Timeline of Wichita Falls, Texas explained

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Wichita Falls, Texas, USA.

19th century

• 1879 - Barwise family settles in area.
• 1880 - Population: 433.
• 1881 - First United Methodist Church built.^[1]
• 1882 - Fort Worth and Denver City railroad begins operating.
• 1883 - First Baptist Church founded.^[2]
• 1886 - Drought begins.
• 1887 - Wichita Weekly Times newspaper begins publication.
• 1889
  • Town of Wichita Falls incorporated.
  • Otis T. Bacon becomes mayor.^[3]
• 1890 - Population: 1,978.
• 1896 - "Lynching of two bank robbers."
• 1900
  • Ladies Library Association organized.
  • Lake Wichita created near town.

20th century

• 1909 - Electric streetcar begins operating.
• 1910
  • U.S. military Call Field (airfield) begins operating near town.
  • Union Station built.
  • Gem Theatre (cinema) in business.^[4]
  • Population: 8,200.
• 1911 - Electra oil field begins operating in vicinity of town.^[5]
• 1912 - Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company plant in business.
• 1913 - Palace Theatre in business.
• 1917 - Drought begins.
• 1918
  • Kemp Public Library opens.
  • Burkburnett oil field discovered near Wichita Falls; oil boom begins.
• 1920
  • Burnett Street Bridge and Temple Israel synagogue^[6] built.
  • Population: 40,079.
• 1922
  • Wichita Falls Junior College established.
  • Women's "Manuscript Club" organized.^[7]
• 1924 - Lake Kemp and Lake Diversion created in vicinity of town.
• 1927 - Scott Avenue Bridge and Municipal Auditorium built.
• 1928 - "Airline passenger service" begins.
• 1930 - May 11: Dust storm.
• 1932 - Town/county 50th anniversary observed.
• 1933 - Wichita Gardens Homestead Colony for urban poor created (approximate date).
• 1937
  • Scott Avenue Overpass built.
  • Parking meters introduced.
• 1938
  • KWFT radio begins broadcasting.
  • Wichita Falls Day Nursery built.
  • Kamay oil discovered near Wichita Falls.
• 1941 - U.S. military Sheppard Field begins operating.
• 1947 - Lake Kickapoo created in vicinity of Wichita Falls.^[8]
• 1948 - U.S. military Sheppard Air Force Base active.
• 1950
  • Midwestern University active.
  • Population: 68,042.
• 1952 - Grant Drive-In cinema in business.
• 1953 - KAUZ-TV and KFDX-TV (television) begin broadcasting.
• 1960 - Population: 101,724.
• 1963 - Wichita Falls Ballet Theatre founded.
• 1964
  • April 3: Tornado.^[9]
  • Gates Rubber Company plant in business.
• 1966
  • Wichita Falls joins the Nortex Regional Planning Commission.
  • Lake Arrowhead created in vicinity of Wichita Falls.
• 1969 - Wilson Memorial Parkway dedicated.
• 1970
  • School's Memorial Stadium opens.
  • Board of Commerce and Industry active.
• 1978 - Wichita Falls Transit System begins operating.
• 1979 - April 10: 1979 Red River Valley tornado outbreak.
• 1982 - Wichita Falls Area Food Bank established.^{[10] [11]}
• 1986 - Artificial waterfall built at Lucy Park.
• 1987 - Times Record News in publication.^[12]
• 1995 - Mac Thornberry becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 13th congressional district.^[13]
• 1999 - City website online (approximate date).^{[14] [15]}

21st century

• 2010
  • Glenn Barham becomes mayor.
  • Population: 104,553.^[16]
  • Racially-motivated shooting spree kills one and injures four others, before the suspect committed suicide.^{[17] [18]}

See also

• Wichita Falls history
• List of mayors of Wichita Falls, Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Wichita County, Texas
• Timelines of other cities in the North Texas area of Texas: Arlington, Dallas, Denton, Fort Worth, Garland, Irving, Plano

