Editing Farmersville, Texas (section)

==History==
{{US Census population
|1870= 114
|1880= 230
|1890= 1093
|1900= 1856
|1910= 1848
|1920= 2167
|1930= 1878
|1940= 2206
|1950= 1955
|1960= 2021
|1970= 2311
|1980= 2360
|1990= 2640
|2000= 3118
|2010= 3301
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
|2020=3612}}

Farmersville originated in 1849 as a settlement on the Jefferson-McKinney Road, and near Republic of Texas National Road - now known as US Highway 380 and Texas State Highway 78, respectively. The settlement was named by two of the original settlers - William Pickney Chapman & John Hendrex - after the chief occupation of many of the residents.<ref>{{cite web|title=Farmersville Historical Markers|url=http://www.farmersvilletx.com/government/docs/farmersville_Historical_Markers.pdf|website=Farmersville Historical Markers|access-date=May 20, 2016|archive-date=August 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810022250/http://www.farmersvilletx.com/government/docs/farmersville_Historical_Markers.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

After 1854, additional settling families including the Yearys and several families of Sugar Hill (approximately 2 miles northeast) began relocating to Farmersville. 

H.M. Markham, practicing here by 1855, is said to have been Collin County's earliest physician. The First United Methodist Church was organized in 1856. On March 4, 1859, William Gotcher donated land for the public town square, now the anchor of Farmersville’s commercial district. 

Records indicate a school operated in town as early as the 1860s. 

The First Baptist Church of Farmersville was organized on May 14, 1865.<ref name="City of Farmersville Texas"/>

The town was incorporated on June 2, 1873, with John S. Rike elected as the first mayor, with a City Council composed of aldermen James Church, Ben King, John Murchison, Tom Tatum, and John P. Utt. Jeff Hines served as the first town Marshal.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Institutions from the 1880s that are still in operation include the ''Farmersville Times'', the oldest newspaper in Collin County,<ref name="Texas Press Association">{{cite web|url=http://texaspress.com/index.php/publications/publication-archives/1537-the-farmersville-times-celebrates-milestone-125th-year |title=The Farmersville Times celebrates milestone 125th year |publisher=Texas Press Association |access-date=October 19, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140804120819/http://texaspress.com/index.php/publications/publication-archives/1537-the-farmersville-times-celebrates-milestone-125th-year |archive-date=August 4, 2014 }}</ref> and the First Bank (now Independent Financial), as well as the two churches mentioned above.

On June 15, 1945, [[Audie Murphy]], the most decorated combat soldier of World War II, came home to a hero's welcome in Farmersville. Thousands of celebrants filled the square to listen to him speak, and the event was noted in the July 16, 1945 edition of ''Life Magazine''. A Texas Historical Commission plaque notes the event on The Square.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5507015321/|title=Details of Audie Murphy's Homecoming|publisher= Texas Historical Commission|access-date= August 19, 2018}}</ref>

As the town became a trade center, agriculture kept pace. Farmersville in the 1930s was known as the "Onion Capital of North Texas", annually shipping over 1,000 carloads of [[onion]]. Along with some small industry, cantaloupe, cattle, corn, cotton, and maize crops remained important.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ravereviews.org/travel/small-town-treasures-to-visit-in-the-texas-hill-country|title=Small Town Treasures To Visit In The Texas Hill Country|access-date= September 15, 2015}}</ref>

On May 8, 2021, in honor of [[Audie Murphy]] and on the 76th anniversary of VE Day - commemorating the end of fighting in the European Theater of Operations during World War II - a "Sister City Pact" between Farmersville and [[Holtzwihr]], France was signed.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Farmersville Bond Forged with French City|url=https://farmersvilletimes.com/2021/06/30/farmersville-bond-forged-with-french-city/|access-date=2021-07-07|website=Farmersville|date=June 30, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> This ceremony was to cement the common bond between the two cities and recognize Murphy's heroism at the [[Holtzwihr|Battle of Holtzwihr]] on January 26, 1945.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}. Previously, on January 29, 2020, the people of Holtzwihr erected a memorial to the men who fought and died with the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division under command of the 1st French Army.  Murphy was selected and memorialized as the soldier who best exemplified the courage, valor and sacrifice the soldiers made in their battle with the Nazi enemy. <ref>{{Cite web|title=Holtzwihr Memorial to Audie Murphy|url=https://www.audiemurphy.com/places013.htm|access-date=2024-06-04 |website=www.audiemurphy.com|language=en-US}}</ref>