Wellington, Texas

Wellington, Texas
City
Restored Ritz Theater in Wellington
Location of Wellington, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Collingsworth
Area
• Total	1.4 sq mi (3.5 km2)
• Land	1.4 sq mi (3.5 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	2,031 ft (619 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	2,275
• Density	1,670.4/sq mi (644.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	79095
Area code	806
FIPS code	48-77152Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1371030Template:GR

Downtown Wellington across from the Collingsworth County Courthouse; the Collingsworth County Historical Museum and Art Center is located behind the tree.

The Ozark Trail runs through parts of the Texas Panhandle, including Wellington.

U.S. Post Office in Wellington, Texas

Wellington is a city in Collingsworth County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,275 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Collingsworth CountyTemplate:GR.

Geography

Wellington is located at 34°51′17″N 100°12′49″W (34.854616, -100.213626)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.5 km²), all of it land.

History

Sometime in 1889 or 1890, as smaller ranches and farmlands were being purchased, Ernest Theodore O’Neil, his brother-in-law John Simon McConnell and John W. Swearingen, together, had purchased the land which upon which the town currently sits for $5.00 per acre. Subsequently, O’Neil, who originally owned a fourth of the section of the township, purchased the interests of John McConnell and John Swearingen, and retained sole ownership of the land. The 1890 census showed 357 inhabitants across the county, with 89 ranches and farms and 335 acres (1.36 km²) of land in cultivation. In August, 1890, a petition was circulated to organize the county, choose a county seat, and elect county officers. Two potential townships were proposed: Wellington and Pearl. The proposed town of Wellington was located on the land owned by Ernest T. O’Neil who was promoting this location, and had been given its proposed name by his wife, Matilda Anna Elisabeth “Lizzie” O’Neil, who greatly admired the Duke of Wellington, hero of the Battle of Waterloo. The alternate and proposed town of Pearl was located several miles north of Wellington.

In September, 1890, the vote was held and Wellington was selected for the seat of the newly organized county of Collingsworth. In 1891 the new city, laid out by Ernest T. O’Neil, was surveyed and platted, and the first postal service and Postmaster, Carrie M. Barton, was established on January 9, 1891. Construction of a courthouse began in 1893 and the contractor, J. A. White, built the courthouse of locally made bricks. With the extra materials leftover from the courthouse, J. A. White erected a mercantile store for Ernest T. O’Neil. This became the first mercantile store and commercial building in Wellington, prior to the opening of a two-story hotel by O’Neil. Later O’Neil organized the first bank, was active in all phases of the county’s growth and development, and served as Postmaster from August 22, 1895 to December 11, 1897.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 2,275 people, 906 households, and 615 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,670.4 people per square mile (645.9/km²). There were 1,162 housing units at an average density of 853.2/sq mi (329.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.87% White, 6.95% African American, 1.05% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 13.23% from other races, and 2.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.10% of the population.

There were 906 households out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,260, and the median income for a family was $30,257. Males had a median income of $25,143 versus $15,368 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,997. About 17.4% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.2% of those under age 18 and 20.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in the city of Wellington is provided by the Wellington Independent School District.

Notable natives

• John Aaron - NASA engineer (born here and reared in Oklahoma) who played an important role in the Apollo 12 mission
• Loyd Colson - former Major League Baseball pitcher
• Glen D. Hardin - piano player and arranger with the TCB Band
• Bob O'Rear - Microsoft multi-millionaire
• Tex Winter - former college and NBA head coach who created the triangle offense in basketball

External links

• Collingsworth Public Library