Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer,

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...

, and Wichita counties. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 104,553, making it the 38th-most populous city in Texas. In addition, its central business district is 5 miles (8 km) from

Sheppard Air Force Base Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the largest training base and most diversified in Air Education ...

, which is home to the Air Force's largest technical training wing and the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program, the world's only multinationally staffed and managed flying training program chartered to produce combat pilots for both USAF and NATO. The city is home to the Newby-McMahon Building (otherwise known as the "

world's littlest skyscraper The Newby–McMahon Building, commonly referred to as the World's littlest skyscraper, is located at 511 7th Street (on the corner of Seventh and La Salle streets) in downtown Wichita Falls, Texas. It is a late Neoclassical style red brick and ...

"), constructed downtown in 1919 and featured in Robert Ripley's '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!''.

History

The Choctaw Native Americans settled the area in the early 1800s from their native Mississippi area once Americans negotiated to relocate them after the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. The treaty was signed and proclaimed in 1830-1831. As late as 1841, a large Indian settlement was present in the area that is now the city of Wichita Falls. American settlers arrived in the 1860s, mainly as cattle ranchers. The city was named Wichita Falls on September 27, 1876, as the Wichita River runs through the area and there was a waterfall in the river’s course in 1876. Just ten years later in 1886, a flood destroyed the original

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

on the Wichita River for which the city was named. After nearly 100 years of visitors wanting to visit the no longer existing falls, the city built an

artificial waterfall An artificial waterfall is a water feature or fountain which imitates a natural waterfall. Artificial waterfalls have long been featured in traditional Japanese gardens, where they can serve to highlight a scene or to provide focus. The clas ...

beside the river in Lucy Park. The recreated falls are high and recirculate at 3,500 gallons per minute. They are visible to south-bound traffic on Interstate 44. 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 Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

. Kemp and Kell were pioneers in food processing and retailing, flour milling, railroads, cattle, banking, and oil. 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 American Petrofina) until 1965. Both firms continued to use a portion of their former refineries as gasoline/oil terminal facilities for many years.

1964 tornado

A devastating

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, alt ...

hit the north and northwest portions of Wichita Falls along with Sheppard Air Force Base during the afternoon of April 3, 1964 (later referred to as "Black Friday"). As the first violent tornado on record to hit the Wichita Falls area, it left seven dead and more than 100 injured. Additionally, the tornado caused roughly $15 million in property damage with about 225 homes destroyed and another 250 damaged. It was rated F5, the highest rating on the Fujita scale, but it is overshadowed by the 1979 tornado.

1979 tornado

An F4 tornado struck the heavily populated southern sections of Wichita Falls in the late afternoon on Tuesday, April 10, 1979 (known as "Terrible Tuesday"). It was part of an outbreak that produced 30 tornadoes around the region. Despite having nearly an hour's advance warning that severe weather was imminent, 42 people were killed (including 25 in vehicles) and 1,800 were injured because it arrived just as many people were driving home from work. It left 20,000 people homeless and caused $400 million in damage, a U.S. record not topped by an individual tornado until the F5 Moore–Oklahoma City tornado of May 3, 1999.

Geography and climate

Wichita Falls is about south of the border with Oklahoma, northwest of Fort Worth, and southwest of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

. According to the

United States 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 th ...

, the city has a total area of , of which are land and (0.03%) is covered by water. Wichita Falls experiences a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Cfa''), featuring long, very hot and humid summers, and cool winters. The city has some of the highest summer daily maximum temperatures in the entire U.S. outside of the

Desert Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, ...

