| Official Name: | Whitewright, Texas |
| Settlement Type: | Town[1] |
| Motto: | "Warm Hearts. Warm People. Winning Ways."[2] |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Image Map1: | Grayson County Whitewright.svg |
| Mapsize1: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Texas |
| Subdivision Type2: | Counties |
| Subdivision Name2: | Grayson, Fannin |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [3] |
| Area Total Km2: | 4.82 |
| Area Land Km2: | 4.81 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.01 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 1.86 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 1.86 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.00 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 1725 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Elevation M: | 229 |
| Elevation Ft: | 751 |
| Coordinates: | 33.5111°N -96.3933°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 75491 |
| Area Code: | 903, 430 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 48-78628[4] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1371463[5] |
Whitewright is a town[6] in Fannin and Grayson Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 1,725 at the 2020 census, up from 1,604 at the 2010 census.[7]
The Grayson County portion of Whitewright is part of the Sherman - Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The settlement was established in 1878, when New York investor and financier William Whitewright Jr. (1815–1898), after whom the community was named, purchased a tract of land in the path of the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad, which was then extending its tracks across the county from Sherman to Greenville. Whitewright had the land surveyed as a townsite and left two of his agents, Jim Reeves and Jim Batsell, to sell lots in the new community. Likely due to the combination of its rail connection and its location in the center of perhaps the richest farmland in the county near the headwaters of Bois d' Arc Creek, Whitewright soon attracted settlers and businesses.
Within 10 years of its founding, the community had incorporated and supported a private school, Grayson College, a public school, a newspaper, and several businesses, including three hotels, two cotton gins, and two banks. Jas. A. Batsell served as the first postmaster beginning on April 8, 1878. In 1885, Peter McKenna took over as postmaster, and the facility was officially commissioned as the Whitewright post office on December 7, 1888.
By 1900, the population of Whitewright was 1,804. Although the population declined slightly, to 1,563 in 1910 and 1,666 in 1920, the business community flourished. By the mid-1920s, both the Missouri-Kansas-Texas and the Cotton Belt served the town, and 68 businesses, including two banks and manufacturers of cottonseed oil and flour, operated locally. Whitewright served as a marketing, retail, and commercial center for the farmers of the surrounding area, who produced such crops as cotton, wheat, and corn.
The population rose from 1,480 in 1936 to 1,537 by the late 1940s. The number of businesses, however, declined from 60 to 46. During the 1970s and 1980s, seven factories, producing goods ranging from sausage to clothing to fertilizers, employed local workers. By 1989, Whitewright had 26 businesses, and in 1990, the population was 1,713. In 2000, the community had 1,740 inhabitants and 106 businesses.
On June 12, 1911, a fire that started in a trash pile and was fanned by high winds destroyed most of the Whitewright business district. Along with the fire station and city hall, 43 business were destroyed and 75 residences were damaged, 27 of those destroyed. Units from the Denison and Sherman fire departments were called to assist, but the fire was reported under control before the Sherman department could get underway.[8]
See main article: Theft of medieval art from Quedlinburg.
Whitewright was the home of US Lieutenant Joe Tom Meador, who after World War II looted several major pieces of art from a cave near Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. On April 19, 1945, American troops occupied Quedlinburg. Various treasures of art were secured in a cave near the castle Altenburg. Meador was responsible for the security of the cave. Meador, a soldier with good knowledge of art, recognized the importance of the treasures (among them being the Gospel of Samuel and the Crystals of Constantinople). He sent the treasures to Whitewright via army mail, and the art was placed in a safe at the First National Bank of Whitewright.
Meador died in 1980, and his heirs tried to sell 10 pieces of Beutekunst (looted art) on the international art market. After a long search and judicial processes, the art was returned to Germany in 1992 and were investigated because of damages to the pieces. At first, those stolen artifacts were exhibited in Munich and Berlin, but were finally returned to Quedlinburg in 1993. However, two of the pieces stolen by Meador are still in the United States at an unknown location.
Whitewright is located in eastern Grayson County at 33.5111°N -96.3933°W (33.511136, –96.393400),[9] with a small portion extending east into Fannin County. U.S. Route 69 passes through the southern and western parts of the city, leading northwest to Denison and southeast to Greenville. Texas State Highway 11 crosses the southern part of Whitewright with US 69, leading southeast to Commerce and northwest to Sherman.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Whitewright has a total area of 4.8sqkm, of which 0.01sqkm, or 0.21%, is water.[7]
| White (NH) | 1,317 | 76.35% | |
| Black or African American (NH) | 133 | 7.71% | |
| Native American or Alaska Native (NH) | 12 | 0.7% | |
| Asian (NH) | 5 | 0.29% | |
| Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) | 94 | 5.45% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 164 | 9.51% | |
| Total | 1,725 |
The city is served by the Whitewright Independent School District and is home to the Whitewright Tigers.