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The history of Carrollton
Carrollton spans parts of Dallas, Denton and Collin counties. Its Trinity Mills history and local library locations provide useful reference points for exploring independent restaurants, shops and services.
People who shaped Carrollton
These milestones are an introduction, not a complete local history. Follow the linked city and museum sources to explore the people and places behind them.Read the local historical account.
Watch the city’s history
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Our History--City of Carrollton: Early Days
An early-history chapter from the City of Carrollton's own local-history series.
Watch on YouTube ↗Famous people born in Carrollton
See all 24 famous people
- 1840s
Farming in the Peters Colony
Settlers purchased land through the Peters Colony and built a farming community. Mills, shops and transport connections later gave the settlement a broader commercial role.
City of Carrollton ↗ - 1856
A school at Union Baptist Church
Carrollton's first school met in Union Baptist Church, at the present location of Perry Cemetery. Education developed alongside the churches and businesses serving the rural community.
City of Carrollton ↗ - 1878
A plat and a post office
An agent for the unfinished Dallas and Wichita railroad filed an early plat of Carrollton at the Dallas County Courthouse. A Carrollton post office opened the same year.
Handbook of Texas Online ↗ - 1888
A railroad crossing
The Cotton Belt line crossed the Katy at Carrollton, making the town a shipping point for livestock, grain, cotton and cottonseed. It eventually outgrew the older settlement of Trinity Mills to the north.
Handbook of Texas Online ↗ - 1900
The town square takes shape
George Myers and his brother J. S. filed a plat for land on what became the east and south sides of the square. A second plat to the west followed in 1901, completing the outline of the downtown square.
City of Carrollton ↗ - 1912
Grain and gravel
A gravel industry began in the area and kept growing. By the late 1940s Carrollton was known as a grain-and-gravel town that also supported dairy farming.
Handbook of Texas Online ↗ - 1913
Residents vote to incorporate
On June 14, residents voted fifty-two to twenty-three for incorporation. Elections for the first city officers followed in July, establishing municipal government.
City of Carrollton ↗ - 1933
A home for city services
Land donated by J. R. McFarland became the site of the original city hall and fire station at Belt Line Road and Denton Drive. The site linked civic administration with public safety.
City of Carrollton ↗ - 1949
The Plaza Theater
Carrollton's first theater had been a makeshift outdoor screen on the side of a grocery store; the Plaza Theater followed in 1949. It drew audiences from about ten miles around until the 1970s and still stands.
City of Carrollton ↗ - 1961
A home-rule charter
Carrollton adopted its first city charter, establishing a manager-and-council form of government. It marked another step from the earlier rural settlement toward a larger metropolitan municipality.
City of Carrollton ↗
See the history for yourself.
Check current opening hours and visitor information before you go: local cultural and visitor information.
For local services and public information, the local government website is a starting point. For historical research, consult local libraries, archives and museums and check collection-specific image permissions.
Selected milestones from the linked historical sources. This is an introduction, not a complete account of the city’s history.