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Chico, Texas

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1991. It stands in the Bridgeport census division. It lies in ZIP code area 76431. The Survey maps it on the Chico quadrangle. 946 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 925 feet above sea level.

Chico within Wise County

On record in Chico

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

3 figures

Chico fell from 947 to 946 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2000947
20101,002+55 (+6%)
2020946-56 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 8 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

47 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 47 fires within 5 miles of Chico between 1993 and 2020, burning about 781 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined20
Debris and open burning13
Equipment and vehicle use7
Arson/incendiarism3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Recreation and ceremony2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
20 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE 250
3 July 2005Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresNational Forests And Grasslands In TexasFOUR
25 July 2018Equipment and vehicle use140 acresTexas A & M Forest ServicePRIVATE ROAD 1526
21 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceMUTUAL AID
19 July 1998Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNational Forests And Grasslands In TexasMOUSE
9 June 2013Debris and open burning2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceROBINSON
27 June 2005Equipment and vehicle use90 acresNational Forests And Grasslands In TexasCHICKEN LAKE
18 June 2011Power generation/transmission/distribution200 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCHICO POWER LINES

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Wise County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Chico: 6 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, General. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Bridgeport QuarryLimestone, GeneralProducer
Perch Hill QuarryLimestone, GeneralProducer
Chico Crushed Stone OperationStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
General Portland Chico QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Trinity Div. Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Vulcan Materials Chico QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Wise County

Storms near this place

34 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chico in 34 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 14 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 5 flash flood, 2 tornado. The reports record 2 deaths and 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 1999Tornado (F1)Chico2 killed, 3 hurt, $600,000Two persons were killed in a mobile home which was destroyed by a tornado. Three other people were injured. Three mobile homes were destroyed, with two of them heavily damaged. Many outbuildings were damaged or destroyed.
May 2021Thunderstorm WindChico$500,000With help from a damage survey by the Emergency Manager, a large area of wind damage was tracked across northern Wise County. The damage extended about 2-2.5 miles on either side of the line plotted with this entry. Along the path, many trees and tree limbs were reported down and sheet metal was torn off sheds. At one home on FM 730, minor roof damage was reported and an entry gate was bent back about 90 degrees. The steeple was broken at New Hope Fellowship Church on FM 51 and water damage occurred inside the church. More notable damage was reported near the end of the damage path around the Allison area. Several larger barns were damaged or destroyed, some trees fell into or onto houses, a 5th wheel was pushed onto its side, and an office-type chair was found embedded into the siding of a house.
March 2016FloodChico$200,000Wise County Sheriff's Department reported that roads remained closed in many areas across the county, including Cottondale, Boyd, Paradise, Bridgeport, Decatur and Chico. Some roads near creeks and rivers remained flooded through the 8th and into 9th until the river levels receded. The flood waters damaged roads, culverts, bridges across the county. Lake Bridgeport was closed to recreational traffic as the lake rose nearly 2 feet above its conservation pool.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindChico$80,000On County Road 1450 near Chico, a mobile home was blown off its foundation, part of the roof was torn off a second home, a barn was destroyed, a boat was tossed, trees were uprooted or snapped near the top, and other outbuildings were blown into trees. Additional scattered tree damage extended northeast of this location into southern Montague County. A NWS survey determined straight-line winds caused this damage.
June 2015Flash FloodChico$50,000A creek in the Chico area was flooding homes.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindChico$30,000A trailer was pushed over and large limbs were broken off trees. A home was also damaged.
April 2019HailChico$10,000A social media report indicated hen egg size hail approximately 2 miles northeast of the city of Chico, TX.
June 2011HailChico$10,000no account filed
April 2026HailChico$7,000Amateur radio reported golf ball sized hail in Chico off of Sherman St and Davis St.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindChico$7,000The roof was blown off an unoccupied school in Chico. A few trees were also knocked down across the county.
May 2024HailChico$5,000Golf ball size hail was reported at Wise County Park southwest of Chico.
May 2024HailChico$5,000Golf ball sized hail reported via mping.
August 2021FloodChico$5,000Local news reported that western portions of Wise County, including the Bridgeport and Chico areas, experienced flooding due to several inches of rain which fell in a matter of hours. The County EM confirmed flooding of Chico Park in Chico and Harwood Park in Bridgeport. Both locations are along creeks that overflowed.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindChico$5,000Power lines were blown down by high winds.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindChico$5,000A barn and some power lines were blown down by high winds.
March 2020Thunderstorm WindChico$3,000About 3 metal and wood outbuildings with minor roof damage.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindChico$2,000Emergency manager reported downed trees on highway 101 north of Chico.
June 2011HailChico$2,000no account filed
April 2025Flash FloodChico-Amateur radio reported flooding near the intersection of FM 1810 and CR 1340 east of the city of Chico.
May 2019Flash FloodChico-Emergency management reported water over many roads north of Highway 380 and west of Highway 287.
April 2019HailChico-A trained spotter reported one-inch hail approximately 2 miles north of the city of Chico, TX.
May 2015Flash FloodChico-A trained spotter reported that Farm to Market Road 1655 had water flowing rapidly over it and was closed due to flooding approximately 4 miles north-northeast of Bridgeport, TX.
March 2013HailChico-Trained spotters reported quarter sized hail approximately 3 miles north of Chico.
March 2013HailChico-Nickel sized hail was reported in Chico.
May 2010Flash FloodChico-Weatherford St. in the town of Chico was closed due to high water.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindChico-Occurred on the north end of Lake Bridgeport.
April 2001Thunderstorm WindChico-Large tree limbs were blown down.
May 1997Tornado (F0)Chico-A brief tornado touchdown was reported by a DPS officer.
April 1994HailChico-Trees were damaged by winds estimated at over 60 miles an hour.
May 2006HailChico-no account filed
April 2002HailChico-no account filed
August 2002Thunderstorm WindChico-no account filed
March 1997HailChico-no account filed
April 1994HailChico-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Wise County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Lake Bridgeport6.3 miles10
Bridgeport6.4 miles10
Alvord7.0 miles9
Crafton7.6 miles8
Park Springs7.6 miles8
Rickels7.9 miles10
Runaway Bay9.8 miles8
Paradise11.7 miles10

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on ChicoAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q981465The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1381628. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.