. Temperatures have hit as early as March 27 and as late as October 17, but more typically reach that level on 28 days annually, with 102 days of or higher annually; the average window for the latter mark is April 9–October 10. However, 59 to 60 nights of freezing lows occur, and an average of 4.8 days where the high does not rise above freezing. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July. The record low temperature is on January 4, 1947. The highest recorded temperature is on June 28, 1980. Snowfall is sporadic and averages per season, while rainfall is typically greatest in early summer. From 2010 through 2013 Wichita Falls, along with a large portion of the south-central US, experienced a persistent drought. In September 2011, Wichita Falls became the first Texas city to have 100 days of or higher within one year. On every day from June 22 to August 12, the temperature reached 100 °F or higher, and from May 27 to September 3, the temperature reached 90 °F or higher. In addition, the all-time warm daily minimum of was set on July 26, and June, July, and August of that year were all the hottest on record. During the

2015 Texas–Oklahoma floods Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album) ...

, Wichita Falls broke its all-time record for the wettest month, with 17.00 inches of rain recorded in May 2015. ''Notes'':

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 102,316 people, 37,297 households, and 23,087 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, 104,197 people, 37,970 households, and 24,984 families resided in the city. The population density was . The 41,916 housing units averaged . 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 city was 75.1% White, 12.4% African American, 0.9% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 6.4% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 14.0% of the population. Of the 37,970 households, 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were not families. About 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46, and the average family size was 3.04. In the city, the population was distributed as 24.7% under the age of 18, 15.2% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,554, and for a family was $39,911. Males had a median income of $27,609 versus $21,877 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,761. About 10.8% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Top employers

According to Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce, the top employers in the city are:

Media

Wichita Falls is part of a bi-state

media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

that also includes the nearby, smaller city of

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in southwestern Oklahoma, approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton, Oklahoma, metropolitan statistical ...

. According to Nielsen Media Research estimates for the 2016–17 season, the market – which encompasses ten counties in western north Texas and six counties in southwestern Oklahoma, has 152,950 households with at least one television set, making it the 148th-largest television market in the United States; the market also has an average of 120,200 radio listeners ages 12 and over, making it the 250th largest radio market in the nation.

Newspapers

* '' Times Record News'' (daily) * ''Falls News Journal'' (daily)

Television stations

KFDX-TV KFDX-TV (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Wichita Falls, Texas, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the western Texoma area. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power MyNetworkTV affiliate KJBO-LD (chann ...

(channel 3; NBC) * KAUZ-TV (channel 6; CBS, and digital subchannel 6.2;

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

) *

KSWO-TV KSWO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Lawton, Oklahoma, United States, serving the western Texoma area as an affiliate of ABC and Telemundo. It is owned by Gray Television, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) wi ...

(channel 7; ABC, and digital subchannel 7.2;

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with pr ...

) *

KJTL KJTL (channel 18) is a television station licensed to Wichita Falls, Texas, United States, serving as the Fox for the western Texoma area. It is owned by locally based Mission Broadcasting as its flagship station; Mission maintains joint sales ...

(channel 18; Fox) *

KJBO-LD KJBO-LD (channel 35) is a low-power television station in Wichita Falls, Texas, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside NBC affiliate KFDX-TV (channel 3); Nexstar also provides certain services F ...

(channel 35; MyNetworkTV) KERA-TV out of

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

– Fort Worth serves as the default PBS member station for Wichita Falls via a translator station on UHF channel 44.

Radio stations

* KWFS (1290 AM;

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to event ...

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

) * KMCU (88.7 FM;

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

) * KMOC (89.5 FM; Contemporary Christian) * KZKL (90.5 FM; Contemporary Christian) * KNIN (92.9 FM; CHR) *

KOLI Koli may refer to: Places * Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland * Koli National Park, a national park in Finland * Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific Other uses * Koli peopl ...

(94.9 FM;

Modern Country Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, old ...

) *

KTWF KTWF (95.5 FM, "K-Hits") is a radio station licensed to Scotland, Texas serving the Wichita Falls, Texas area with a classic hits format. The station is owned and operated by LKCM Radio Group. KTWF's studios are located on Call Field Rd in the ...

(95.5 FM;

Classic Country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on inn ...

) * KXXN (97.5 FM;

) * KLUR (99.9 FM;

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

) * KWFB (100.9 FM; Adult hits) *

KWFS-FM KWFS-FM (102.3 MHz branded as "102.3 The Bull") is a radio station serving the Wichita Falls area with a modern country format. It is under ownership of Townsquare Media. History KNTO-FM, the first FM station in the Wichita Falls area, went o ...

