Wise County, Texas - Wikipedia

County in Texas, United States County in Texas

Wise County, Texas
County
The Wise County Courthouse in Decatur, a Romanesque Revival structure, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. As of October 2024, the courthouse is being restored.
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Coordinates: 33°13′N 97°39′W / 33.22°N 97.65°W / 33.22; -97.65
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1856
Named after	Henry Alexander Wise
Seat	Decatur
Largest city	Decatur
Area
• Total	923 sq mi (2,390 km2)
• Land	904 sq mi (2,340 km2)
• Water	18 sq mi (47 km2)  2.0%
Population (2020)
• Total	68,632
• Estimate (2024)	81,275
• Density	75.9/sq mi (29.3/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	13th, 26th
Website	www.co.wise.tx.us

Wise County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 68,632.[1] Its county seat is Decatur.[2] Wise County is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area. Its Wise Eyes crime-watch program, eventually adopted by mostly rural counties in several states, was started in 1993 by then-Sheriff Phil Ryan.[3]

History

[edit]

On November 10, 1837, the Battle of the Knobs was fought in what is now Wise County between about 150 Native American warriors and 18 Republic of Texas soldiers under Lieutenant A. B. Benthuysen. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Texan soldiers held their ground, killing or wounding an estimated 50 Native Americans and losing 10 of their own men. More settlers began coming into the area not long afterward, with people relocating mostly from the Upland South, especially Tennesseans and Kentuckians. Wise County was not founded until 1856. It was named after Virginia Congressman Henry A. Wise, who had supported annexation of Texas by the United States. He was elected governor of Virginia in 1856.[4]

As few residents of Wise County were slaveholders, opinions were mixed at the time of the Civil War, and many people opposed secession. Unionists were persecuted in North Texas, and some were lynched. Forty-two men were murdered in the Great Hanging at Gainesville in October 1862, over the course of several days in neighboring Cooke County. This was one of the worst examples of vigilante justice in American history.

In recent years, Wise County allowed an increase in hydraulic fracturing. In 2011, the Parr family and others filed a lawsuit against several energy companies, including Republic Energy, Inc. and Ryder Scott Petroleum, claiming the extracting processes have created health complications for their family and neighbors.[5] In April 2014, the Parrs won a $2.9 million award from a Dallas jury.[6]

Geography

[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 923 sq mi (2,390 km2), of which 18 sq mi (47 km2) (2.0%) are covered by water.[7]

Adjacent counties

[edit]

• Montague County (north)
• Cooke County (northeast)
• Denton County (east)
• Tarrant County (southeast)
• Parker County (south)
• Jack County (west)

National protected area

[edit]

• Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland (majority)

Communities

[edit]

Cities

[edit]

• Aurora
• Bridgeport
• Decatur (county seat)
• Fort Worth (mostly in Tarrant County with small parts in Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise Counties)
• Lake Bridgeport
• New Fairview
• Newark (small part in Tarrant County)
• Paradise
• Rhome
• Runaway Bay

Towns

[edit]

• Alvord
• Boyd
• Chico
• Crafton

Census-designated places

[edit]

• Briar (partly in Tarrant and Parker Counties)
• Pecan Acres (mostly in Tarrant County)

Unincorporated communities

[edit]

• Allison
• Balsora
• Boonsville
• Cottondale
• Greenwood
• Slidell
• Sycamore

Demographics

[edit] Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	3,160	—
1870	1,450	−54.1%
1880	16,601	1,044.9%
1890	24,134	45.4%
1900	27,116	12.4%
1910	26,450	−2.5%
1920	23,363	−11.7%
1930	19,178	−17.9%
1940	19,074	−0.5%
1950	16,141	−15.4%
1960	17,012	5.4%
1970	19,687	15.7%
1980	26,575	35.0%
1990	34,679	30.5%
2000	48,793	40.7%
2010	59,127	21.2%
2020	68,631	16.1%
2024 (est.)	81,275	[8]	18.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]1850–2010[10] 2010[11] 2020[12]

