Wise County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers 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 of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. 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 ...

is Decatur. Wise County is part of the

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 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. Accord ...

– 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 as a city or tow ...

. 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 Me ...

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, 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 "fra ...

. 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 (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 ...

(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 as ...

(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 Pequonn ...

* Decatur (county seat) *

(mostly in Tarrant County 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 and Wise Counties) * Lake Bridgeport * New Fairview * Newark (small part in Tarrant County) *

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 para ...

* Rhome * Runaway Bay

Towns

* Alvord * Boyd * Chico

Census-designated places

* Briar (partly in Tarrant and Parker Counties) * Pecan Acres (mostly in Tarrant County)

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 RosenberPopu ...

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 Am ...

, 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 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 * Boyd Independent School District * Bridgeport Independent School District *

Chico Independent School District Chico Independent School District is a public school district based in Chico, Texas ( USA). The mascot of this school district is The Mighty Dragons. In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Age ...

* Decatur Independent School District * Paradise Independent School District * Slidell Independent School District This private educational institution serves Wise County: * Victory Christian Academy This higher education institution serves Wise County: * Weatherford College

Transportation

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 81 * 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 Bridgeport Municipal Airport is a public airport near Bridgeport, in Wise County, Texas. It is owned by the City of Bridgeport and is located southwest of the central business district. Most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location ...

(XBP) * Decatur Municipal Airport (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