Getting to Whitewright
Almost all of the town is on the Grayson side, with US 69, SH 11 and SH 160 running through it. The 2020 Census counted 1,725 residents: 1,711 in Grayson County and 14 in Fannin. From the courthouse square in Bonham it's about 17 miles, a little under half an hour.
The town dates to 1878, when the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad built southeast from Denison, and fires in 1904 and 1911 nearly destroyed the business district before it was rebuilt. Bois d'Arc Creek, the stream later dammed for Bois d'Arc Lake, rises two miles northwest of town. We also work the country around it, from Kentucky Town over to Orangeville on the Fannin side, and the rest of our towns are on the Fannin County service area page.
Water, sewer and septic around Whitewright
City water from Woodbine wells
The city pumps its water from wells about 1,200 to 1,400 feet deep in the Woodbine sand. In March 2026 the state funded a new production well, a 200,000-gallon ground storage tank and about 30,000 feet of new water line.
Rural water on three sides
Past the city limits, Southwest Fannin County SUD serves the north and east, Kentuckytown WSC the west, and Desert WSC the south. All three run on wells.
City sewer and a new plant
The city runs its own sewer system. The state funded a new treatment plant outside the 100-year floodplain in 2023, and city crews were smoke-testing the sewer lines in September 2026.
Grayson County septic rules
Septic permits outside town come from Grayson County Development Services in Sherman, not Fannin County. Grayson requires an aerobic system on any lot under 2.5 acres, and a sewer hookup for lots within 100 feet of a public sewer.
Older houses and newer ones
Census estimates put about one in five Whitewright homes before 1940 and the median around 1979, with a steady run of building through the 1990s and 2000s. The older houses often still have cast iron drains and galvanized water pipe, which rust and narrow from the inside. About 60 percent of homes in town heat with natural gas, a higher share than in Bonham or any Fannin County town.
Downtown sits on Fairlie clay, with Houston Black clay to the west and south and Heiden clay to the north. All three crack when they dry out and swell when they're wet, and that movement works on old sewer joints and buried water lines.
Our work in Whitewright includes:
- Drain cleaning in Whitewright for slow drains and main line backups
- Sewer line repair on old cast iron and clay lines
- Water heater repair and replacement, gas or electric
- Water line repair and repiping
- Faucet and toilet repair
Questions from Whitewright
Do you come out to Whitewright even though it's in Grayson County?
Yes, and usually the same day you call. At about 17 miles by road, Whitewright is a shorter drive from Bonham than Ladonia or Telephone in our own county.
Who permits septic systems around Whitewright?
Grayson County Development Services does, from its office at 100 W. Houston in Sherman, for new and replacement systems anywhere in the county. We clear and repair the drain line from the house to the tank, and we'll tell you straight when the tank or the aerobic unit needs a licensed septic company.
What does it mean if smoke comes into the house during a sewer smoke test?
It usually means a dry trap or a crack in the drain piping. A floor drain or a shower nobody uses can dry out and let the smoke through, and pouring water down it should stop that. If smoke keeps coming from a wall, floor or cabinet, a drain line has a crack or an open joint worth fixing.
What do you see most in Whitewright?
Mostly slow drains and old cast iron lines in the older houses, and gas and electric water heaters.
Call 903-000-0000 or request service online.