Racial and ethnic composition

[edit] Wise County, Texas – Racial and ethnic compositionNote: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000[13]	Pop 2010[11]	Pop 2020[12]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	41,991	47,122	50,495	86.06%	79.70%	73.57%
Black or African American alone (NH)	584	573	657	1.20%	0.97%	0.96%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	309	341	474	0.63%	0.58%	0.69%
Asian alone (NH)	107	234	372	0.22%	0.40%	0.54%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	21	15	12	0.04%	0.03%	0.02%
Other race alone (NH)	20	35	172	0.04%	0.06%	0.25%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	513	695	2,756	1.05%	1.18%	4.02%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	5,248	10,112	13,694	10.76%	17.10%	19.95%
Total	48,793	59,127	68,632	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

2020 census

[edit]

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 68,632. The median age was 39.8 years, with 24.5% of residents under the age of 18 and 16.1% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.5 males age 18 and over.[14]

The racial makeup of the county was 78.8% White, 1.0% Black or African American, 1.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 7.6% from some other race, and 11.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 20.0% of the population.[15]

9.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 90.5% lived in rural areas.[16]

There were 24,306 households in the county, of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 60.1% were married-couple households, 15.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 19.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[14]

There were 26,813 housing units, of which 9.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 79.5% were owner-occupied and 20.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.3%.[14]

2023 American Community Survey estimates

[edit]

The United States Census Bureau estimated that in 2023, Wise County’s population was 78,097. It was also estimated that the county was 21.5% Hispanic or Latino, 73.5% NH White, 1.8% NH Black, 0.6% NH Asian, 0.7% NH Native American, 0.1% NH Pacific Islander, 1.7% NH Multiracial.[17]

Race	Total	Percentage
Hispanic or Latino	16,789	21.5%
NH White	57,409	73.5%
NH Black	1,428	1.8%
NH Asian	506	0.6%
NH Native American	564	0.7%
NH Pacific Islander	57	0.1%
NH Multiracial	1,344	1.7%

2010 census

[edit]

A Williams Institute analysis of 2010 census data found about 3.4 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county.[18]

2000 census

[edit]

In 2000 there were 48,793 people, 17,178 households, and 13,467 families were residing in the county.[19] The population density was 54 people per square mile (21 people/km2). The 19,242 housing units averaged 21 units per square mile (8.1 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 91.01% White, 1.23% Black, 0.75% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 5.07% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. About 10.76% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. By 2020, its population increased to 68,632;[12] the racial and ethnic makeup of the county in 2020 was predominantly non-Hispanic white, and Hispanic or Latino American of any race.

Politics

[edit]

Wise County, like most rural counties in Texas, votes reliably for Republican candidates in statewide and national elections.

United States presidential election results for Wise County, Texas[20]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1912	156	6.78%	1,842	80.05%	303	13.17%
1916	263	10.73%	2,023	82.57%	164	6.69%
1920	579	21.25%	2,031	74.53%	115	4.22%
1924	532	14.61%	2,958	81.24%	151	4.15%
1928	2,141	66.20%	1,093	33.80%	0	0.00%
1932	286	9.60%	2,681	89.97%	13	0.44%
1936	348	11.26%	2,737	88.58%	5	0.16%
1940	498	11.71%	3,751	88.24%	2	0.05%
1944	444	11.16%	3,114	78.26%	421	10.58%
1948	448	11.86%	3,064	81.10%	266	7.04%
1952	2,309	42.49%	3,121	57.43%	4	0.07%
1956	2,058	45.49%	2,443	54.00%	23	0.51%
1960	2,562	50.72%	2,470	48.90%	19	0.38%
1964	1,386	26.45%	3,852	73.50%	3	0.06%
1968	1,983	33.82%	2,774	47.31%	1,107	18.88%
1972	4,230	70.43%	1,741	28.99%	35	0.58%
1976	2,856	35.64%	5,133	64.06%	24	0.30%
1980	4,350	47.26%	4,674	50.78%	181	1.97%
1984	6,958	64.11%	3,856	35.53%	39	0.36%
1988	6,064	53.22%	5,288	46.41%	43	0.38%
1992	4,555	33.57%	4,478	33.00%	4,535	33.42%
1996	6,330	48.81%	5,056	38.99%	1,582	12.20%
2000	11,234	68.63%	4,830	29.51%	304	1.86%
2004	15,177	75.71%	4,783	23.86%	87	0.43%
2008	15,973	77.39%	4,471	21.66%	195	0.94%
2012	17,207	82.95%	3,221	15.53%	317	1.53%
2016	20,670	83.43%	3,412	13.77%	694	2.80%
2020	27,032	83.52%	4,973	15.37%	360	1.11%
2024	32,385	84.68%	5,605	14.66%	253	0.66%

