Wichita Falls, TX

Wichita Falls took its name from a natural waterfall on the Wichita River when the future city was platted in 1876. A flood destroyed the falls in 1886, and the city built an artificial cascade beside the river in Lucy Park in 1987. The Wichita Falls Circle Trail, also begun in 1987 and completed in 2025, now runs for more than 24 miles through several city parks. This Wichita County seat and regional center counted 102,316 residents in 2020. Midwestern State University is a four-year institution in the Texas Tech University System. Downtown, the 1919 Newby-McMahon Building is known as the “World’s Littlest Skyscraper,” while Depot Square is a Texas Historic Landmark district with a railroad exhibit.