Bibliography

• Book: Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory. 1884. R.L. Polk & Co.. St. Louis. Wichita Falls. https://archive.org/stream/texasstategazett02rlpo#page/n637/mode/2up.
• Book: Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory. 1890. R.L. Polk & Co. . Detroit. Wichita Falls. https://archive.org/stream/texasstategazett32rlpo#page/n935/mode/2up.
• Book: Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory. 1914. R.L. Polk & Co. . Detroit. Wichita Falls. https://archive.org/stream/texasstategazett03rlpo_0#page/n257/mode/2up.
• Book: New Encyclopedia of Texas. Ellis A. Davis . Edwin H. Grobe. Texas Development Bureau. Dallas. (Wichita Falls). 1926 . https://archive.org/stream/newencyclopediao01davi#page/103/mode/2up. 103–106 . circa 1926?
• Jonnie R. Morgan, The History of Wichita Falls (Wichita Falls, 1931)
  • Book: Duty, Michael . Wichita Falls: A Century of Photographs . Wichita Falls . Midwestern State University Press . 1982.
• Book: Kelly, Louise . Wichita County Beginnings . Burnet, Texas . Eakin Press . 1982.
• Book: Wilson, Steve . Wichita Falls: A Pictorial History . Norfolk, Virginia . Donning . 1982.
• Book: David J. Wishart . David J. . Wishart . Encyclopedia of the Great Plains . http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.ct.000.xml . University of Nebraska Press . 0-8032-4787-7 . 2004 . Cities and Towns: Wichita Falls, Texas.
• Book: Kenneth E. Hendrickson Jr. . Wichita Falls . Arcadia . Images of America . 978-1-4396-4625-0 . 2009 .

External links

• Web site: Historical Maps of Texas Cities: Wichita Falls . . University of Texas at Austin .
• Web site: Wichita Falls . . Austin, TX .
• Items related to Wichita Falls, Texas, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)
• Web site: United States - Texas - Wichita County - Wichita Falls . Portal to Texas History . 20 July 2023 . University of North Texas Libraries . Denton .
• Wichita County Historical Commission

Notes and References

1. Web site: A Very Short History of Wichita Falls . City of Wichita Falls . April 13, 2017 .
2. Web site: Texas Historic Sites Atlas . . Austin . April 13, 2017 .
3. Web site: Mayors of Wichita Falls . City of Wichita Falls . April 13, 2017 .
4. Web site: Movie Theaters in Wichita Falls, TX . CinemaTreasures.org . Cinema Treasures LLC . Los Angeles . April 13, 2017 .
5. Web site: Wichita Falls, TX . Kenneth E. Hendrickson, Jr. . Handbook of Texas Online . . April 13, 2017 .
6. Encyclopedia: Texas: West Texas . Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities . . Jackson, Mississippi . April 13, 2017 .
7. Book: Betty Holland Wiesepape . Lone Star Chapters: The Story of Texas Literary Clubs. 2004. Texas A&M University Press. 978-1-58544-324-6.
8. Web site: Wichita Falls Time Line . City of Wichita Falls . April 13, 2017 .
9. Web site: Wichita Falls, TX Tornadoes (1900-Present). . Norman, Oklahoma. April 13, 2017. (Chronological list)
10. Web site: About . Wichita Falls Area Food Bank . April 13, 2017 .
11. Web site: Texas Food Banks . Food Bank Locator . . Chicago . April 13, 2017 .
12. Web site: US Newspaper Directory . Washington DC . . Library of Congress . April 13, 2017 .
13. Book: Official Congressional Directory . Official Congressional Directory . Washington, D.C. . Government Printing Office . 1995 . Texas . 1991/1992- : S. Pub. . 2027/uc1.l0099748295?urlappend=%3Bseq=282 . https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.l0099748295?urlappend=%3Bseq=282 . .
14. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/19991128084657/http://ci.wichita-falls.tx.us/ . City of Wichita Falls, Texas Home Page . November 28, 1999 . .
15. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20000824031028/http://officialcitysites.org/Texas/Cities/W/ . United States of America: Texas . dead . August 24, 2000 . Official City Sites . Kevin Hyde . Tamie Hyde . Utah . 40169021 .
16. Web site: Wichita Falls city, Texas . QuickFacts . U.S. Census Bureau . April 13, 2017 .
17. News: Wichita Falls gunman who killed 1, wounded 4 yelled 'white power,' witness says Texas Dallas News. 2010-04-22. Dallas News. 2017-05-11. en.
18. News: 7th anniversary of shooting rampage in Wichita Falls. Forester. Samantha. 2017-05-11. en.