Back in the day, no one else in Texas had this. Except the citizens of Wichita Falls.

Wichita Falls, a City of Firsts for Texas

It's not often that you can get bragging rights for being the first in Texas to have something. So let's take a look on what Wichita Falls can brag about it.

The First Manmade Lake in Texas

Nowadays any lake you see in Texas is man made. Only one natural lake exists in our state and that would straddle the Texas/Louisiana border. Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in Texas. If you want a lake in the state, you will have to build one. Back in 1900, Wichita Falls built the lake for $175,000. That would be equivalent to over six million dollars today. Fun fact, the concrete dam you see today holding in the water was just dirt until 1920.

Real Quick, Here Is What the Texas Natural Lake Looks Like

Wichita Falls, First City with Natural Gas Hookups

This one gets tricky, because Corsicana, Texas is where the first natural gas lines were installed in Texas back in 1906. According to the City of Wichita Falls, we were the first city to have natural gas service. The City of Corsicana does have a historical marker in their downtown recognizing the first gas lines being installed back in the day. It actually does mention Wichita Falls in it. I guess we were the first city to have natural gas available to all citizens? Be careful bragging about this one, but the City of Wichita Falls does mention it in their history.

Corsicana Historical Marker

First Texas City to Have Motorized Fire Truck

^This is an example of what a fire truck looked like back in the day. Horse drawn carriage racing to the scene. We all know how quickly fires can spread in a dry Wichita Falls summer. So it's good that we had a more reliable piece of transportation to help put them out. Also here's another fun one I learned from the Wichita Falls Fire Department page today.

First Fire Department in Texas to Have a 100 Foot Ladder

Not only were they the first in Texas, they were the first West of the Mississippi. Obviously having a massive ladder makes it easier to rescue and aid in helping put out the fire as well. So some Wichita Falls fun facts for you today. If you know of any others let me know.