Water Valley, Texas

Water Valley is an unincorporated community in Tom Green County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had an estimated population of 120 in 2000.[1] The community is part of the San Angelo, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Among the early are settlers was Captain William Turner, who arrived around 1878.[1] He established the Whitbarrow Ranch and built a stone house that later served as a rest home for soldiers during World War II. The community was founded by two men known as Phelin and Glynn. They dammed the North Concho River and dug an irrigation ditch that opened up the area to settlers, most of whom were English immigrants.[2] From 1885 to 1888, the local post office was known as Yandell, Argenta, or Stella. It was known as Rethaville, Mayes Store, or Mayesville from 1888 to 1889. The community was renamed Water Valley in 1889. By 1914, Water Valley had a population of 175, a general store, gin, and two cotton buyers. Around the same time, the Water Valley Independent School District was formed. The number of residents stood at 140 in 1940. That figure peaked at 180 in the mid-1950s, before declining to around 120 during the later half of the 20th century.[1]

Public education in the community of Water Valley is provided by the Water Valley Independent School District. The district covers northwestern Tom Green and southwestern Coke Counties. Water Valley High School fields teams in basketball, football, volleyball, and tennis. The Pride of Water Valley Band and FFA chapter are also staples in the community. The school website is www.wvisd.net.

West Columbia, Texas

West Columbia is a city in Brazoria County in the U.S. state of Texas. The city is centered on the intersection of Texas Highways 35 & 36, 55 miles (89 km) southwest of downtown Houston. The population was 3,905 at the 2010 census.[3]

West Columbia is located in western Brazoria County at 29°8′29″N 95°38′49″W / 29.14139°N 95.64694°W / 29.14139; -95.64694 (29.141513, -95.647016),[4] about 2 miles (3 km) west of the Brazos River. Texas State Highway 35 leads east 13 miles (21 km) to Angleton, the county seat, and southwest 23 miles (37 km) to Bay City. Texas Highway 36 leads north 32 miles (51 km) to Rosenberg and southeast 23 miles (37 km) to Freeport on the Gulf of Mexico.

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 4,255 people, 1,607 households, and 1,099 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,661.9 people per square mile (641.7/km²). There were 1,755 housing units at an average density of 685.5 per square mile (264.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.15% White, 19.51% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 7.83% from other races, and 1.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.05% of the population.

Lake Whitney (Texas)

Lake Whitney is a flood control reservoir on the main stem of the Brazos River in Texas. It is located on River Mile Marker 442 and controls drainage for 17,656 square miles (45,730 km2) of Texas and parts of New Mexico. The reservoir encompasses a surface area of more than 23,500 acres and 225 miles (362 km) of shoreline. The area consists of rolling, tallgrass prairies; cedar trees; hardwood timber; and 100 ft (30 m) bluffs and rock points. Lake Whitney is also part of the Texas Lakes Trail Region of North Texas.

1940s: The plan to create the Whitney Reservoir (Lake Whitney) on the Brazos River for flood control and other purposes, such as hydro-electric power development, was approved and authorized by Congress in 1944. The dam construction started in 1947 and lasted four years.

1950s: In 1951, the lake was impounded. The dam's power plant was under construction from 1951 to 1953. After a record-breaking drought in Texas during the 1950s, there was an emphasis on reservoirs serving a secondary purpose, with the primary one being flood control, as water storage facilities for Texas residents, communities, businesses, agriculture, and others.

Wingate, Texas

Wingate is located at 32°02′39″N 100°06′36″W / 32.04417°N 100.11000°W / 32.04417; -100.11000 (32.0440287, -100.1100942). It is situated along FM 53 in northwestern Runnels County, about 13 miles northwest of Winters and 54 miles southwest of Abilene.[2]

The area was initially settled by several pioneer families in the early 1890s. A school opened in 1891 and a post office was established on March 14, 1892. The community was named after Ballinger attorney W.J. Wingate.[1] By the 1920s, Wingate had a bank and several other businesses. A new high school was constructed around the same time. In 1940, Wingate had an estimated population of 250. A modest buffalo-ranching industry was launched by Vester Parrish in 1961. Wingate's population stood at just over 200 in 1990. On July 1, 1991, the Wingate Independent School District was annexed into Winters ISD. By 2000, roughly 132 residents were living in Wingate.[2]

Wrightsboro, Texas

Wrightsboro is located at 29°22′26″N 97°33′54″W / 29.37389°N 97.56500°W / 29.37389; -97.56500 (29.3738515, -97.5649940). It is situated along FM 108 in southwestern Gonzales County, approximately twelve miles southwest of Gonzales.[2]

Waxahachie, Texas

Waxahachie (/ˌwɒksəˈhætʃi/) is the county seat of Ellis County, Texas, United States, and lies just beyond the southern suburbs of Dallas. The population was 29,621 at the 2010 census,[4] with an estimated population of 32,344 in 2014.[5]

Some sources state that the name means "cow" or "buffalo" in an unspecified Native American language.[6] One possible Native American origin is the Alabama language, originally spoken in the area of Alabama around Waxahatchee Creek by the Alabama-Coushatta people, who had migrated by the 1850s to eastern Texas. In the Alabama language, waakasi hachi means "calf's tail" (the Alabama word waaka being a loan from Spanish vaca).[7]

