Whitesboro is a city in

Grayson County, Texas Grayson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 135,543. The county seat is Sherman, Texas, Sherman. The county was founded in 1846 and is named ...

, United States. The population was 4,074 at the 2020 census. Whitesboro is named for its founder, Ambrose B. White. It is part of the Sherman-Denison metropolitan area.

History

Native Americans had hunted in the area. The area was once known as "Wolfpath". The first settler in the area was Robert Diamond, but the settlement of Wolfpath began with the arrival of Ambrose B. White and his family in 1848. The

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service in ...

route used White's Westview Inn as the "Diamond Station" on its trail from the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

to the

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...

from 1858 to 1861. A post office, under the name "Whitesborough", began operations there in 1860. After the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Whitesborough grew into a frontier town where female residents were prohibited from leaving their homes on Saturday nights because shootings were so common. Whitesborough had a population of 500, saloons, several stores, and other businesses when it was incorporated on June 2, 1873. By 1879, it had a bank, a newspaper, and train service from Denison on a line from the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad. In 1887, it altered the spelling of its name to "Whitesboro".Brian Hart, "WHITESBORO, TX," Handbook of Texas Online (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hgw09), accessed May 28, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. In 1903, racial tensions were high in Whitesboro after an "Anti-White Man's Club" left a note threatening to poison local wells and "foully treat" and murder "some white girl". Later that year, a black male was held by police for identification following an alleged attempted rape of a white Whitesboro woman. A large mob broke into the man's cell and attempted to hang him from a tree; he was rescued by police. The mob then fired guns toward homes occupied by blacks, and ordered them to leave town, resulting in the large exodus of a once majority black town. It was suspected that threats made from the "Anti-White man's club" were fabricated notes from white residents of Whitesboro created in order to create fake hysteria and further racial tensions. Whitesboro is believed to have once been a sundown town, meaning only white people were allowed in after dark, and black people found after dark were murdered.

Geography

Whitesboro is located in western Grayson County. U.S. Route 82 passes through the northern side of the city, and U.S. Route 377 passes through the eastern side. US 82 leads east to Sherman, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and west to Gainesville, while US 377 leads north to the

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

border on the Red River and south to Denton. 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 ...

, Whitesboro has a total area of , of which , or 0.18%, are water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,074 people, 1,593 households, and 1,065 families residing in the city.

Education

The city is served by the Whitesboro Independent School District.

Notable people

Rayford Barnes Rayford Barnes (October 23, 1920 – November 11, 2000) was an American film and TV character actor from Whitesboro, Texas. Early years Barnes was born in Dallas, Texas, and attended the University of Texas. He acted in plays at the universit ...

(1920–2000), actor * Etta Gray (1880–1970), physician * Lydia Starr McPherson (1827–1903), founded ''Whitesboro Democrat'' newspaper in the late 1870s * Jared L. Patterson, member of the Texas House of Representatives * Ray Renfro, professional football player * Grizzly Smith, professional wrestler

References

External links

*
Whitesboro Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in Grayson County, Texas Cities in Texas Butterfield Overland Mail in Texas Stagecoach stops in the United States