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Weatherford, Texas

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Weatherford, Texas
City
Weatherford City Hall
Weatherford City Hall
Nickname(s): 
Cutting Horse Capital of the World, Peach Capital of Texas
Location of Weatherford within Parker County, Texas.
Location of Weatherford within Parker County, Texas.
CountryUnited StatesUnited States
StateTexasTexas
CountyParker
Government
 • TypeCouncil-Manager
 • City CouncilMayor Dennis Hooks
Waymon Hamilton
Craig Swancy
Jerry Clinton
 • City ManagerJerry Blaisdell
Area
 • Total22.7 sq mi (58.7 km2)
 • Land20.9 sq mi (54.1 km2)
 • Water1.8 sq mi (4.6 km2)
Elevation
1,053 ft (321 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total25,250
 • Density910/sq mi (351.3/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
76085-76088
Area code817
FIPS code48-76864Template:GR
GNIS feature ID1376666Template:GR
WebsiteWeatherfordTX.gov
The Parker County Courthouse in Weatherford.
Downtown businesses near the courthouse in Weatherford
Peter Pan statue at Weatherford library
Weatherford Democrat newspaper office
First United Methodist Church in Weatherford
First Baptist Church in Weatherford

Weatherford is a city in Parker County, Texas, United States, and a western suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 25,250 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Parker CountyTemplate:GR and is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Geography

Weatherford is located 25 miles (40 km) west of Fort Worth on Interstate 20. It is the county seat for Parker County.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.7 square miles (59 km2), of which, 20.9 square miles (54 km2) of it is land and 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2) of it (7.86%) is water.

Demographics

The 2008 census for the population of the City of Weatherford, Texas is 26,686 with a population density of 1,175.59 people per square mile. The population grew by 40.5% from 2000 to 2008. The racial makeup of the city in 2008 is 85.50% White, 10.20% Hispanic, 2.10% Black, 1.30% American Indian, 0.70% Asian, 4.10% other. Weatherford's average household size is 2.5.

The average income per household was $50,924, in the year 2007. The estimated 2007 city capita was $26,380.

According to the 1999 census, 25.0% of the population is under the age of 18, 10.6% is 18 to 24, 26.3% is 25 to 44, 21.8% is 45 to 64, and 16.4% is 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years.

Education

The City of Weatherford is served by the Weatherford Independent School District and Weatherford College.

Weatherford ISD

Weatherford ISD has classes from pre-kindergarten through high school serving 7,200 students throughout 254 square miles (660 km2) at 11 campuses.

Weatherford College

Weatherford College is a 140-year-old community college. There are more than 35 study areas and 19 professional/technical programs. Financial aid packages and scholarships are also available. The College was originally built by Masons and was one of the first in Texas.

History

Beginnings

In 1855, Parker County was created by the Texas State Legislature and named for pioneer and State Representative Isaac Parker. Parker was the uncle of Cynthia Ann Parker, a little girl who was stolen from her home by Indians during the Texas Revolution. Cynthia Ann lived among the Comanche and became the mother of Chief Quanah Parker. Later, when she was overtaken in flight with an Indian raiding party, Isaac Parker recognized her as his long-lost niece.

The Town of Weatherford was named for the State Senator for this district, Thomas Jefferson Weatherford (1811-1867) of Dallas. According to his cousin, Senator Weatherford never set foot in the town.

The first settlers had arrived less than ten years earlier. They were many Native American attacks between the years of 1846 and 1874. There are several headstones in Parker County that read "Killed by Indians."

The railroad arrived in June 1880. The Santa Fe Depot (which today houses the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce) was built in 1908 under Jim Crow laws, with waiting rooms segregated and separated by the ticket office.

In 1895, the town’s still existing daily newspaper, the Weatherford Democrat, began publication. The Weatherford Telegram began publishing as a weekly newspaper in 2006.

Western Heritage

Cattle drover Oliver Loving is buried in Weatherford’s Greenwood Cemetery. After being attacked by Indians in New Mexico in 1867, Loving’s dying wish to his friend, Charles Goodnight, was to be buried in his home, Parker County. Goodnight brought the body back six hundred miles by wagon for burial. The story is the inspiration behind Texas author Larry McMurtry’s novel, Lonesome Dove.

