Wichita County ( ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 129,350. 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 ...

is Wichita Falls. The county was created in 1858 and organized in 1882. Wichita County is part of the

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan area, Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer County, Tex ...

, TX metropolitan statistical area.

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 county has a total area of , of which (0.8%) are covered by water. The county is drained by the Wichita River and other streams.

Major highways

Interstate 44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is an Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Falls, T ...

* U.S. Highway 82 * U.S. Highway 277 * U.S. Highway 281 * U.S. Highway 287 * State Highway 25 * State Highway 79 * State Highway 240 * State Highway 258

Adjacent counties

* Tillman County, Oklahoma (north) *

Cotton County, Oklahoma Cotton County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 5,527. Its county seat is Walters, Oklahoma, Walters. When Oklahoma achieved statehood ...

(northeast) * Clay County (east) * Archer County (south) * Wilbarger County (west) * Baylor County (southwest)

Geology

Wichita County is part of the Texas Red Beds, which are

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...

of red-colored sedimentary rock from the

Early Permian 01 or 01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * '01 (Richard Müller album), ''01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * 01 (Urban Zakapa album), ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011 * ''01011 ...

. The fossils of Permian period vertebrates in the Texas Red Beds were first discovered by

Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontology, paleontologist, comparative anatomy, comparative anatomist, herpetology, herpetologist, and ichthyology, ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker fam ...

in 1877. Subsequent research has revealed rare fossils of Permian period amphibians like Trimerorhachis, as well as rich deposits of other Permian

tetrapod A tetrapod (; from Ancient Greek :wiktionary:τετρα-#Ancient Greek, τετρα- ''(tetra-)'' 'four' and :wiktionary:πούς#Ancient Greek, πούς ''(poús)'' 'foot') is any four-Limb (anatomy), limbed vertebrate animal of the clade Tetr ...

s such as

Dimetrodon ''Dimetrodon'' ( or ; ) is an extinct genus of sphenacodontid synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian) Epoch (geology), epoch of the Permian period, around 295–272 million years ago. With most species measuring long and ...

and Diadectes.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 131,664 people, 48,441 households, and 32,891 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . The 53,304 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 78.76% White, 10.23% African American, 0.89% Native American, 1.84% Asian, 5.60% from other races, and 2.68% from two or more races. About 12.23% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of the 48,441 households, 33.6% had children under 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were not families, with 1,869 unmarried partner households - 1,677 heterosexual, 94 same-sex male, and 98 same-sex female. About 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.49, and the average family size was 3.04. In the county, the age distribution was 25.2% under 18, 13.7% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 103.4 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,780, and for a family was $40,937. Males had a median income of $28,687 versus $21,885 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $16,965. About 10.30% of families and 13.20% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 17.40% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice James V. Allred Unit is located in Wichita County.Allred Unit
." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 10, 2010. Wichita County Commissioner Court members: County Judge Jim Johnson, Commissioner Pct. 1 Mark Beauchamp, Commissioner Pct. 2 Mickey Fincannon, Commissioner Pct. 3 Barry Mahler, and Commissioner Pct. 4 Jeff Watts The sheriff of Wichita County is David Duke. He first took office on January 1, 2009.

Politics

Wichita County is represented in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

by the Republican James Frank, a businessman from Wichita Falls. Wichita County has about 77% of the population of Texas' 69th state house district, 18% of the population of the 13th US congressional district, and 15% of the population of the 30th state senate district.

Presidential elections

Wichita County has consistently voted for the Republican Party in presidential elections since 1980. In 2008, Wichita County cast the majority of its votes for Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

; he won 31,673 votes (69%). Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

received 13,828 votes (30%). Other candidates received 1% of the vote. In 2004, Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

did better than John McCain and won 71% of the vote and 32,472 votes. Democrat

John F. Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

won 28% of the vote and 12,819 votes.

Communities

Cities

* Cashion Community * Burkburnett *

Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...

* Iowa Park * Wichita Falls (county seat)

Town

* Pleasant Valley

Unincorporated communities

* Haynesville * Kamay * Valley View

Education

School districts serving the county include: * Burkburnett Independent School District * City View Independent School District * Electra Independent School District * Holliday Independent School District *

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

* Wichita Falls Independent School District The county is in the service area of Vernon College.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.207. VERNON REGIONAL JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA

References

External links

Official Wichita County Website
*
Historic Wichita County materials
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History.

Sheppard Air Force Base Home Page
{{coord, 33.99, -98.71, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1882 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1882 Wichita Falls metropolitan area