Carlton, Texas, Hamilton County town. (original) (raw)

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Carlton, Texas

History in a Pecan Shell

Settlement began in 1877 with Dr. F. M. Carlton and J.M. Evans owning the land that would soon become Carlton. The new town needed a post office and so the one nearby the Malone gin (known as Honey Creek) was moved and renamed after Dr. Carlton.

The town seemed to be destined for greatness due to its location on stage and freight routes. Within a year churches and a school were established and the town had a newspaper (the Courier). In 1907 the railroad (the Stephenville, North and South Texas) arrived to find a population of over 150 people and three years later the population reached its high-water mark of 750. A new newspaper (the Citizen) replaced the defunct Courier in 1910 and hung on until the middle of the Great Depression (1936).

A steady decline set in and by 1980 there were only 70 Cartonites. Carlton has managed to retain its post office and the population is estimated as 75 in 2010.

The Methodist Church at Carlton, now closed
Photo Coutesy Barclay Gibson , March 2004

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