Ector

Ector is at the intersection of Farm Road 898 and U.S. Highway 82, six miles west of Bonham in central Fannin County. The community started in the late nineteenth century when farmers settled near Caney Creek. Residents named it Victor's Station but, when informed by postal authorities that a town of that name already existed, decided to honor one of the pioneer settlers of the area, Ector Owens. In 1886 postal service to the community began. The tracks of the Texas and Pacific Railway reached the site in 1892. The railroad quickly made Ector a shipping point for area farmers. In 1904 the town had 218 residents served by a church, a school, and a half dozen businesses, including a bank. The population reached 451 in 1926, when the businesses numbered twenty-five. In 1947 Ector had a reported 457 residents. Subsequently, the population steadily increased, reaching 650 in 1988. The number of businesses declined, however, from twelve in 1936 to three in 1988. By that time the majority of the residents were commuting to jobs in Sherman and Denison. The population of Ector in 1990 was 494. The population was 600 in 2000.