Paris

History

Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River County during the Republic of Texas. By 1840, population growth necessitated the organization of a new county. George Washington Wright, who had served in the Third Congress of the Republic of Texas as a representative from Red River County, was a major proponent of the new county. The Fifth Congress established the new county on December 17, 1840, and named it after Mirabeau B. Lamar, who was the first vice president and the second president of the Republic of Texas. Lamar County was one of the 18 Texas counties that voted against secession on February 23, 1861. In 1877, 1896, and 1916, major fires in the city forced considerable rebuilding. The 1916 fire destroyed almost half the town and caused an estimated $11 million in property damage. The fire ruined most of the central business district and swept through a residential area. The burned structures included the Federal Building and Post Office, the Lamar County Courthouse and Jail, City Hall, most commercial buildings, and several churches. In 1920, two black brothers from the Arthur family were tied to a flagpole and burned to death at the Paris fairgrounds. The city has prominent memorials to the Confederacy. Paris is a former railroad center. The Texas and Pacific reached town in 1876; the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway (later merged into the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway) and the Frisco in 1887; the Texas Midland Railroad (later Southern Pacific) in 1894; and the Paris and Mount Pleasant (Pa-Ma Line) in 1910. Paris Union Station, built 1912, served Frisco, Santa Fe, and Texas Midland passenger trains until 1956. Today, the station is used by the Lamar County Chamber of Commerce and serves as the research library for the Lamar County…

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which (3.74%) are covered by water. Paris is located in "Tornado Alley", an area largely centered in the middle of the United States in which tornadoes occur frequently because of weather patterns and geography. Paris is in USDA plant hardiness zone 8a for winter temperatures. This is cooler than its southern neighbor Dallas, and while similar to Atlanta, Georgia, it has warmer summertime temperatures. Summertime average highs reach in July and August, with associated lows of . Winter temperatures drop to an average high of and low of in January. The highest temperature on record was , set in August 1936, and the record low was , set in 1930. Average precipitation is . Snow is not unusual, but is by no means predictable, and years can pass with no snowfall at all. On April 2, 1982, Paris was hit by an F4 tornado that destroyed more than 1,500 homes, and left 10 people dead, 170 injured, and 3,000 homeless. The damage toll from this tornado was estimated at US$50 million in 1982. According to the Köppen Climate Classification, Paris has a humid subtropical climate, aCfa on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Paris was in August 1936, while the coldest temperature recorded was in January 1930 although unofficially it was in February 1899.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  339
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  269
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  238
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  236
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  227
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  172
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  166
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  164

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2013-11-10
  24 km NNE of Wright City, Oklahoma
• M 3 — 2005-04-22
  17 km N of Swink, Oklahoma
• M 3.4 — 2002-10-20
  8 km WSW of Lane, Oklahoma