Farmersville, Texas

Farming Town to Rural Suburb

The town of Farmersville is a suburb of Dallas, Texas near the crossroads of U.S. Highway 380 and State Highway 78 in east Collin County.

In 1845, the John Yeary Family traveled from Tennessee to Texas and settled about 2 miles from present-day Farmersville. Yeary opened a general store and the area became known as Yeary’s Place but due to his limited stock of products to sell, originally limited to sugar, the place became known as Sugar Hill. In 1849, one of the local farmers named William Gotcher donated a parcel of land to create a town center which was named Farmersville, in recognition of a large number of farmers in the area.

George Dollihite purchased the first lot in the new town, followed by J. E. Sherwood who built the first building, and in 1850, Pitts Chisum opened a general store. By 1854, the Sugar Hill community was abandoned and the residents relocated to Farmersville. In 1857, Farmersville was granted a post office and Thomas E. Sherwood became its first postmaster. Farmersville rapidly became the trading and business center for the farmers who were settling in the area.

In the mid-1850s, two churches were established—the Little Flock Primitive Baptist Church and the First Methodist Church. The area continued to grow and in 1873, Farmersville was officially incorporated with John S. Rike as its first mayor. The growth was accelerated when the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad built a rail line from Greenville to McKinney through Farmersville in 1881. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad arrived in Farmersville in 1887. The railroads brought economic prosperity and Farmersville became a major transportation hub for cattle, farm produce, and related products.

In the mid-1880s, Farmersville had six cotton gins, a flour mill, four churches, a school, and a chair factory. During this time, the First National Bank at Farmersville and the Farmersville Times, a weekly newspaper, were established. All of this growth led to the need for schools, and the Farmersville public school system was created around 1890.

Living up to its name, Farmersville remained a prosperous agricultural region with cotton, corn, and maize as major crops that later shifted to onions and cantaloupes. There were also numerous dairy farms and cattle ranches in the area. By the 1930s, onions became a major crop and Farmersville became one of the top producers of onions in the state. In 1935, Farmersville held their first Onion Festival which became an annual event until canceled due to World War II.

Farmersville is proud to be the home town of Audie Murphy and Joseph A. Aston, both World War II veterans.   Murphy is America’s most decorated soldier of World War II and Aston rose to the rank of colonel and was decorated for his service as chief of staff of the Air Transport Command.

By 1950, Farmersville had had about 1,900 residents and over 120 businesses that included a garment factory, candy factories, mattress factory, an egg hatchery, broiler plants, feed mills, two floral companies, an ice plant, and food storage facilities. Farmersville is a charter member of the North Texas Municipal Water District and operates an electricity generating plant.

Today, Farmersville is a growing suburb of Dallas that retains much of its rural charm. The current population is approximately 3,600 and covers 4 square miles.