Paxton

Paxton is on U.S. Highway 84 and the Southern Pacific Railroad twelve miles north of Center in northern Shelby County. It grew up around the railroad when it was constructed through the county in 1885. A post office was opened there in 1892, and the settlement was named Paxton in honor of a local pioneer family. In 1914 the community had a population of 100 and served as a shipping point for local lumber mills and cotton and truck farmers. By 1929 the population had grown to an estimated 300. A decline in the rural population of the county and in the county lumber operations during the 1930s caused a decline, and Paxton had an estimated population of 100 in 1947. In 1988 it had two churches, several businesses, and a population of approximately 150. In 1990 and again in 2000 the population was 161.