(102.3 FM;

) * KQXC (103.9 FM;

Rhythmic CHR Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics * Rhythmic (chart) The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, a ...

) * KYYI (104.7 FM;

Classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

) *

KBZS KBZS (106.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a mainstream rock format. Licensed to Wichita Falls, Texas, United States, the station serves the Wichita Falls area. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media and features programming f ...

(106.3 FM; Active rock)

Sports and recreation

Kay Yeager Coliseum, Wichita Falls, TX IMG 6903

Recreation

Lake Wichita

Lucy Park

Lucy Park is a park with a log cabin, duck pond, swimming pool, playground,

frisbee golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

course, and picnic areas. It has multiple paved walkways suitable for walking, running, biking, or rollerskating, including a river walk that goes to a recreation of the original falls for which the city was named (the original falls were destroyed in a 19th-century flood; the new falls were built in response to numerous tourist requests to visit the "Wichita Falls"). It is one of 37 parks throughout the city. The parks range in size from small neighborhood facilities to the 258 acres of Weeks Park featuring the Champions Course at Weeks Park, an 18-hole golf course. In addition, an off-leash dog park is within Lake Wichita Park and a skatepark adjacent to the city's softball complex. Also, unpaved trails for off-road biking and hiking are available.

Hotter'N Hell Hundred

Wichita Falls is the home of the annual Hotter'N Hell Hundred, the largest single day century bicycle ride in the United States and one of the largest races in the world. The race started as a way for the city to celebrate its centennial in 1982. The race takes place over a weekend in August, and there are multiple events for people to participate in.

Sports

In 2014, the

Wichita Falls Nighthawks The Wichita Falls Nighthawks were a professional indoor American football team. They were based in Wichita Falls, Texas. The team was headquartered in Wichita Falls and played its home games at Kay Yeager Coliseum. The Nighthawks first joined th ...

, an indoor football team, joined the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams am ...

but suspended operations after the 2017 season. The city has also been home to a number of semi-professional, developmental, and minor league sports teams, including the Wichita Falls Drillers, a semi-pro football team that has won numerous league titles and a national championship; Wichita Falls Kings (formerly known as Wichita Falls Razorbacks), the professional basketball team

Wichita Falls Texans The Wichita Falls Texans were a minor league basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association from 1988 to 1994. The team was located in Wichita Falls, Texas, and played their games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, located on the campus of Midwes ...

of the Continental Basketball Association;

Wichita Falls Fever The Wichita Falls Fever was an American soccer club based in Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Stat ...

in the

Lone Star Soccer Alliance Lone Star Soccer Alliance was a soccer league that existed from 1987 to 1992. While most of the teams came from Texas, some also came from Oklahoma and Kansas. History First proposed by the Houston Dynamos, on April 18, 1987, the Lone Star So ...

(1989–92); the Wichita Falls Spudders baseball team in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

; the

Wichita Falls Wildcats The Wichita Falls Wildcats were a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's South Division. The Wildcats played out of the 7,380-seat Kay Yeager Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas. After failing to find a buyer, the Wi ...

(formerly the Wichita Falls Rustlers) of the North American Hockey League, an American Tier II junior hockey league; and the Wichita Falls Roughnecks (formerly the Graham Roughnecks) of the Texas Collegiate League. The

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

held training camp in Wichita Falls during the late 1990s. However, the sustainability of minor or rookie league sports franchises in the Wichita Falls region have a questionable future. The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame relocated to Wichita Falls from

Amsterdam, New York Amsterdam is a city in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,219. The city is named after Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The City of Amsterdam is surrounded on the northern, east ...

, in November 2015.

Government

Local government

The mayor of Wichita Falls is Stephen Santellana, who was elected in 2016 and reelected in 2018. Mayors are elected on a nonpartisan ballot. The Wichita Falls City Council has six members, as follows. * District 1: Michael Smith * District 2: DeAndra Chenault * District 3: Jeff Browning * District 4: Tim Brewer * District 5: Steve Jackson * At-Large: Bobby Whiteley The city manager is Darron Leiker.

