Decatur, Texas | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Downtown Decatur | |
| Nickname: Little D | |
 Location of Decatur, Texas | |
 | |
| Coordinates:33°13′40″N97°35′04″W / 33.22778°N 97.58444°W /33.22778; -97.58444 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Wise |
| Area | |
• Total | 8.78 sq mi (22.75 km2) |
| • Land | 8.78 sq mi (22.75 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,004 ft (306 m) |
| Population (2020)[3] | |
• Total | 6,538 |
| • Density | 744.3/sq mi (287.4/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 76234 |
| Area code | 940 |
| FIPS code | 48-19528[4] |
| GNIS feature ID | 2410307[2] |
| Website | http://www.decaturtx.org/ |
Decatur is thecounty seat ofWise County, Texas, United States.[5] Its population was 6,538 in 2020.[6]
Wise County was established in 1856, and Taylorsville (in honor ofZachary Taylor) was made the county seat.
Absalom Bishop, an early settler and member of the Texas Legislature, opposed naming the town after aWhig Party member, and in 1858, arranged to have the name changed to Decatur, in honor of naval heroStephen Decatur.
In 1857, a post office was opened, and the first school was established in 1857. In the early 1860s,a courthouse was erected.[7]
Early settlers to northern Texas came from a variety of eastern states, with about half coming from the "Deep South". Most of the rest came from the Upper South, and a number sympathized with theUnionist side at the outset of the Civil War. Cooke County and others voted against secession in this part of the state. Violence against Unionists by Confederate troops and militia was common, especially after the Confederate legislature passed an unpopular conscription law.
In October 1862, several Unionist sympathizers from Decatur were arrested by Confederate troops and taken to nearbyGainesville, the Cooke County seat, for trial on charges of treason and insurrection. About 150–200 suspects were arrested by Confederate troops. A "Citizens Court" was pulled together by local colonels, although it had no standing in state law. It quickly convicted seven men, who were executed by hanging. Mob pressure against the court arose, and it turned over 14 suspects, who were lynched - and executed by hanging without any judicial process. Nineteen men who had been acquitted were returned to the court, and a new jury convicted them without any new evidence, sentencing them to death. They were also hanged. Another two men were shot trying to escape. In all, 42 men were killed in Gainesville in these actions.[8][9]
North Texas was in chaos, with dissenting citizens at risk from military forces. A few weeks later, more suspected Unionist supporters were hanged without trial in several North Texas communities. Five were lynched in Decatur, under the supervision of Confederate Capt. John Hale.[10] TheGreat Hanging at Gainesville is believed to have been the largest single incident ofvigilante violence in U.S. history.[8][9]
By the late 1860s, several stores and a hotel had been established. In 1882, theFort Worth and Denver Railway reached the town,[7] and Decatur was added to theButterfield Overland mail route.
In 1881, the Wise County Old Settlers Reunion held their first meeting. This has become an annual tradition in Decatur, and the reunion continues to take place during the last full week of July.
Decatur Baptist College (nowDallas Baptist University) was established in Decatur in 1898. It was the first two-year institution of higher education in Texas. In 1965, the college moved to Dallas to be in a larger population center. The formerAdministration Building then housed the Wise County Heritage Museum. The building was destroyed in a fire in 2023.[11] It is one of five sites in Decatur listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.
TheWise County Courthouse was designed byJames Riely Gordon, the master architect of Texas courthouses. Completed in 1896, the building is an example of Gordon's Signature Plan. He used corner entrances (making for short halls) to draw in the breeze, which was pulled up through a central atrium like a chimney, providing excellent air circulation. The exterior is Texas red granite (like the Capitol) with terra cotta ornamentation. The almost pyramidal mass refers to 1,000-year-old churches in the south ofFrance. The building has been praised, with its "sister" courthouse in Waxahachie, as "the zenith of Gordon's Richardsonian Romanesque work".[12] It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Another historic building found on the east side of the city is theTexas Tourist Camp, dating back to 1927.[13]
In 1962, Eddie Wayne Hill, lead guitarist forTommy & the Tom Toms, and drummer Joel Colbert, were killed when their convertible collided head-on with a gravel truck on State Highway 114 south of Decatur. Country singerCharley Pride was more fortunate, surviving a mid-air crash with another plane over Decatur in 1980, though two people died in the crash.[14]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.5 square miles (22 km2), all land.[15] The highest point of elevation in the county is the courthouse site. As with ancient hill towns in Europe, the frontier settlement was developed on high ground for defensive purposes, so European settlers could see and ward off attacks or raids, in this case byNative Americans.