A year earlier, Goodnight had invented the first chuckwagon which catered to cowboys on a cattle drive that would later become known as the Goodnight-Loving Trail.

Boze Ikard, who served with Goodnight and for whom the McMurtry character “Deets” was modeled, was also laid to rest in the Greenwood Cemetery.

Religion

Weatherford lies in the geographic region commonly referred to as the "Bible Belt". As such, it is home to churches of several Christian denominations including (among others) Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Mormon and Roman Catholic. There are no worship centers for any other major religions within the city limits, with practitioners of those religions commonly traveling to nearby Fort Worth to attend religious services.

Peach Capital of Texas

The city was named by the Texas Legislature as the Peach Capital of Texas due to the peaches produced by area growers. As such, the peach is celebrated each year at the Parker County Peach Festival, which is Weatherford’s largest event and one of the best-attended festivals in Texas.[citation needed]

Cutting Horse Capital of the World

Weatherford is known as the Cutting Horse Capital of the World.

Historic buildings

Weatherford also has a number of historic homes and buildings. More than 60 Queen Anne, Victorian, and other architecturally significant homes built at the turn of the 20th century sit along the tree-lined avenues. Several of these homes are open for tours, arranged by the Parker County Heritage Society, during the Christmas season.

Another landmark is the Second Empire style Parker County Courthouse, which is located in the geographical center of the county in downtown Weatherford. The building is surrounded by buildings which served other purposes at the turn of the 20th century, including saloons and cat-houses. In recent years, both the interior and exterior of the courthouse structure have been restored to its original character and attractiveness.

Notable people

  • Major League Baseball pitcher Hippo Vaughn.
  • Major League Baseball Pitcher Zach Britton (currently pitching for the Baltimore Orioles).
William Hood Simpson is seated at the far left in this photo next to Gen. George Patton.
  • Thomas Stevenson Drew, the third governor of Arkansas, lived for a time in Weatherford before he relocated to Hood County, Texas.
  • Lieutenant General William Hood Simpson (May 18, 1888 – August 15, 1980) was a U.S. Army officer who commanded the U.S. Ninth Army in northern Europe, during World War II, among other roles..
  • Texas author Edwin Lanham was reared in Weatherford, the slightly-veiled setting for his most critically acclaimed work "The Wind Blew West."
  • Weatherford is also the birthplace and was the home of Mary Martin, a Broadway star, known for her portrayal of Peter Pan. Her son, Larry Hagman, became a TV star, best known as J.R. Ewing on the television melodrama Dallas. Hagman still makes appearances for special occasions and to assist many Weatherford charities as his brother still lives in Weatherford.
  • Former U.S. Speaker of the House Jim Wright grew up in Weatherford and wrote a book about his youth, Weatherford Days…a Time of Learning.
  • Nationally-known rodeo announcer Bob Tallman operates a ranch in Parker County near Weatherford.
  • Bob Kingsley, host of radio's nationally-syndicated "Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40" has studios in Weatherford, and also owns and operates Blue Stem Ranch southwest of Weatherford.
  • The international oil services corporation now known as Weatherford International was founded in 1941 in Weatherford, Texas as the Weatherford Spring Company by Jesse E. Hall Sr., a prolific inventor as well as businessman.[1][2] Weatherford International now employs 43,000 persons and operates in more than 100 countries.[3]

Two state representatives

Parker County has been represented in the Texas State House since 1985 by two Republicans, Richard F. "Ric" Williamson (1952–2007) and Phillip Stephen King. Originally a Democrat, Williamson switched parties and served until 1999, when he was succeeded by King, one of the more conservative members of the legislature. Williamson's old friend and former legislative colleague, Governor Rick Perry, appointed him to the Texas Transportation Commission, of which he became the chairman in 2004. Williamson died of a third heart attack on December 30, 2007. He had been a champion of Perry's controversial Trans-Texas Corridor toll road project.

References

  1. ^ Riversand Company, Customers, retrieved 27 April 2010
  2. ^ Federal Court Of Appeals, Jesse E. Hall, Sr., and Rhoda O. Hall, Petitioners v. Commissioner Of Internal Revenue, Respondent, 294 F.2d 82 (1961)
  3. ^ Weatherford International Ltd., Company Background retrieved 27 April 2010
  4. ^ "Obituary". Retrieved 23 February 2012.
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