Wise County, Texas
| Wise County, Texas | |
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The Wise County Courthouse in Decatur. The Romanesque Revival structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
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 Location in the U.S. state of Texas |
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 Texas's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1856 |
| Named for | Henry Alexander Wise |
| Seat | Decatur |
| Largest city | Decatur |
| Area | |
| • Total | 923 sq mi (2,391 km2) |
| • Land | 904 sq mi (2,341 km2) |
| • Water | 18 sq mi (47 km2), 2.0% |
| Population | |
| • (2010) | 59,127 |
| • Density | 65/sq mi (25/km²) |
| Congressional districts | 12th, 13th |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www |
Wise County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 59,127. Its county seat is Decatur.
Wise County is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Wise Eyes crime watch program, eventually adopted by mostly rural counties in several states, was started in 1993 by then-Sheriff Phil Ryan.
On November 10, 1837 the Battle of the Knobs was fought in what is now Wise County between about 150 Indian warriors and just 18 Republic of Texas soldiers under Lieutenant A. B. Benthuysen. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Texas soldiers held their ground, with an estimated 50 Indians killed or wounded and 10 of the Texans dead. Settlers began coming into the area not long afterwards. Wise County itself was founded in 1856. It was named after Virginia Congressman Henry A. Wise, who had supported Texas annexation by the United States.
In recent years, Wise County allowed an increase in hydraulic fracturing. In 2011, the Parr family and others filed a lawsuit against several energy companies, including Republic Energy, Inc. and Ryder Scott Petroleum, claiming the extracting processes have created health complications for their family and neighbors. In April 2014, the Parrs won a $2.9 million award from a Dallas jury.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 923 square miles (2,390 km2), of which 904 square miles (2,340 km2) is land and 18 square miles (47 km2) (2.0%) is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 48,793 people, 17,178 households, and 13,467 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile (21/km²). There were 19,242 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.01% White, 1.23% Black, 0.75% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 5.03% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. 10.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
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