Emergency Crime Scene and Biohazard Cleanup in Decatur, TX

Decatur is a city in and the county seat and largest city of Wise County, Texas, about 35 miles northwest of Fort Worth at the junction of U.S. Highways 81/287 and 380.

Decatur was originally named Taylorsville in honor of Zachary Taylor when Wise County was established in 1856, but settler Absalom Bishop, a member of the Texas Legislature who opposed honoring a Whig, arranged in 1858 to rename it Decatur for naval hero Stephen Decatur.

Absalom Bishop, who arrived in 1854 and led the organization of Wise County, is known as the "Father of Decatur."

Decatur's first school and post office were both established in 1857, and town lots were first sold that year, with the first building a 16-foot-square log cabin.

The Wise County Courthouse in Decatur, completed in 1896 at a cost of $110,000, is a Romanesque Revival structure built of pink Texas granite and designed by noted architect J. Riley Gordon; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Decatur's population was 6,538 in the 2020 census, and Census Bureau estimates show rapid recent growth to about 9,029 by July 2025, an increase of about 37.8% in five years.

Decatur has about 3,059 households according to Census QuickFacts, with an owner-occupied housing unit rate of 71.5% and a median owner-occupied home value of $284,500.

Decatur is served by the Decatur Independent School District, whose mascot is the Eagles and whose motto is "Strong Roots, Powerful Wings."

Wise County, named for Virginia congressman Henry A. Wise, who supported the annexation of Texas, had a population of 68,632 in 2020 and is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan statistical area.

Decatur covers about 8.8 square miles, with a 2020 population density of about 744 people per square mile.