Fate, Texas

The City of Fate has a unique name and history. The name of the town is thought to have come from one of two of the towns influential residents, either William Lafayette Brown or GW Lafayette Peyton, both of whom were nicknamed "Fate" and lived in the area during the 1860s. At that time, land ownership, a post office, and the railroad played a vital role in the naming of the City of Fate. The town was settled shortly after the Civil War and was originally located 1.5 miles to the north of Downtown Fate's current location today. The town of Barnes, named after a Dr. Wiley Turner Barnes, was developed where Fate's current Downtown is located. A post office was established in Fate on July 13, 1880, with Harvey Peyton White as its postmaster. As the area continued to develop, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad was constructed in 1886 and ran through Barnes. This brought rapid growth to the area and spurred both Fate and Barnes to combine into one town on February 11, 1887, in order to allow residents access to postal services and the railroad. During the late 1800s Fate prospered. The town grew to include four doctors, two cotton gins, two grocery stores, a barbershop, a butcher, a confectionary, a grain elevator, and a newspaper called The Fate Review. In the early 1900s the town experienced several tragedies. In 1906 a fire engulfed the south side of the city's business district. Because there was no fire station nearby, this caused considerable damage to the businesses. In 1910 another fire destroyed the north side of the town. The great depression of the 1930s caused economic hardship to farmers in the area and forced many to lose their land. In 1933 more tragedy struck as a tornado destroyed parts of the town. As the population began to dwindle, the churches in Fate decided to combine into one united church, which brought citizens together and formed a tight-knit Christian community. In the 1940s during World War II, Fate had lost all its mail routes, its school became a one-teacher school, and the railroad depot was sold to Dallas' Old City Park. By 1950, the population had decreased to a mere 150 people, causing Fate's school to shut down and send its students to the Royse City Independent School District or the Rockwall Independent School District. However, using the lumber from the old school house, Fate residents built a Community Center, which is still in use, and was recently renovated, in Downtown Fate. After the 1960s, Fate finally began grow again. In the 1970s, a neighborhood called Woodcreek began to be developed. In the 1980s more technology, such as the telephone and 911-system contributed to additional growth. By the 1990s Fate's population had grown to 475 with a grocery store, upholstery, printer, and restaurants calling the town home. New subdivisions and developments continued to cause the population of Fate to boom in the early 2000s. In 2000 Fate's population was barely over 600. Now, in 2022 the population of the City of Fate's population is estimated to have come close to 23,000.^[6]

Downtown Fate is 4.8 miles to the east of downtown Rockwall on Texas State Highway 66. FM 551 is the most northern road that is just north of I-30. Downtown Royse City is 4.5 miles to the northeast.^[7]

The city has a total area of roughly 12.4 sq mi (32 km²). of which 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) is covered by water.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,958 people, 4,552 households, and 3,895 families residing in the city. The age distribution was 33.6% under the age of 18 and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The percentage of women was 52.1% across the city. Persons age 25 or older who graduated high school was 95.8%, with 44.6% of those adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher.

Fate is served by the Rockwall Independent School District in the southern and western portions of the city and the Royse City Independent School District in the northern and eastern portions. Royse City ISD provides three campuses in Fate; Miss May Vernon Elementary School, Harry H Herndon Elementary School and Bobby Summers Middle School.^[13]

The Rockwall ISD has two elementary campuses. Billie Stevenson Elementary School, which opened at the start of the 2013–2014 school year and is located in the city's Woodcreek subdivision. As well as, Lupe Garcia Elementary, which opened at the start of the 2021–2022 school year and is located in the Williamsburg subdivision.^[14]

Royse City ISD will open Fate's first high school since 1933 located in the northern section of Fate off of FM 552. Worthy Fate High School is set to open in August 2027. The district's Facility Naming Committee reviewed more than 440 name suggestions from the Royse City ISD community in the process of selecting a name and mascot for the school. The new campus, approved in a May 2023 Bond Referendum, is set to open in August 2027. Current planning would allow the school to open with freshmen and sophomores and grow into a 9-12th grade school by 2030. Royse City ISD plans to break ground on the new campus in the Spring of 2024. The campus’ offerings will reflect that of Royse City High School with career and tech programs, dual credit programs, associate degrees, ag facilities, fine arts and athletic facilities. After studying existing district and school brands, exploring a competitive logo analysis and reviewing five color combinations the group came to a consensus. The district's second high school will be the Worthy Fate High School Wolverines with navy and vegas gold colors. WFHS will open with freshmen and sophomore students in its first year.^[15]

The town made national news in 1965 when Marina Oswald, the widow of accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, remarried a little more than 18 months after her husband's slaying. Electronics worker Kenneth Porter and she worked at eluding reporters, who had learned of the engagement, and traveled to Fate to be wed by Carl Leonard Jr., a justice of the peace.^[16]

• Ralph Hall, former member of the US House of Representatives was born here

• City of Fate's website