Talk:Wichita Falls, Texas

Untitled

Wichita Falls was mentioned on the movie Pillow Talk near the end: "They'll never believe this back in Wichita Falls." On Conan O' Brien, during "In the Year 2000" skits, sometimes a caller from Wichita Falls, TX calls in to ask a question.

Is Mia Hamm really from here? On the Mia Hamm page is says she is from Selma, Alabama. This should be cleared up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.217.46.164 (talk) 11:48, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Hamm's page states she was born in Selma. The section on her earlier years is a little vague. -Acjelen 20:08, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Mia Hamm was a military brat (Air Force), so I'm sure she moved around a great deal during her early years. She was probably born in Selma, AL, spent some time as a kid in Wichita Falls, then moved to Northern Virginia to finish high school (probably with a few other moves in between) --NetherlandishYankee (talk) 15:36, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

Population decline

Wichita Falls' population decline is not in dispute. Those are official U.S. Census estimate pages I cited... did you check them out? They show a decline in population every year since 2000. Do you have similar sources that say the population ISN'T declining? Also, unilaterally removing citations of reputable, verifiable, notable, neutral sources without discussion is pretty poor form, which you - as an Experienced and Established Editor, per your user page - should know. --NetherlandishYankee (talk) 15:36, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

First, have you read your edits? The article currently claims that Wichita Falls is an America. This is a considerable feat for a geo-political entity. Even if you added city, either the earlier construction or my more recent one would be better. Second, the supposed population decline of Wichita Falls is disputed, whether that decline is claimed by the state demographer or the Census Bureau. One year the city sent a group of Wichitans to Austin to plead the demographer to use more reliable data. I can find sources, but they're unnecessary. A census is taken every ten years. That date is already in the article. We can update the page in 2011. -Acjelen (talk) 22:51, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

I've incorporated your copyediting (I added "city" after "American" and unlinked the second reference to Wichita county), but I've re-added the population decline. If you can show me a reputable, verifiable, notable, neutral source that says that Wichita Falls is not declining in population, or even stating that the decline is in dispute, I will be more than happy to include that in the article with a note about the confusion of the city's present population. And no, I'm not going to just wait until 2011; it's been seven and a half years since the 2000 census, and cities grow and shrink in that time - some quite dramatically. The July 1 estimates released each year by the census bureau are every bit as authoritative as the decennial censuses. Are you suggesting we should stick with the 2000 population data for McKinney, TX, which has doubled in size since then? How about New Orleans, LA? Again, show me a source saying that the decline is in dispute, and I will be more than happy to include it in the article. --NetherlandishYankee (talk) 23:47, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

I'm wondering if city-data.com is really a "reputable, verifiable, notable, neutral" source... especially considering they are the only place I can find via a quick Google search with a 2007 population estimate for Wichita Falls. I think it would be more sound to reference a report from the actual Census Bureau, or from the state demographer (which I didn't even know existed). Having said that, I think the most recent edit by NetherlandishYankee is a reasonable compromise, as it's important to note that the city's population estimates are steadily declining. Weathermandan (talk) 00:54, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

We should note the city's "steady population decline" only if it is taking place. I guess I'll have to rustle up my sources. I do want to say that the Census Bureau's estimates are not more authoritative. They're called "estimates" and are not constitutional, i.e. they are not used for distribution of congressional seats. -Acjelen (talk) 03:52, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

Freeways

How can both of these statements from the page be true?:

Wichita Falls is the western terminus for Interstate 44 (until Interstate 44 was extended to Wichita Falls in 1987, it had been the largest US city without freeway access). U.S. Highways leading to or through Wichita Falls include 287, 277, 281, and 82. State Highway 240 ends at Wichita Falls and State Highway 79 runs through it.

Wichita Falls has one of the largest numbers of freeway mileage for a city of its size as a result of a 1954 bond issue approved by city and county voters to purchase right-of-way for several expressway routes through the city and county, the first of which was opened in 1958 as an alignment of U.S. 287...

I'm deleting the first statement because it's obviously not true if any of the second paragraph is true, and if they meant "largest US city without INTERSTATE freeway access", that's just incorrect as well: Fresno, CA is much larger, and was much larger in 1987, and it still has no interstate freeways. See highways section of Fresno page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.105.188.216 (talk) 17:25, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Not all freeways have to be an interstate highway. Wichita Falls did indeed get its first freeway back in the late 1950s/early 1960s when US 287 was constructed as a freeway between Iowa Park and 8th and Holliday where it abruptly ended. None of this construction had anything to do with Interstate 44.

Later on another freeway was constructed from the Red River bridge at Burkburnett, south to a junction with the new US 287 freeway north of Maurine Street. This section DID later become part of I-44 when the H.E. Bailey Turnpike in Oklahoma (Oklahoma City to the Red River), along with the Burkburnett-WF segment in Texas finally obtained the official Interstate designation. I guess the easiest way to look at it is this... all Interstate highways ARE freeways, but not all freeways are Interstate highways.

Steve Allen Goen 66.25.205.10 (talk) 00:59, 3 September 2015 (UTC) Wichita Falls, TX — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.25.205.10 (talk) 00:34, 3 September 2015 (UTC)

Government facilities

Do we really need to list post offices and other normal government services? What community doesn't have these? Seems like an instance of article bloat with no real benefit.Wkharrisjr (talk) 16:17, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

Yes we do. It is standard to mention "normal government services." In fact, the solution is to add to it, mention openings and closing dates, mention historical significances, etc. etc.

While every community has post offices, for instance, not every community has a post office built in XX year or a post office with XX architecture or a post office of XX significance. The key is to expand on such things, to add meat, to talk specifically about how the normal government services are crafted for that community.

