Tom Bean is a small but growing town an outer suburb of Dallas, Texas, on State Highway 11 and Farm roads 902 and 2729, about forty miles north of Dallas, six miles west of Whitewright, eight miles east of Howe, ten miles southeast of Sherman, and twenty-five miles south of the Red River in Grayson County.

The settlement began when fifty acres of land in southeastern Grayson County were donated by Thomas Bean, a wealthy landowner and surveyor from Bonham, Texas. The donated land was for a townsite and right of way for a Branch Railroad line that would run between Sherman and Commerce, Texas. Unfortunately, Thomas Bean passed away in 1887, one year before the arrival of the railroad and the development of his townsite named in his honor. Being bypassed by the railroad, the people and businesses in the neighboring community of Whitemound relocated to Tom Bean.  This included the Whitemound post office that was closed in 1888 and reopened in Tom Bean that same year. Two members of the Lackey family, W.H. Lackey, and H.A. Lackey opened the first general merchandise shop in the town.

The small community developed quickly which included the establishment of the Christ, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches. The First United Methodist Church was originally established in the 1880s at Cedar Campground close to Whitemound. In 1906, the church structure was transferred to Tom Bean and burned down by a fire in 1924. Methodists started worshiping in Presbyterian Church, and a few years later, a windstorm demolished that church. By 1972, a new church building was constructed for use by the Methodists and Presbyterians.

By the late 1890s, Tom Bean was officially incorporated with Ice B. Reeves elected as the town’s first mayor. At that time, the town had a blacksmith shop, a cotton gin, a weekly publication called The Tom Bean Bulletin, a grocer, a school, and a post office. In 1891 a new two-story structure with a meeting hall was completed which replaced a one-room city school. By the year 1900, the population of Tom Bean has risen to over 290 people

In 1906, Tom Bean State Bank was established, and Dr. William Jackson was the chairman of the bank. The rail line and depot continued to fuel growth and Tom Bean became a regional business and transportation hub.  By the early 1920s, Tom Bean had 367 residents, several general stores, dry goods dealer, a furniture shop, a cotton gin, and numerous other businesses.

With the proliferation of the automobile and the development of paved roads the influence of the railroads waned. This change led to the migration of businesses and people to the larger cities of Dallas, Sherman, and Denison. By the 1950s, the community had eleven enterprises that provided services to 286 citizens. Over the next 20 years, the community of Tom Bean experienced slow but steady growth with the population increasing to 570 in the 1970s and increasing to 926 in the 1980s. The community had four enterprises operating in the town during the 1980s. The pattern of slow growth continued with the population increasing to over 820 inhabitants by 1990, 940 by the year 2000, and 1,045 residents by 2010.

Today, Tom Bean is a small but steadily growing city that covers 1.57 square miles and has over 1,080 residents who call Tom Bean their home.