| History in
a Pecan Shell
The town dates from 1886 when G. B. Royse, platted the town and sold lots. Word
had gotten out the year before that the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad would
be laying tracks across the county and the new community drew population and businesses
from nearby Fate, Texas.
In 1886 the town was granted a post office
and by 1890 the town had the impressive (for 1890) population of 1,000. Cotton
was the town’s lifeblood through its early years with ginning, trading and oil
extracting the major industries. By 1914 there were 1,300 residents serviced by
40 businesses.
Even with the boll weevil
infestation of the 1920s, the population remained over 1,000. Likewise, the Great
Depression didn’t affect the town to the degree it did most. After WWII,
the population increased to 1,243 by 1960. After a slight decline it rose to new
heights, reaching 1,800 by the late 1980s and 2,957 for the 2000 census. |