WhisperToMe (talk) 17:56, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

I respectfully disagree; listing of this type of information adds nothing to what really makes this location unique or different to the outside reader (does one really care if the USPS operates four post offices in Wichita Falls?). Otherwise, every article could be a endless list of minutia with no encyclopedic value that overwhelms the entire article. Of course, if a government structure or service is generally notable ("the oldest post office in the state", "the police station is on the Registry of Historic Places") it should be mentioned.Wkharrisjr (talk) 18:15, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

In many cases institutions have histories and dimensions which can allow for people to understand how a facility is different, even if it isn't necessarily "one in a million" kinds. I.E. "the Anyton Ladies club started the Anyton Library in 1919, and it became a city library in 1925" or "the somewhereville police station was expanded by 234 square feet (21.7 m²) in 2006" - I post such facts to flesh out a section to make it compliant with "Good Article" standards. Those kinds of things are covered in secondary sources and in municipal primary sources.

As for "does one really care if the USPS operates four post offices in Wichita Falls?" - If secondary sources or even municipal primary sources make a point of it, then, yes, the reader ought to care, so such a fact should get more article space than it normally would. Currently I just have the post offices listed by USPS sources, but I can see if secondary sources refer to a specific number of Wichita Falls post offices.

Regarding the "endless list of minutia" rebuttal, the amount of detail put in depends on how much "stuff" there is. When there is too much, it is pared down and/or reserved for neighborhood/district articles. I.E. it would be pointless of me to list every school in the City of Houston in the Houston article, but it would be okay if I state all of the schools in the Drew, Mississippi article.

WhisperToMe (talk) 23:28, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

For the 2015 Texas–Oklahoma floods, this a list of sources. Article should be reworked. TGCP (talk) 09:28, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

Lobby to keep postal site

I'm not sure where this would go, but this source talks about a building lobby that will keep a postal site: Langdon, Jessica. "Mayor: Lobby to keep postal site." Times Record News. September 25, 2010. WhisperToMe (talk) 23:30, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

The Postal Site in question was the Wichita Falls Distribution Center and Postal Annex located at the intersection of Hatton Road and the Jacksboro Highway in southeast Wichita Falls. My wife worked there so I know what I'm talking about. This facility was for the collection, sorting and distribution of mail and was not an actual Post Office. It did not contain a regular window unit for customers except for the Bulk Mail Entry window. At one time all mail from the Wichita Falls and surrounding area was sent to the Hatton Road Annex for processing. Unfortunately the unit was indeed closed with all mail now being trucked to the USPS facility at Coppell, Texas near Dallas.

Yes, the mayor and other civic leaders tried to stop the USPS from closing the Annex but their efforts failed.

Prior to its closing a letter being mailed from iowa Park would get here in one day, a distance of ten miles. Now that same letter is trucked almost 140 miles (one way) from Wichita Falls to Coppell where it is processed before being trucked right back to Wichita Falls, another 140 miles. It's even worse when you consider that a person living on the south side of the railroad in Iowa Park , who is simply mailing a letter to a business on the north side of town still has their letter trucked 150 miles to Coppell and then 150 miles back, all this just so that it can be processed in the Metroplex.

Old guys like me still remember when you could walk down to Wichita Falls Union Station as late as September 1967, drop a letter in the slot on the side of the RPO (that's "Railway Post Office" to the uninformed) and your letter would be delivered in Iowa Park exactly 12 minutes after the westbound TEXAS ZEPHYR departed Wichita Falls, and all for just 3 cents.

Steve Allen Goen 66.25.205.10 (talk) 00:59, 3 September 2015 (UTC), Wichita Falls, TX — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.25.205.10 (talk) 00:50, 3 September 2015 (UTC)

Sourced vs unsourced content

I've been templated for edit warring--my intent has been to restore sourced content, and remove that which is unsourced. A series of related IPs have persisted in adding content, claiming that it derives from their father's (or, as claimed at another article, their own) publications. They've also added the author's name to the notable persons section multiple times. I've asked for page protection. 2601:188:0:ABE6:B169:DAFB:E15A:DBC4 (talk) 09:10, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

Is there an explanation for the name of this town?

I expected a section on how the town chose its name. But there is none. Why call it Falls when there is no waterfall, and why Wichita when Wichita, Kansas had the name as well, in about the same era. The Wichita Indians seem to explain the name in Kansas. - - Prairieplant (talk) 00:47, 23 May 2021 (UTC)

@Prairieplant: In the history section, before the discussion of the tornadoes it says "A flood in 1886 destroyed the original falls on the Wichita River for which the city was named." The origin of a town name, if one is warranted, usually just takes up a few sentences in the history section. It doesn't usually get its own section. TornadoLGS (talk) 00:57, 23 May 2021 (UTC)

TornadoLGS I am used to seeing an etymology section, sometimes very short, other times long and through many languages. At least, it can be its own paragraph, and tied to the later waterfall built to match the name. Thanks for pointing it out. I hope it is okay if I make it more prominent. - - Prairieplant (talk) 09:31, 23 May 2021 (UTC)

Notable people

User:206.198.189.35 has been edit warring over the inclusion of the following in the "notable people" section:

• Joseph Sterling Bridwell, oilman, rancher, conservationist, philanthropist

A consensus of editors at WP:USCITIES#Notable people have agreed that "If challenged, additions without their own article should be removed and discussed on the talk page of the city, until a consensus is reached". This person does not meet the inherent notability criteria, such as being a state politician, and should not be included without an article. Magnolia677 (talk) 17:21, 2 August 2021 (UTC)

References