Editing Gunter, Texas (section)

==History==

Gunter was founded in 1902 (other sources report 1901, with a post office as early as 1898) when the family of John (a/k/a Jot) Gunter deeded {{convert|328|acre|km2}} for the original townsite, near the intersection of current [[Texas State Highway 289|State Highway 289]] and [[Farm to Market Road 121]]. The first residence was established in 1903 by Albert Earthman, who would later charter the First National Bank in Gunter. A second bank, the First State Bank, would later open.

Gunter steadily grew until 1924, when the First State Bank (having outlasted the First National Bank) closed, leaving many businesses and farmers in financial ruin. The [[Great Depression]] and two devastating fires in 1930 and 1948 further damaged the local economy.

Gunter began to increase its population in the 1950s, and experienced its greatest growth, at 37 percent, during the 1990s. Gunter has started to experience overflow growth from the northern [[Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex|Metroplex]] suburbs, due to its location on [[Texas State Highway 289|State Highway 289]] approximately {{convert|10|mi|0}} north of [[Celina, Texas|Celina]], as well as its proximity to the [[Sherman, Texas|Sherman]]-[[Denison, Texas|Denison]] metropolitan area and nearby [[Lake Texoma]]. In May 2002, a branch of [[Ada, Oklahoma]]-based Landmark Bank (now part of [[Simmons Bank]]) opened in Gunter, providing the town its first financial institution in nearly 90 years.