Argyle

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna tell it to you. This is Duane, and this is Argyle. Way up in Denton County, the story of Argyle starts quiet, the way most good Texas stories do.

Back in the 1850s, members of the Peters Colony were the first to settle this stretch of land. They came, they put down roots, and for a good while, that was the whole story. Then 1881 rolls around, and things get interesting.

A rail line came cutting through the area, and a Galveston developer by the name of James Morrill saw his moment. That's when the town of Argyle got started. Early residents didn't materialize out of thin air; they came from neighboring settlements, folks already in the region who folded themselves into something new and decided to call it home.

Now, communities need schools, and Argyle gathered them in over time. Beulah, Pilot Knob, Stoney Ridge, Lane, and parts of the Prairie Mound and Litsey districts too. Those schools consolidated with Argyle, each one carrying its own little piece of history right through the schoolhouse door.

But 1895 had a different kind of lesson in store. Fire swept through and destroyed the business area; just took it. A lot of towns never come back from something like that.

Argyle came back. Rebuilt, and kept on going. Then the tide shifted again.

The growth of nearby urban areas pulled at the seams of small-town life, and before World War II, Argyle felt that pull in the form of decline. Population dropped off. The town got quieter than it wanted to be.

But here's the thing about a place that's already survived a fire and started over once: it knows how to wait. Those same nearby urban areas that once drew people away eventually sent them back, and Argyle saw recent population increases roll in like a slow tide coming home. First settled in the 1850s.

Tested by fire in 1895. Weathered a decline. Still standing.

That's Argyle, Denton County, and it earned every bit of that story.

What the marker says

This area was first settled in the 1850s by members of the Peters Colony. In 1881 the town of Argyle was started by Galveston developer James Morrill, when a rail line was built through the area. Early residents came from neighboring settlements. Schools consolidated with Argyle included Beulah, Pilot Knob, Stoney Ridge, Lane, and parts of the Prairie Mound and Litsey districts. An 1895 fire destroyed the business area, but it was soon rebuilt. The growth of nearby urban areas, which led to a decline before World War II, has resulted in recent population increases. (1981)