Watauga () is a city in

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

, United States, and a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. The population was 23,650 at the 2020 census. The city's businesses and retail markets are generally located on Highway 377.

History

The first settlers came to Tarrant County in 1843. The

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. However its lines never went we ...

came through present-day Watauga in 1881, which spurred a settlement of large farms and ranches. The settlement took its name from the pre- Revolutionary War Watauga Association settlement that was located in the northeastern section of

East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 coun ...

, in areas surrounding the

Sycamore Shoals The Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River, usually shortened to Sycamore Shoals, is a rocky stretch of river rapids along the Watauga River in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Archeological excavations have found Native Americans lived near the shoals ...

of the

Watauga River The Watauga River () is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is long with its headwaters in Linville Gap to the South Fork Holston River at Boone Lake. Course The Watauga River rises from a spring located south to ...

, near present-day

Elizabethton, Tennessee Elizabethton () is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of ...

. Watauga received a railroad station and a post office in 1883. The population was 65 in the mid-1930s and 1940s, when the railroad station had closed. The population then grew due to defense plants to over 1000 in the 1960s. The population continued to grow to 7,050 in 1976, and 20,000 in 1990.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of 4.2 square miles (10.8 km), all land. The city is entirely surrounded by the cities of Keller to the north,

to the west, Haltom City to the southwest and North Richland Hills to the south and east. Almost all of the city's land area is located east of US 377, though a portion extends west of that highway and includes homes and some city offices.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 23,650 people, 7,827 households, and 6,100 families residing in the city.

Economy

Top employers

According to Watauga's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,City of Watauga ACFR
Retrieved 2023-08-24 the top employers in the city are:

Arts and culture

Capp Smith Park, Watauga Pavilion and Watauga Public Library are located in Watauga.

Government

Watauga is a full-service city, providing police, fire and emergency services, parks and recreation, a library, building inspection, economic development, city planning, and public works. The city operates under a Mayor-Council-Manager form of government. According to the city's 2013-2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $25.5 million in revenues, $23.3 million in expenditures, $102.8 million in total assets, $32.8 million in total liabilities, and $27.5 million in cash and investments.City of Watauga 2013-14 CAFR
Retrieved 2015-06-22

Education

Watauga is served by two independent school districts. Birdville serves a majority of the city, while Keller serves the northwestern portion.

Infrastructure

* U.S. Route 377

Notes

References

External links

City of Watauga
official website {{authority control Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Cities in Tarrant County, Texas Cities in Texas