United States Senate election results for Wise County, Texas1[21]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	31,060	81.44%	6,350	16.65%	730	1.91%

Education

[edit]

These school districts lie entirely within Wise County:

• Alvord Independent School District
• Boyd Independent School District
• Bridgeport Independent School District
• Chico Independent School District
• Decatur Independent School District
• Paradise Independent School District
• Slidell Independent School District

This private educational institution serves Wise County:

• Victory Christian Academy

This higher education institution serves Wise County:

• Weatherford College

Transportation

[edit]

Major highways

[edit]

• U.S. Highway 81
• U.S. Highway 287
• U.S. Highway 380
• State Highway 101
• State Highway 114
• State Highway 199

Airports

[edit]

These public-use airports are located in the county:[22]

• Bishop Airport (76T)
• Bridgeport Municipal Airport (XBP)
• Decatur Municipal Airport (LUD)
• Heritage Creek Airstrip (58T)
• Rhome Meadows Airport (T76)

See also

[edit]

• List of museums in North Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Wise County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Wise County

References

[edit]

1. ^ "Wise County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. ^ WCMessenger.com: Wise Eyes expands its vision[permanent dead link]
4. ^ "Wise County, Texas". www.co.wise.tx.us. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
5. ^ "Wise County Family Sues over Natural Gas Fracking", CBS.com, March 8, 2011
6. ^ "Wise County pair wins $3 million jury award in drilling lawsuit". Star-Telegram (Fort Worth TX). Retrieved April 11, 2015.
7. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
8. ^ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
9. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
10. ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
11. ^ a b "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Wise County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
12. ^ a b c "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Wise County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
13. ^ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Wise County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
14. ^ a b c "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
15. ^ "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
16. ^ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
17. ^ "County Population by Characteristics: 2020-2023". Census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
18. ^ Leonhardt, David; Quealy, Kevin (June 26, 2015), "Where Same-Sex Couples Live", The New York Times, retrieved July 6, 2015
19. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
20. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
21. ^ "2024 Senate Election (Official Returns)". Commonwealth of Texas by county. November 5, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
22. ^ "Wise County Public and Private Airports". www.tollfreeairline.com. Retrieved April 5, 2018.

[1]

External links

[edit] Wikisource has the text of the 1879 American Cyclopædia article Wise.

• Wise County Genealogy Resources
• Wise County on the Web
• Wise County government's website
• "Liberally Lean From The Land of Dairy Queen" - A Local Blog About Wise County
• Wise County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas

Places adjacent to Wise County, Texas
Montague County Cooke County Jack County Wise County, Texas Denton County Parker County Tarrant County

v t e Municipalities and communities of Wise County, Texas, United States
County seat: Decatur
Cities	Aurora Bridgeport Chico Decatur Fort Worth‡ Lake Bridgeport New Fairview Newark‡ Paradise Rhome Runaway Bay Springtown‡
Towns	Alvord Boyd
CDPs	Briar‡ Pecan Acres‡
Othercommunities	Allison Balsora Greenwood Slidell Boonsville Cottondale Sycamore
Ghost towns	Audubon Lone Star Rush Creek
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Texas portal United States portal

v t e Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
Topics	Demographics Geology Christianity Islam Judaism and Jewish history African American history Chinese American history Indian American history Mexican American history Nigerian American history LGBT culture
Counties	Collin Dallas Denton Ellis Hood Hunt Johnson Kaufman Parker Rockwall Somervell Tarrant Wise
Major cities	Dallas Fort Worth Arlington
Cities and towns100k–300k	Allen Carrollton Denton Frisco Garland Grand Prairie Irving Lewisville McKinney Mesquite Plano Richardson
Cities and towns25k–99k	Anna Balch Springs Bedford Burleson Cedar Hill Celina Cleburne Colleyville The Colony Coppell DeSoto Duncanville Euless Farmers Branch Flower Mound Forney Grapevine Greenville Haltom City Hurst Keller Lancaster Little Elm Mansfield Melissa Midlothian North Richland Hills Princeton Prosper Rockwall Rowlett Sachse Southlake University Park Waxahachie Weatherford Wylie
Cities and towns10k–25k	Addison Azle Benbrook Corinth Crowley Ennis Fairview Fate Forest Hill Glenn Heights Granbury Highland Village Murphy Red Oak Rendon Royse City Saginaw Seagoville Terrell Trophy Club Watauga White Settlement

