Wellington, Texas
City in the United States in Collingsworth County
About Wellington
Wellington is a city in and the county seat of Collingsworth County, Texas, United States. Its population was 1,896 at the 2020 census.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How Wellington is governed
Form of government not yet listed.
0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.
Residents of Wellington
Registered voters elect the officials below.
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Mayor
Executive
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The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.
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City Manager / Administrator
Executive
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The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).
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Police Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the police department.
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Fire Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the fire and emergency services department.
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Public Works Director
Administration & departments
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Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.
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Finance Director
Administration & departments
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The budget, taxes, and city accounts.
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Planning & Zoning Director
Administration & departments
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Land use, zoning, building permits.
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Parks & Recreation Director
Administration & departments
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Parks, programs, and public facilities.
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City Council
Legislative
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The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.
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City Clerk
Administration & departments
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Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.
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City Attorney
Administration & departments
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The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.
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Boards & Commissions
Legislative
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Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.
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Municipal Court
Judicial
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Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.
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Municipal Judge
Judicial
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Presides over the municipal court.
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- Website
- wellingtontx.com
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Population over time
From 2,189 in 2010 to 1,896 in 2020 (−13.4%).
Show the numbers
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 1,896 |
| 2010 | 2,189 |
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 where 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 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 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 industrialist Joseph A. Kemp of Wichita Falls. In 1914, this route was leased by the since-defunct Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad. The Wellington-to-Altus segment was abandoned in 1958.
The first time Bonnie Parker 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 were 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), and 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.
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