State and federal politics

Wichita Falls is located in the 69th district of the Texas House of Representatives.

Lanham Lyne Fritz Lanham Lyne, Jr. (born June 20, 1955), is a businessman from Wichita Falls, Texas, who was from 2011 to 2013 a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 69 in Wichita and Archer counties in North Texas. From ...

, a Republican, represented the district from 2011 to 2013; he was the mayor of Wichita Falls from 2005 to 2010. When Lyne declined to seek a second term in 2012, voters chose another Republican,

James Frank James Boisfeuillet Frank (born November 23, 1966) is a businessman from Wichita Falls, Texas, who is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 69, which encompasses Archer, Baylor, Clay, Foard, Knox, and Wichita ...

. Wichita Falls is located in the 30th district of the Texas Senate.

Craig Estes Craig Linton Estes (born August 20, 1953) is an American businessman and former Republican member of the Texas Senate for the 30th District. He served on the Health and Human Services, Nominations, and State Affairs Committees, and was t ...

, a Republican, had held the senate seat since 2001, until Pat Fallon won election in 2018. Wichita Falls is part of Texas's 13th congressional district for the U.S. House of Representatives. Ronny Jackson, a Republican, has held this seat since 2021. The 13th District is considered the most conservative district in the country, according to the Cook Political Report 2018. The

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jai ...

James V. Allred Unit is located in Wichita Falls, northwest of downtown Wichita Falls. The prison is named for former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

James V. Allred, a Democrat and a native of Bowie, Texas, who lived early in his career in Wichita Falls." The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

operates the Wichita Falls Post Office, the Morningside Post Office, the Bridge Creek Post Office, and the

Post Office.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public primary and secondary education is covered by the following school districts: Wichita Falls Independent School District,

City View Independent School District City View Independent School District is a public school district based in Wichita Falls, Texas (USA). Northwestern portions of Wichita Falls are served by the district, as well as a small section of Pleasant Valley. In 2009, the school distric ...

Burkburnett Independent School District Burkburnett Independent School District is a public school district based in Burkburnett, Texas, United States. The district is located in northeastern Wichita County and also serves Cashion Community and a small section of Wichita Falls. A sma ...

, and

Iowa Park Consolidated Independent School District Iowa Park Consolidated Independent School District is a public school district based in Iowa Park, Texas (USA). Located in central Wichita County, the district extends into a small portion of northwestern Archer County. In Wichita County the di ...

. Several private and parochial schools operate in the city, as does an active

home-school Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

community. Many of the local elementary schools participate in the Head Start program for preschool-aged children. Two schools in the Wichita Falls ISD participate in the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...

programs. Hirschi High School offers the IB Diploma Programme, and G.H. Kirby Junior High School for the

Middle Years Programme The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) is an educational programme for students between the ages of 11 to 16 around the world as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum. Middle Year Programme is intended to pr ...

. Other public high schools are Wichita Falls High School and

S. H. Rider High School S.H. Rider High School is a public school in Wichita Falls, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls Independent School District. The school opened in 1961 and serves students in grades nine through twelve. History The school op ...

(Wichita Falls ISD) and City View High School (City View ISD). By 1879 the first school was established. The first public school was a log cabin structure established in the 1880s; in 1885 it was replaced with a former courthouse. Wichita Falls High School opened in 1890. That year a school district was created, but problems with the law allowing its establishment meant it was dissolved in 1894 and the city provided schooling until the second establishment of a school district in 1900. In 1908 the Texas Legislature issued a charter for WFISD. There is a school for German children, Deutsche Schule Sheppard (DSS).

Higher education

Midwestern State University Hardin Administration Building

Wichita Falls is home to

Midwestern State University Midwestern State University (MSU Texas) is a public liberal arts university in Wichita Falls, Texas. In 2020 it had 5,141 undergraduate students. It is the state's only public institution focused on the liberal arts. History Founded in 1922 ...

