Wichita Falls

History

From the early 18th century to the mid 19th century, the Wichita Falls area was inhabited by the Wichita and the Comanche people. The Spanish called the lands controlled by the Comanche as Comancheria. The Wichita were forced onto a reservation in Oklahoma after 1859. The last battle with the Comanche in this area occurred in 1872 and the Comanche were finally defeated in 1874. Anglo American presence in the area began in the 1860s. The future city was platted and named Wichita Falls on September 27, 1876, as the Wichita River runs through the area and a waterfall was in the river's course in 1876. The first permanent resident arrived in 1879. In 1886, a flood destroyed the original waterfall. The city built a high artificial waterfall in 1987 beside the river in Lucy Park. On the day the city was named in 1876, a sale of town lots was held at what is now the corner of Seventh and Ohio Streets – the birthplace of the city. The Fort Worth & Denver City Railway arrived in September 1882, the same year the city became the county seat of Wichita County. The city grew westwards from the original FW&DC train depot which was located at the northwest corner of Seventh Street and the FW&DC. which has been declared a Texas Historic Landmark. The early history of Wichita Falls well into the 20th century also rests on the work of two entrepreneurs, Joseph A. Kemp and his brother-in-law, Frank Kell. Kemp and Kell were pioneers in food processing and retailing, flour milling, railroads, cattle, banking, and oil. The city is home to the Newby-McMahon Building (otherwise known as the "world's littlest skyscraper"), constructed downtown in 1919 and featured in Robert Ripley's Ripley's Believe It or Not!. Downtown Wichita Falls was the city's main shopping area for many years.…

Geography

Wichita Falls is about south of the border with Oklahoma, northwest of Fort Worth, and southwest of Oklahoma City. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which (0.03%) is covered by water. Wichita Falls experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), featuring long, very hot and humid summers, and cool winters. The city has some of the highest summer daily maximum temperatures in the entire U.S. outside of the Desert Southwest. Temperatures have hit as early as March 27 and as late as October 17, but more typically reach that level on 28 days annually, with 102 days of or higher annually; the average window for the latter mark is April 9–October 10. However, 59 to 60 nights of freezing lows occur, and an average of 4.8 days where the high does not rise above freezing. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July. The record low temperature is on January 4, 1947. The highest recorded temperature is on June 28, 1980. Snowfall is sporadic and averages per season, while rainfall is typically greatest in early summer. From 2010 through 2013, Wichita Falls, along with a large portion of the south-central US, experienced a persistent drought. In September 2011, Wichita Falls became the first Texas city to have 100 days of or higher within one year. On every day from June 22 to August 12, the temperature reached 100 °F or higher, and from May 27 to September 3, the temperature reached 90 °F or higher. In addition, the all-time warm daily minimum of was set on July 26, and June, July, and August of that year were all the hottest on record. Notes:

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,556
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,470
• Great-tailed Grackle

  Quiscalus mexicanus (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  2,431
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,207
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,977
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,866
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,800
• White-winged Dove

  Zenaida asiatica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,684

Most recent

• M 2.51 — 2025-12-03
  10 km ESE of Loco, Oklahoma
• M 2.61 — 2025-11-21
  9 km ESE of Loco, Oklahoma
• M 2.82 — 2024-04-07
  7 km WNW of Healdton, Oklahoma
• M 2.77 — 2024-03-18
  7 km WNW of Healdton, Oklahoma
• M 2.7 — 2024-03-06
  13 km ESE of Olney, Texas
• M 3.68 — 2023-09-25
  9 km WNW of Velma, Oklahoma