"Wilmer is at the junction of Interstate Highway 45/U.S. Highway 75 and Cottonwood Creek, fourteen miles southeast of downtown Dallas in southeastern Dallas County... On July 4, 1929, a fire destroyed most of the business district, including one of its two banks. Fire trucks arrived but were unable to pump enough water from Wilmer's shallow wells... In 1945 Wilmer was incorporated ... primarily to implement a public water system. By the late 1940s the community had not implemented a water system because of the enormous expense. This lack of available water gave Wilmer one of the highest fire insurance rates in the country."
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