, an accredited four-year college in the Texas Tech University System and the only independent liberal arts college in Texas offering both bachelor's and master's degrees. Vernon College is the designated community college for all of Wichita County. A local branch nearby offers two-year degrees, certificate programs, and workforce development programs

Wayland Baptist University Wayland Baptist University (WBU) is a private Baptist university based in Plainview, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). Wayland Baptist has 11 campuses in five Texas cities, six s ...

, offering both bachelor's and master's degrees, has its main branch located in Plainview, Texas.

Transportation

Highways

Wichita Falls is the western terminus for Interstate 44.

U.S. Highways The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

leading to or through Wichita Falls include 287,

277 __NOTOC__ Year 277 ( CCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Paulinus (or, less frequently, year 1030 ''A ...

, 281, and 82. State Highway 240 ends at Wichita Falls and State Highway 79 runs through it. Wichita Falls has one of the largest freeway mileages for a city of its size as a result of a 1954 bond issue approved by city and county voters to purchase rights-of-way for several expressway routes through the city and county, the first of which was opened in the year 1958 as an alignment of U.S. 287 from Eighth Street at Broad and Holliday Streets northwestward across the Wichita River and bisecting Lucy and Scotland Parks to the Old Iowa Park Road, the original U.S. 287 alignment. That was followed by other expressway links including U.S. 82–287 east to Henrietta (completed in the year 1968), U.S. 281 south toward Jacksboro (completed 1969), U.S. 287 northwest to Iowa Park and Electra (opened 1962), Interstate 44 north to

Burkburnett Burkburnett is a city in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas metropolitan statistical area. Its population was 10,811 at the 2010 census. The community newspaper, the ''Burkburnett Informer/Star,'' is publi ...

and the Red River (opened 1964), and Interstate 44 from Old Iowa Park Road to U.S. 287/Spur 325 interchange on the city's north side along with Spur 325 from I-44/U.S. 287 to the main gate of Sheppard Air Force Base (both completed as a single project in 1960). However, cross-country traffic for many years had to contend with several ground-level intersections and traffic lights over Holliday and Broad Streets near the downtown area for about 13 blocks between connecting expressway links until a new elevated freeway running overhead was completed in 2001. Efforts to create an additional freeway along the path of Kell Boulevard for U.S. 82–277 began in 1967 with the acquisition of right-of-way that included a former railroad right-of-way and the first project including construction of the present frontage roads completed in 1977, followed by freeway lanes, overpasses, and on/off ramps in 1989 from just east of Brook Avenue west to Kemp Boulevard; similar projects west from Kemp to Barnett Road in 2001 followed by Barnett Road west past FM 369 in 2010 to tie in which a project now underway to transform U.S. 277 into a continuous four-lane expressway between Wichita Falls and Abilene.

Public transportation

The city operates a bus system, Falls Ride, which runs on an hourly schedule with seven routes (except on Sundays, when only one route is in operation).

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and ...

provides intercity bus service to other locations served by Greyhound via its new terminal at the Wichita Falls Travel Center located at Fourth and Scott in downtown. Skylark Van Service shuttles passengers to and from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on several runs during the day all week long. The Wichita Falls Municipal Airport is served by American Eagle, with four flights daily to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The

Kickapoo Downtown Airport Kickapoo Downtown Airport is a city-owned public use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) south of the central business district of Wichita Falls, a city in Wichita County, Texas, United States. Although most U.S. airports use ...

and the Wichita Valley Airport serve smaller, private planes.

Landmarks

File:Newby-McMahon Building, 1919.JPG, Newby-McMahon Building, completed in 1919, also known as the "Worlds Littlest Skyscraper" File:Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Wichita Falls, TX IMG 7043.JPG, Sacred Heart Catholic Church File:Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd (1915) Wichita Falls.jpg, Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 1915 File:Railroad exhibit at Depot Square in Wichita Falls, TX IMG 6975.JPG, Railroad exhibit at Depot Square File:Memorial Auditorium (1927) Wichita Falls.jpg, The Wichita Falls City Hall occupies the bottom floor of the Memorial Auditorium, 1927

Notable people

Chase Anderson Robert Chase Anderson (born November 30, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies ...

