Editing Wellington, Texas

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Wellington, Texas
| settlement_type    = [[City]]
| nickname           = 
| motto              = <!-- Images -->
| image_skyline      = Restored Ritz Theater in Wellington, TX IMG_6180.JPG
| imagesize          = 250px
| image_caption      = The restored Historic Ritz Theatre in Wellington. In 2011, the theatre was among 100 national finalists in the "This Place Matters" competition of the [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]].
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = <!-- Maps -->
| image_map          = TXMap-doton-Wellington.PNG
| mapsize            = 250px
| map_caption        = Location of Wellington, Texas
| image_map1         = Collingsworth County Wellington.svg
| mapsize1           = 250px
| map_caption1       = <!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Texas]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Texas|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Collingsworth County, Texas|Collingsworth]]

<!-- Government -->| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = 
| leader_name        = 
| leader_title1      = 
| leader_name1       = 
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = <!-- Area -->
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref>
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 3.57
| area_land_km2      = 3.57
| area_water_km2     = 0.00
| area_total_sq_mi   = 1.38
| area_land_sq_mi    = 1.38
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.00

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 1896
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_sq_mi = auto

<!-- General information -->| timezone           = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
| utc_offset         = -6
| timezone_DST       = CDT
| utc_offset_DST     = -5
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft       = 2034
| coordinates        = {{coord|34|51|14|N|100|12|50|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code        = 79095
| area_code          = [[Area code 806|806]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 48-77152 <ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 2412207<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2412207}}</ref>
| website            = 
| footnotes          = 
}}

'''Wellington''' is a city in and the [[county seat]] of [[Collingsworth County, Texas|Collingsworth County]], [[Texas]], United States.<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=2011-06-07|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> The population was 1,896 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name=":0" />

==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 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 McConnell and Swearingen, and retained sole ownership of the land. The 1890 census showed 357 inhabitants across the county, with 89 ranches and farms and {{convert|335|acre|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 [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|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 left over 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.

Early in the early 20th century, Wellington was connected through [[Altus, Oklahoma]] with [[Wichita Falls, Texas]] through the [[Wichita Falls and Wellington Railway]], one of the properties of the industrialist [[Joseph A. Kemp]] of Wichita Falls. In 1914, this route was leased by the since-defunct [[Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fke14|title=Brian Hart, "Joseph Alexander Kemp"|publisher=tshaonline.org|access-date=April 16, 2013}}</ref>  The Wellington-to-Altus segment was abandoned in 1958.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/eqw10 |first=Donovan L. |last=Hofsommer |title=Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway |encyclopedia=[[Handbook of Texas Online]] |date=June 15, 2010 |publisher=[[Texas State Historical Association]] |access-date=April 21, 2013}}</ref><ref name=Texas2>{{cite web|url= https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/wichita-falls-and-wellington-railway  |title= Wichita Falls and Wellington Railway|publisher=George C. Werner, Texas State Historical Association|accessdate=November 4, 2021}}</ref>

The first time [[Bonnie and Clyde]] (Bonnie Park and Clyde Barrow) made ''The New York Times'' newspaper was their incident at the Prichard farm. Bonnie is referenced as a "woman companion", and the perpetrators are Clyde Barrow and his brother whose name is given as Icy. With the location as "Wellington, Texas", the story tells of their wrecking their car, terrorizing a family and shooting the daughter-in-law (but actually their daughter), kidnapping two law enforcement officers and taking them in their car near [[Erick, Oklahoma]], where the two kidnapped men were tied to a tree with barbed wire cut from a fence. They freed themselves and alerted local law enforcement, but the trail had gone cold.<ref>''The New York Times'', June 12, 1933, either page 1 or 4, depending on edition</ref><ref>''Great Plains'', by Ian Frazier, Penguin Books, 1989, p. 244</ref>

==Geography==
Wellington is located in southern Collingsworth County. [[U.S. Route 83 in Texas|U.S. Route 83]] runs along the eastern edge of the city, leading north {{convert|26|mi}} to [[Shamrock, Texas|Shamrock]] and [[Interstate 40 in Texas|Interstate 40]], and south {{convert|31|mi}} to [[Childress, Texas|Childress]]. [[Texas State Highway 203]] leads east {{convert|13|mi}} to the [[Oklahoma]] border and west {{convert|14|mi}} to [[Quail, Texas|Quail]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], Wellington has a total area of {{convert|3.5|km2|order=flip}}, all  land.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web |title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Wellington city, Texas |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4877152 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213050223/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4877152 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |access-date=August 3, 2015 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder}}</ref>

===Climate===
According to the [[Köppen Climate Classification]] system, Wellington has a [[semi-arid climate]], abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.<ref>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=565914&cityname=Wellington%2C+Texas%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Wellington, Texas]</ref>

