Gunter

Gunter is at the intersection of State Highway 289 and Farm Road 121, twelve miles southwest of Sherman in south central Grayson County. One of the later towns to be established in Grayson County, Gunter received a post office in 1898 and was organized as a community in 1902 when the tracks of the St. Louis, San Francisco and Texas Railway reached the area. The town's namesake, John Gunter, a cattleman and surveyor, donated land for the townsite. The arrival of the railroad established Gunter as a retail and community center for area farmers. By 1914 the town reported a population of 800 and thirty-six businesses. It also had Baptist, Methodist, and Church of Christ churches and a weekly newspaper called the Grayson County Advocate. The community's population surpassed 500 in 1924, the year Gunter incorporated. Its residents were served by some fifty businesses, including two banks; it also had a school and numerous churches. The Great Depression slowed Gunter's growth, and its population declined to 475 by 1936. During the 1960s its population once again surpassed 500, and in 1991 Gunter reported a population of 926 and some twenty-four businesses. In 2000 the population was 1,230 with thirty-seven businesses.