, professional baseball player (born in Wichita Falls and graduated from

). * Greg Abbott, 48th Governor of Texas, first term began January 20, 2015 (born in Wichita Falls). * JT Barrett, quarterback for

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pub ...

, born in Wichita Falls and graduated from Rider in 2013 *

Lindy Berry Lindy Berry (December 21, 1927 – April 19, 2014) was an American gridiron football quarterback. He played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs at Texas Christian University. Berry was selected in the 1950 NFL Draft, and played profession ...

, MVP quarterback with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...

. * Ryan Brasier, baseball player (born in Wichita Falls and graduated from

). *

John Bundy John Bundy is an American magician and magic consultant based in South Plainfield, New Jersey.Howell, Dave"Spotlight On John Bundy's Spooktacular High-tech Show Owes As Much To Broadway As To Magic" ''The Morning Call'', May 3, 1997. Accessed Octo ...

, magician * Raymond Carroll, renowned statistician now at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M Unive ...

(born in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan, grew up in Wichita Falls). *

Frank Kell Cahoon Frank Kell Cahoon (June 20, 1934 - January 30, 2013) was an American politician who served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1965 to 1969. Cahoon was born in Austin, Texas and grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas. Cahoon went to Colorado Scho ...

, Midland oilman and member of Texas House of Representatives; grandson of Frank Kell (born in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, grew up in Wichita Falls). *

Greyson Chance Greyson Michael Chance (born August 16, 1997) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He rose to national attention in 2010 with his performance of Lady Gaga's " Paparazzi" at a grade school music festival which went viral on YouTube, g ...

, singer-songwriter and pianist (born in Wichita Falls and grew up in

Edmond, Oklahoma Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. The population was 94,428 according to the 2020 United States Census, making it the fifth largest c ...

). * Don Cherry, charting pop singer and leading amateur golfer of 1950s and early '60s (born in Wichita Falls, died in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

). * Bert Clark, football coach, former head coach at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

(born in Wichita Falls, died in Katy, Texas). * Phyllis Coates, film and television actress who originated role of Lois Lane in first 26 episodes of '' Adventures of Superman'' (born in Wichita Falls, currently lives in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

). * William C. Conner (1920–2009),

federal judge Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level. United States A US federal judge is appointed by the US President and confirmed by the US Senate in accordance with Article 3 ...

for

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New ...

(born in Wichita Falls, died in Bronxville, New York). *

Hunter Dozier Hunter William Dozier (born August 22, 1991) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Royals selected Dozier eighth overall in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft afte ...

Professional Baseball Player for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Nic Endo Nic Endo (born January 7, 1976) is a Japanese-German-American noise musician who plays with the German digital hardcore group Atari Teenage Riot. The daughter of a Japanese mother and a German father, Endo was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, US. ...

, singer for digital-hardcore band

Atari Teenage Riot Atari Teenage Riot (ATR) is a German band formed in Berlin in 1992. Highly political, they fuse left-wing, anarchist and anti-fascist views with punk vocals and a techno sound called digital hardcore, which is a term band member Alec Empire u ...

* "Cowboy" Morgan Evans, rodeo champion * Sally Gary, speaker and author * Mia Hamm, NCAA, World Cup, and Olympic champion soccer player, attended

Notre Dame Catholic School Notre Dame RC School is a Roman Catholic school for girls in Derriford, Plymouth, England. Its sister school is St Boniface's Catholic College. The former headteacher, Fiona Hutchings, was headteacher from 2001 until July 2012. Kate White, the ...

in Wichita Falls *

Roberta Haynes Roberta Haynes (born Roberta Arline Schack; August 19, 1927 – April 4, 2019) was an American actress who was active from 1947 until 1989. Early life She was born Roberta Arline Schack in Wichita Falls, Texas on August 19, 1927, to Willia ...

, actress *

Eddie Hill Eddie Hill (born March 6, 1936) is an American retired drag racer who won numerous drag racing championships on land and water. Hill had the first run in the four second range (4.990 seconds), which earned him the nickname "Four Fath ...