{{Weather box   <!-- Infobox begins -->
| single line = Y
| location    = Wellington, Texas (1991–2020)
<!-- Average high temperatures -->
| Jan high F  =56.2
| Feb high F  =60.1
| Mar high F  =70.2
| Apr high F  =78.8
| May high F  =86.6
| Jun high F  =94.6
| Jul high F  =98.7
| Aug high F  =97.6
| Sep high F  =90.1
| Oct high F  =78.7
| Nov high F  =66.2
| Dec high F  =56.3
<!-- Mean daily temperature -->
| Jan mean F  =42.1
| Feb mean F  =45.7
| Mar mean F  =54.6
| Apr mean F  =63.1
| May mean F  =71.9
| Jun mean F  =80.5
| Jul mean F  =84.4
| Aug mean F  =83.3
| Sep mean F  =75.9
| Oct mean F  =64.1
| Nov mean F  =51.9
| Dec mean F  =43.1
<!-- Average low temperatures -->
| Jan low F  =27.9
| Feb low F  =31.3
| Mar low F  =38.9
| Apr low F  =47.4
| May low F  =57.3
| Jun low F  =66.4
| Jul low F  =70.1
| Aug low F  =69.1
| Sep low F  =61.8
| Oct low F  =49.6
| Nov low F  =37.6
| Dec low F  =30.0
<!-- Total precipitation, this should include rain and snow. -->
| precipitation colour    =  green
| Jan precipitation inch  =0.73
| Feb precipitation inch  =0.86
| Mar precipitation inch  =1.34
| Apr precipitation inch  =1.86
| May precipitation inch  =3.24
| Jun precipitation inch  =3.32
| Jul precipitation inch  =2.15
| Aug precipitation inch  =1.92
| Sep precipitation inch  =2.35
| Oct precipitation inch  =2.25
| Nov precipitation inch  =1.19
| Dec precipitation inch  =0.87
<!-- Snowfall -->
| Jan snow inch  =1.3
| Feb snow inch  =0.8
| Mar snow inch  =0.1
| Apr snow inch  =0.0
| May snow inch  =0.0
| Jun snow inch  =0.0
| Jul snow inch  =0.0
| Aug snow inch  =0.0
| Sep snow inch  =0.0
| Oct snow inch  =0.0
| Nov snow inch  =0.7
| Dec snow inch  =1.1
<!-- Mandatory fields, source -->
| source = NOAA<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/us-climate-normals/#dataset=normals-monthly&timeframe=30&station=USC00419565 |title=NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access |publisher=NOAA |access-date=2025-04-05 }}</ref>
}}<!-- Infobox ends -->

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
| 1910 = 576
| 1920 = 1968
| 1930 = 3570
| 1940 = 3308
| 1950 = 3676
| 1960 = 3137
| 1970 = 2884
| 1980 = 3043
| 1990 = 2456
| 2000 = 2275
| 2010 = 2189
| 2020 = 1896
| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===

{| class="wikitable"
|+'''Wellington racial composition'''<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US4877152&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2 |access-date=2022-05-19 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref><br> (''NH = Non-Hispanic''){{efn|Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.<ref>https://www.census.gov/ {{nonspecific|date=August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About the Hispanic Population and its Origin |url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/hispanic-origin/about.html |website=www.census.gov |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>}}
!Race
!Number
!Percentage
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] (NH)
|1,025
|54.06%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] (NH)
|102
|5.38%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] (NH)
|17
|0.9%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] (NH)
|6
|0.32%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed/Multi-Racial]] (NH)
|43
|2.27%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]]
|703
|37.08%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''1,896'''
|
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 1,896 people, 828 households, and 563 families residing in the city.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 2,275 people, 906 households, and 615 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|1,670.4|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 1,162 housing units at an average density of {{convert|853.2|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 75.87% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 6.95% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1.05% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.22% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 13.23% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 2.68% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|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 [[Marriage|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]] and is home to the [[Wellington High School (Texas)|Wellington Skyrockets]]

== Notable people ==

* [[John Aaron]], [[NASA]] engineer (born here and reared in Oklahoma) who played an important roles in both the [[Apollo 12]] and [[Apollo 13]] Moon missions
* [[Loyd Colson]], former [[Major League Baseball]] pitcher
* [[Jan Fortune (writer)|Jan Fortune]] (born 1892), journalist and writer; first girl born in town<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35904840/the_wellington_leader/ |title=Jan Fortune Stone Seeking Proof of Birth in Wellington |date=July 23, 1970 |work=The Wellington Leader |location=Wellington, Texas |page=1 |access-date=September 13, 2019 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}</ref>
* [[Glen Hardin|Glen D. Hardin]], piano player and arranger with the [[TCB Band]]
* [[Bob O'Rear]], seventh Microsoft-employee and multi-millionaire
* [[Jimmy Webb]], Grammy Award-winning songwriter; lived in Wellington in the 1950s 
* [[Tex Winter]], former college and NBA head coach who created the [[triangle offense]] in basketball

==Gallery==
<gallery widths=200px>
Image:Downtown Wellington, TX IMG_6185.JPG|Downtown Wellington across from the [[Collingsworth County, Texas|Collingsworth County]] [[Courthouse]]; the Collingsworth County Historical Museum and Art Center is located behind the tree.
Image:Ozark Trail, Wellington, TX IMG_6177.JPG|The Ozark Trail runs through parts of the [[Texas Panhandle]], including Wellington.
Image:U.S. Post Office, Wellington, TX IMG_6186.JPG|U.S. Post Office in Wellington
Image:Collingsworth County Museum.jpg|Collingsworth County Museum
Image:Cotton bales, Collingsworth Co. TX.jpg|Cotton bales near Wellington
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Greenbelt Electric Cooperative]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Wellington, Texas}}
* [http://www.wellingtontx.com/ Wellington community information]
* [http://www.collingsworthpubliclibrary.info/ Collingsworth Public Library]

{{Collingsworth County, Texas}}
{{Texas}}
{{Texas county seats}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Collingsworth County, Texas]]
[[Category:Cities in Texas]]
[[Category:County seats in Texas]]