Wickett

Wickett is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 80 and Farm Road 1219, on the Missouri Pacific Railroad in northeastern Ward County. The town was named for Fred H. Wickett, an oil operator who promoted the townsite after the discovery of oil in 1927. Previously, Wickett was known as Arroya, a switch on the Texas and Pacific Railway built in 1881. The opening of the Hendrick oilfield in 1926 established Wickett as a tank and refining center. In 1927 the first oil pipeline from the Hendrick field to a tank farm and railroad loading rack began operation, and a post office was established. In 1933 Wickett had a refinery, several oilfield supply houses, and an estimated population of 200. During the 1930s Wickett attracted several oil industry processing plants, including a Gulf Oil gasoline plant and a Cabot Company carbon black plant. By 1940 the estimated population had grown to 350, and the town had fifteen businesses. The population peaked in 1964 at an estimated 1,000 residents. By 1982 Wickett, incorporated since 1965, had a population of 689. The population was 560 in 1990 and 455 in 2000.