Whitesboro, Texas
Whitesboro, Texas | |
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.jpg) Downtown Whitesboro | |
 Location of Whitesboro, Texas | |
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| Coordinates: 33°39′41″N 96°54′08″W / 33.66139°N 96.90222°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Grayson |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.34 sq mi (8.66 km2) |
| • Land | 3.34 sq mi (8.64 km2) |
| • Water | 0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2) |
| Elevation | 781 ft (238 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 4,074 |
| • Density | 1,200/sq mi (470/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 76273 |
| Area code(s) | 903, 430 |
| FIPS code | 48-78532[3] |
| GNIS feature ID | 2412259[2] |
| Website | www |
Whitesboro is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,074 at the 2020 census. Whitesboro is named for its founder, Ambrose B. White.
It is part of the Sherman-Denison metropolitan area.
History
[edit]Native Americans had hunted in the area.[4]
The area was once known as "Wolfpath". The first settler in the area was Robert Diamond, but the settlement of Wolfpath began with the arrival of Ambrose B. White and his family in 1848. The Butterfield Overland Mail route used White's Westview Inn as the "Diamond Station" on its trail from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast from 1858 to 1861. A post office, under the name "Whitesborough", began operations there in 1860.
After the Civil War, Whitesborough grew into a frontier town where female residents were prohibited from leaving their homes on Saturday nights because shootings were so common. Whitesborough had a population of 500, saloons, several stores, and other businesses when it was incorporated on June 2, 1873. By 1879, it had a bank, a newspaper, and train service from Denison on a line from the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad. In 1887, it altered the spelling of its name to "Whitesboro".[5]
In 1903, racial tensions were high in Whitesboro after an "Anti-White Man's Club" left a note threatening to poison local wells and "foully treat" and murder "some white girl".[6] Later that year, a black male was held by police for identification following an alleged attempted rape of a white Whitesboro woman.[6] A large mob broke into the man's cell and attempted to hang him from a tree; he was rescued by police.[7] The mob then fired guns toward homes occupied by blacks, and ordered them to leave town, resulting in the large exodus of a once majority black town.[7]
It was suspected that threats made from the "Anti-White man's club" were fabricated notes from white residents of Whitesboro created in order to create fake hysteria and further racial tensions.[6]
Whitesboro is believed to have once been a sundown town, meaning only white people were allowed in after dark, and black people found after dark were murdered.[7]
Geography
[edit]Whitesboro is located in western Grayson County.[8] U.S. Route 82 passes through the northern side of the city, and U.S. Route 377 passes through the eastern side. US 82 leads east 17 miles (27 km) to Sherman, the county seat, and west 13 miles (21 km) to Gainesville, while US 377 leads north 15 miles (24 km) to the Oklahoma border on the Red River and south 41 miles (66 km) to Denton.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Whitesboro has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.6 km2), of which 0.006 square miles (0.015 km2), or 0.18%, are water.[9]
Demographics
[edit]| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 773 | — | |
| 1890 | 1,170 | 51.4% | |
| 1900 | 1,243 | 6.2% | |
| 1910 | 1,219 | −1.9% | |
| 1920 | 1,810 | 48.5% | |
| 1930 | 1,535 | −15.2% | |
| 1940 | 1,560 | 1.6% | |
| 1950 | 1,854 | 18.8% | |
| 1960 | 2,485 | 34.0% | |
| 1970 | 2,927 | 17.8% | |
| 1980 | 3,197 | 9.2% | |
| 1990 | 3,209 | 0.4% | |
| 2000 | 3,760 | 17.2% | |
| 2010 | 3,793 | 0.9% | |
| 2020 | 4,074 | 7.4% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[10] | |||
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 3,202 | 78.6% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 33 | 0.79% |
| Native American or Alaska Native (NH) | 40 | 0.98% |
| Asian (NH) | 30 | 0.74% |
| Some Other Race (NH) | 8 | 0.2% |
| Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) | 279 | 6.85% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 483 | 11.86% |
| Total | 4,074 |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,074 people, 1,593 households, and 1,065 families residing in the city.
Education
[edit]The city is served by the Whitesboro Independent School District.
Notable people
[edit]- Rayford Barnes (1920–2000), actor
- Etta Gray (1880–1970), physician
- Lydia Starr McPherson (1827–1903), founded Whitesboro Democrat newspaper in the late 1870s
- Jared L. Patterson, member of the Texas House of Representatives
- Ray Renfro, professional football player
- Grizzly Smith, professional wrestler
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Whitesboro, Texas
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "The History of Whitesboro | Whitesboro, Texas". www.whitesboro.org.
- ^ Brian Hart, "WHITESBORO, TX," Handbook of Texas Online (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hgw09), accessed May 28, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
- ^ a b c Kumler, Donna J. (1995). "They Have Gone From Sherman": The Courthouse Riot Of 1930 And Its Impact On The Black Professional Class (PDF) (PhD). University of North Texas.
- ^ a b c "After Being Strung Up". The Tennessean. August 13, 1903.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Whitesboro city, Texas". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 22, 2017.[dead link]
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
- ^ "Census.gov | U.S. Census Bureau Homepage". Census.gov.[not specific enough to verify]
- ^ "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin". www.census.gov. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
External links
[edit]
Municipalities and communities of Grayson County, Texas, United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
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| Other communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| Authority control databases: Geographic |
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