That there is a Waxahatchee Creek near present-day Shelby, Alabama, suggests that Waxahachie, Texas, shares the same name etymology. Many place names in Texas and Oklahoma have their origins in the Southeastern United States, largely due to forced removal of various southeastern Indian tribes. The area in central Alabama that includes Waxahatchee Creek was for hundreds of years the home of the Upper Creek moiety of the Muscogee Creek Nation. Again, this would suggest a Muscogee Creek language origin of Waxahachie. "Waxahachie" therefore may be an anglicized pronunciation of the Muscogee compound word Wakvhvce from the Muscogee words Wakv (meaning "cow" derived from the Spanish vaca) and the Muscogee word Hvce (meaning "tail").[8]

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known as West Point, Army, Army West Point,[6]The Academy, or simply The Point, is a four-year federal service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort that sits on strategic high ground overlooking the Hudson River with a scenic view, 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City. It is one of the four U.S. military service academies, and one of the five U.S. service academies.

The Academy traces its roots to 1801, when President Thomas Jefferson directed, shortly after his inauguration, that plans be set in motion to establish the United States Military Academy at West Point. The entire central campus is a national landmark and home to scores of historic sites, buildings, and monuments. The majority of the campus's Norman-style buildings are constructed from gray and black granite. The campus is a popular tourist destination, with a visitor center and the oldest museum in the United States Army.

Candidates for admission must both apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination, usually from a member of Congress or Delegate/Resident Commissioner in the case of Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands. Other nomination sources include the President and Vice President of the United States.[7] Students are officers-in-training and are referred to as "cadets" or collectively as the "United States Corps of Cadets" (USCC). Tuition for cadets is fully funded by the Army in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation. Approximately 1,300 cadets enter the Academy each July, with about 1,000 cadets graduating.

U.S. Route 281 Alternate (Texas)

Alternate U.S. Highway 281 (Alt. US 281) is a spur of the U.S. Highway System. The highway serves the small communities of Whitsett and Campbellton, about 45 miles (72 km) southeast of San Antonio in the state of Texas.

Alt. US 281 begins at an interchange with Interstate 37/US 281 (I-37/US 281) about six miles (9.7 km) southeast of Whitsett. The highway enters the town and crosses Farm to Market Road 99 (FM 99) before leaving. Just north of Whitsett, the highway turns from a northwest direction, to a more northward one. The highway passes by many farms before entering Atoscasa County. After the intersection with FM 1099, the highway enters Campbellton. The highway runs concurrently with FM 791 in the town, which ends just north of the city limits. About a mile to the north of here, the highway crosses FM 140. Alt. US 281 reaches its northern terminus with I-37/US 281 about 2 1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) north of Campbellton.

The highway was created in 1986 when US 281 was re-rerouted a few miles to the east onto Interstate 37. The old alignment of US 281 through Whitsett and Campbellton was then resigned as Alt. US 281.[citation needed]

Wink, Texas

Wink was a temporary childhood home to singer and songwriter Roy Orbison, although he was born in Vernon, Texas. Orbison later described the major components of life in Wink as "football, oil fields, oil, grease and sand",[4] and in later years expressed relief that he was able to leave the desolate town.[note 1][5]

Wink began in 1926, when oil was discovered in Hendrick oilfield in Winkler County. By mid-1927, the Wink Townsite Company was selling lots in Horse Wells pasture of the T. G. Hendrick Ranch. The oil boom brought new people to Wink, causing a shortage of housing. Newcomers set up tents and built makeshift houses. Wink was originally named Winkler, Texas, for the county. When a post office was requested, postal authorities notified the applicant that a post office bearing that name already was in operation. The citizens shortened the name to Wink and received a post office in 1927. In that year, the first public school was organized, and a temporary building was constructed. A Sunday school was started by November 1927, and the population of the town was reported at 3,500. By 1929, that number climbed to 6,000. The actual population could have been around 10,000 to 25,000 people.[6][7]

The boom brought lawlessness to Wink, including bootlegging, prostitution, and gambling. Even the city government, which was organized on June 4, 1928, came under the control of a well-organized underworld. On October 16, 1928, District Judge Charles Klapproth declared the incorporation election void, and the city government was reorganized. In December 1928, the first municipal building, a jail, was constructed. In 1929, the Texas-New Mexico Railroad built its tracks from Wink Junction to Wink, connecting the town to Monahans and New Mexico.

Wylie, Texas

Wylie is a city once solely located in Collin County, but now extends into neighboring Dallas and Rockwall Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located on State Route 78 about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of central Dallas and centrally located[5] between nearby Lavon Lake and Lake Ray Hubbard.

Originally called Nickelville, reportedly after the name of the first store, it was organized in the early 1870s. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway laid tracks a half mile north of the original townsite in 1886. The businesses of Nickelville moved to take advantage of the railroad within the following year, and the City of Wylie was incorporated in 1887 along the right-of-way. It was named for Lt. Colonel William D. Wylie,[6] a right-of-way agent for the railroad[7] and Civil War veteran.

That same year, Wylie had given itself its name, established a post office branch, and incorporated, choosing an alderman form of government. Two years later, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway reached the town. The two railroads and the rich agricultural region of the Blackland Prairies contributed to the town's growth. In 1890, Wylie had a population of 400 and the first one-room school house was built. By 1900, it had grown to 773. In the next decade, the population tripled. Before 1920, the community had over 35 businesses, including two banks, a school, and a weekly newspaper.