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to theKöppen climate classification, Decatur has ahumid subtropical climate,Cfa on climate maps.[16]
| Climate data for Decatur, Texas (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 56.2 (13.4) | 60.1 (15.6) | 68.1 (20.1) | 75.7 (24.3) | 82.7 (28.2) | 90.8 (32.7) | 95.4 (35.2) | 94.9 (34.9) | 88.5 (31.4) | 78.6 (25.9) | 66.9 (19.4) | 58.0 (14.4) | 76.3 (24.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 44.7 (7.1) | 48.3 (9.1) | 56.2 (13.4) | 64.1 (17.8) | 72.5 (22.5) | 80.6 (27.0) | 84.7 (29.3) | 84.1 (28.9) | 76.7 (24.8) | 66.2 (19.0) | 55.0 (12.8) | 46.6 (8.1) | 65.0 (18.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 33.2 (0.7) | 36.4 (2.4) | 44.3 (6.8) | 52.5 (11.4) | 62.2 (16.8) | 70.4 (21.3) | 74.1 (23.4) | 73.2 (22.9) | 64.9 (18.3) | 53.7 (12.1) | 43.0 (6.1) | 35.1 (1.7) | 53.6 (12.0) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 2.09 (53) | 2.47 (63) | 3.69 (94) | 3.23 (82) | 4.86 (123) | 4.39 (112) | 2.52 (64) | 2.58 (66) | 3.62 (92) | 4.14 (105) | 2.72 (69) | 2.58 (66) | 38.89 (989) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.6 (1.5) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.8 (2) |
| Source: NOAA[17] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 579 | — | |
| 1890 | 1,746 | 201.6% | |
| 1900 | 1,562 | −10.5% | |
| 1910 | 1,651 | 5.7% | |
| 1920 | 2,205 | 33.6% | |
| 1930 | 2,037 | −7.6% | |
| 1940 | 2,578 | 26.6% | |
| 1950 | 2,922 | 13.3% | |
| 1960 | 3,563 | 21.9% | |
| 1970 | 3,240 | −9.1% | |
| 1980 | 4,104 | 26.7% | |
| 1990 | 4,252 | 3.6% | |
| 2000 | 5,201 | 22.3% | |
| 2010 | 6,042 | 16.2% | |
| 2020 | 6,538 | 8.2% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 8,016 | 22.6% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[18] | |||
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 4,200 | 64.24% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 61 | 0.93% |
| Native American orAlaska Native (NH) | 26 | 0.4% |
| Asian (NH) | 79 | 1.21% |
| Some Other Race (NH) | 14 | 0.21% |
| Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) | 206 | 3.15% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,952 | 29.86% |
| Total | 6,538 |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 6,538 people, 2,507 households, and 1,753 families residing in the city.
In August 2008,Entegris acquired Poco Graphite, Inc. of Decatur, a supplier of specialized graphite and silicon carbide products for use in semiconductor, EDM, glass-bottling, biomedical, aerospace, and alternative-energy applications.
Decatur has a public library.
The Service Broadcasting Tower Decatur,[22][23] a guyed television antenna, belongs to world's tallest constructions, standing 609.3 feet (185.7 m) above the terrain.[citation needed]
TheWise County Messenger has been printed in Decatur since 1880.[24]
The City of Decatur is served by theDecatur Independent School District (DISD), the largest district in Wise County. Decatur ISD is centered in Decatur and has six campuses:Decatur High School, McCarroll Middle School, Carson Elementary School, Rann Elementary School, and Young Elementary. During the 2010–2011 school year, Decatur ISD had 3,011 students enrolled.[25]
Weatherford College has a branch campus in Decatur.
Lifeteam 68, of theAir Evac Lifeteam air ambulance company, is based at Medical City Decatur Hospital in Decatur.[26]
Municipalities and communities ofWise County, Texas,United States | ||
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| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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| Geographic | |
| Other | |