v t e Counties of Texas

Anderson Andrews Angelina Aransas Archer Armstrong Atascosa Austin Bailey Bandera Bastrop Baylor Bee Bell Bexar Blanco Borden Bosque Bowie Brazoria Brazos Brewster Briscoe Brooks Brown Burleson Burnet Caldwell Calhoun Callahan Cameron Camp Carson Cass Castro Chambers Cherokee Childress Clay Cochran Coke Coleman Collin Collingsworth Colorado Comal Comanche Concho Cooke Coryell Cottle Crane Crockett Crosby Culberson Dallam Dallas Dawson Deaf Smith Delta Denton DeWitt Dickens Dimmit Donley Duval Eastland Ector Edwards El Paso Ellis Erath Falls Fannin Fayette Fisher Floyd Foard Fort Bend Franklin Freestone Frio Gaines Galveston Garza Gillespie Glasscock Goliad Gonzales Gray Grayson Gregg Grimes Guadalupe Hale Hall Hamilton Hansford Hardeman Hardin Harris Harrison Hartley Haskell Hays Hemphill Henderson Hidalgo Hill Hockley Hood Hopkins Houston Howard Hudspeth Hunt Hutchinson Irion Jack Jackson Jasper Jeff Davis Jefferson Jim Hogg Jim Wells Johnson Jones Karnes Kaufman Kendall Kenedy Kent Kerr Kimble King Kinney Kleberg Knox La Salle Lamar Lamb Lampasas Lavaca Lee Leon Liberty Limestone Lipscomb Live Oak Llano Loving Lubbock Lynn Madison Marion Martin Mason Matagorda Maverick McCulloch McLennan McMullen Medina Menard Midland Milam Mills Mitchell Montague Montgomery Moore Morris Motley Nacogdoches Navarro Newton Nolan Nueces Ochiltree Oldham Orange Palo Pinto Panola Parker Parmer Pecos Polk Potter Presidio Rains Randall Reagan Real Red River Reeves Refugio Roberts Robertson Rockwall Runnels Rusk Sabine San Augustine San Jacinto San Patricio San Saba Schleicher Scurry Shackelford Shelby Sherman Smith Somervell Starr Stephens Sterling Stonewall Sutton Swisher Tarrant Taylor Terrell Terry Throckmorton Titus Tom Green Travis Trinity Tyler Upshur Upton Uvalde Val Verde Van Zandt Victoria Walker Waller Ward Washington Webb Wharton Wheeler Wichita Wilbarger Willacy Williamson Wilson Winkler Wise Wood Yoakum Young Zapata Zavala

v t e State of Texas
Austin (capital)
Topics	Outline Architecture Climate climate change List of counties in Texas Cuisine Dialects Geography Government Healthcare History Languages Law Literature Mass media newspapers radio TV National Historic Landmarks National Register of Historic Places Sites Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks Sports Symbols Texans Time Tourist attractions Transportation
Society	Abortion Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Gambling Gun laws Homelessness LGBTQ rights Pride Politics
Regions	Ark‑La‑Tex Big Bend Boca Chica Blackland Prairies Brazos Valley Central Texas Coastal Bend Concho Valley Cross Timbers East Texas Edwards Plateau Golden Triangle Hill Country Llano Estacado Northeast Texas North Texas Osage Plains Panhandle Permian Basin Piney Woods Rio Grande Valley Southeast Texas South Plains South Texas Texoma Trans-Pecos West Texas
Metropolitanareas	Abilene Amarillo Austin–Round Rock (Greater Austin) Beaumont–Port Arthur Brownsville–Harlingen College Station–Bryan Corpus Christi Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington (DFW) El Paso Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land (Greater Houston) Killeen–Temple Laredo Longview–Kilgore Lubbock McAllen–Edinburg–Mission Midland Odessa San Angelo San Antonio–New Braunfels Sherman–Denison Texarkana Tyler Victoria Waco Wichita Falls
Texas portal

Authority control databases
International	VIAF WorldCat
National	United States Israel
Geographic	MusicBrainz area
Other	NARA Yale LUX

33°13′N 97°39′W / 33.22°N 97.65°W / 33.22; -97.65

1. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Wise County, Texas". www.census.gov. Retrieved January 31, 2024.