, drag racer * Frank N. Ikard, U.S. representative from Texas's 13th congressional district from 1951 to 1961; oil industry lobbyist *

Robert Jeffress Robert James Jeffress Jr. (born November 29, 1955) is an American Southern Baptist pastor, author, radio host, and televangelist. He is the senior pastor of the 14,000-member First Baptist Church, a megachurch in Dallas, Texas and is a Fox News ...

, Baptist clergyman *

Neel Kearby Neel Ernest Kearby (June 5, 1911 – March 5, 1944) was a United States Army Air Forces colonel and P-47 Thunderbolt pilot in World War II who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in combat. Kearby is the first United States Army Air Forc ...

, World War II US Army Air Forces flying ace and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...

recipient * Keith Lee, professional Wrestler * Khari Long, professional football player * Rosie Manning, professional football player *

Markelle Martin Markelle Martin (born June 20, 1990) is a former American football Safety (American and Canadian football position), safety. He played college football at Oklahoma State Cowboys football, Oklahoma State and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in t ...

, professional football player * Phil McGraw, advice television show host * Ed Neal, professional football player * David Nelson, professional football player * Don Owen, Louisiana news anchor and politician from Shreveport,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

, got his start at KFDX-TV in Wichita Falls in 1953. *

Graham B. Purcell, Jr. Graham Boynton Purcell Jr. (May 5, 1919 – June 11, 2011), was a United States representative from Texas' 13th congressional district. Born in Archer City in Archer County, a part of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, Purc ...

, Democrat, U.S. representative 1962–1973; post office on Lamar Street in downtown Wichita Falls is named in his honor * Frances Reid, soap opera actress *

Mark Rippetoe Mark Rippetoe (born February 12, 1956) is an American strength training coach, author, former powerlifter, and gym owner.Herbert Rogers Herbert James Rogers (6 March 1893 — 12 October 1916) was an English first-class cricketer and soldier. Cricket and WWI service The son of Peter and Ellen Rogers, he was born at Frimley in March 1893. He was educated in Oxford at the Bedfor ...

, classical pianist * Lloyd Ruby, race car driver * Bernard Scott, professional football player *

Frank Lee Sprague Frank Lee Sprague (January 8, 1958 – September 2, 2018) was an American guitarist and composer. He wrote both songs and concert pieces, with his catalog numbering over 1000 works, including two string quartets, three symphonies, many chamber mu ...

, composer and musician * Keith Stegall, country music artist and record producer *

Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne Tillerson (born March 23, 1952) is an American engineer and energy executive who served as the 69th U.S. secretary of state from February 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, under President Donald Trump. Prior to joining the Trump administ ...

, 69th United States Secretary of State, former ExxonMobil CEO *

John Tower John Goodwin Tower (September 29, 1925 – April 5, 1991) was an American politician, serving as a Republican United States Senator from Texas from 1961 to 1985. He was the first Republican Senator elected from Texas since Reconstruction. Towe ...

, U.S. Senator from 1961 to 1984 * Tommy Tune, actor, dancer, choreographer and producer, 10-time

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

winner *

Nathan Vasher Nathaniel DeWayne Vasher (born November 17, 1981) is a former American football cornerback who played seven seasons in the National Football League. He played college football at Texas and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of ...

, professional football player *

John Edward Williams John Edward Williams (August 29, 1922 – March 3, 1994) was an American author, editor and professor. He was best known for his novels ''Butcher's Crossing'' (1960), '' Stoner'' (1965), and ''Augustus'' (1972),Ronnie Williams Ronald Clive Williams (29 March 1939 28 December 1997) was a Welsh actor and comedian, who remains best known for his association with Ryan Davies during the 1970s. Ronnie Williams began his career as an actor, but struggled for recognition, ...

, professional football player * Dave Willis, voice actor, screenwriter, television producer * Shaunie O’Neal, American television personality

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{authority control 1876 establishments in Texas Cities in Wichita County, Texas County seats in Texas . Populated riverside places in the United States Cities in Texas