Argyle is a town in Denton County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States, with a population of 4,403 as of 2020. It is a

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History

The first European settlement, consisting of a few families, occurred in the Argyle area in the 1850s. The place was then known as Pilot Knob or Waintown. The settlement gradually acquired a few amenities in the late 1800s: a school in 1875, a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

church in 1876, and a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

in 1878. The community was formally founded and renamed Argyle in 1881, after the Texas and Pacific

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

built a track through the area. Some believe a railroad surveyor named the town after a garden in France. However, others believe the town to be named after the region of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

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. Also around this time was when Sam Bass, an infamous outlaw who stole $60,000 in gold coins from the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

, was rumored to have stashed the gold in a cave. Sam Bass died when he was 27, and it was rumored he never lived to retrieve the gold. Growth was very slow during the nineteenth century, and by 1890 Argyle only had a population of 148. The town did boast several agriculture-related industries, such as

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

s, general stores, and a

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

. In 1885 Argyle built a two-story brick school, and population grew until it reached 238 in 1930. A bank was also established in 1906, a little red brick building with a drugstore in the front. The bank wasn't around long before it was robbed in 1912. The robbers made away with $1700 and were never caught. Electricity and telephone service became available in the mid-1930s. The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The Financial contagion, ...

took its toll on the Argyle area, and the population declined to only ninety in 1950. Argyle incorporated as a separate city on September 19, 1960, with M.H. Wilson as the first mayor. Gradually the town grew in population as more people from the Dallas–Fort Worth area discovered its rural charm. By the 1970s a number of retail establishments were located in Argyle, and the population reached 1,575 in 1990, and doubled from that figure to 3,282 at the 2010 census. The high rate of growth is expected to continue as part of the general development of northern areas in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

Geography

Argyle is located at (33.116422, –97.185461). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.41%, is water.

Demographics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 4,403 people, 1,582 households, and 1,301 families residing in the city.

Education and local notes

The Argyle Independent School District serves the town of Argyle and neighboring areas. The district contains five schools: Hilltop Elementary (grades PreK–3), Argyle West Elementary (grades PreK–5), intermediate (grades 4 and 5), middle (grades 6–8), and a high school (grades 9–12). Argyle High School is in classification 4A D1 for UIL. In addition, Liberty Christian School is also located in Argyle, offering grades PK3–12. Argyle has established a police department and a municipal

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accord ...

, and has a low

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

rate. The town sponsored an annual

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it lar ...

festival, but this ended in 2012.

Notable people

JoJo Fletcher Joelle Hannah Fletcher (born November 1, 1990) is an American television personality. She was a contestant on the twentieth season of ABC's '' The Bachelor'' and the lead on the twelfth season of '' The Bachelorette''. Personal life Fletcher ...

, Reality Star of the Bachelorette/Bachelor *

Walt Garrison Walter Benton Garrison (born July 23, 1944) is a former American football fullback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Oklahoma State University. Early years Born in Denton, Texas, Garrison atte ...

, former professional football player for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

References

External links

Town of Argyle official website
* {{authority control Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Cities in Texas Cities in Denton County, Texas Populated places established in 1881 1881 establishments in Texas