balsora * Boonsville * Cottondale * Greenwood * Slidell

Demographics

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' In 2000 there were 48,793 people, 17,178 households, and 13,467 families were residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 54 people per square mile (21/km²). The 19,242 housing units averaged 21 per mi² (8/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 91.01% White, 1.23% Black, 0.75% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 5.07% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. About 10.76% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. By 2020, its population increased to 68,632; the racial and ethnic makeup of the county in 2020 was predominantly

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...

, and Hispanic or Latino American of any race. A

Williams Institute The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy, usually shortened to Williams Institute, is a public policy research institute based at the UCLA School of Law focused on sexual orientation and gender ident ...

analysis of 2010 census data found about 3.4

same-sex couples A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

per 1,000 households in the county.

Politics

Wise County, like most rural counties in Texas, votes reliably for Republican candidates in statewide and national elections.

Education

These school districts lie entirely within Wise County: *

Alvord Independent School District Alvord Independent School District is a public school district based in Alvord, Texas (USA). The district is located in north central Wise County and extends into a small portion of southern Montague County. The district operates one high sch ...

Boyd Independent School District Boyd Independent School District is a public school district based in Boyd, Texas ( USA). In addition to Boyd, the district also serves a portion of the Briar community. Finances As of the 2010–2011 school year, the appraised valuation of p ...

Bridgeport Independent School District Bridgeport Independent School District is a public school district based in Bridgeport, Texas, United States. In addition to Bridgeport, the district also serves the cities of Lake Bridgeport and Runaway Bay. The district operates one high sch ...

* Chico Independent School District * Decatur Independent School District * Paradise Independent School District *

Slidell Independent School District Slidell Independent School District is a public school district based in the community of Slidell, Texas (USA). Located in Wise County, a portion of the district extends into Denton, Cooke, and Montague counties. The small community of Gre ...

This private educational institution serves Wise County: * Victory Christian Academy This higher education institution serves Wise County: *

Weatherford College Weatherford College (WC; officially Weatherford College of the Parker County Junior College District) is a public community college in Weatherford, Texas, with branch campuses in nearby Wise County, and Granbury. Organization and administrati ...

Transportation

Major highways

U.S. Highway 81 U.S. Route 81 or U.S. Highway 81 (US 81) is a major north–south U.S. highway that extends for in the central United States and is one of the original United States Numbered Highways established in 1926 by the American Association of Stat ...

* U.S. Highway 287 * U.S. Highway 380 * State Highway 101 * State Highway 114 * State Highway 199

Airports

These public-use airports are located in the county: * Bishop Airport (76T) * Bridgeport Municipal Airport (XBP) *

Decatur Municipal Airport Decatur Municipal Airport is a city-owned public airport two miles (3.7 km) north of Decatur, in Wise County, Texas. Most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, but Decatur Municipal Airport is ...

(LUD) * Heritage Creek Airstrip (58T) * Rhome Meadows Airport (T76)

References

External links

Wise County Genealogy Resources

Wise County on the Web

Wise County government's website

"Liberally Lean From The Land of Dairy Queen" - A Local Blog About Wise County

Wise County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

{{coord, 33.22, -97.65, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1856 establishments in Texas Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Populated places established in 1856