Editing Trenton, Texas (section)

==History==
Settlers from [[Tennessee]] arrived from their home state in 1852. At the time of their arrival, the settlement and surrounding area was known by the colorful name of "Wild Cat Thicket".<ref>[https://vanleerarchives.org/home/van-leer-american-line/samuel-van-leer/isaac-van-leer-son-of-samuel/wayne-van-leer/ Vanleer of Texas<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> With the arrival of the [[Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad]], a townsite was platted by Dr. W. C. Holmes, a pioneer physician and editor of ''Trenton Tribune'', and known as "the father of Trenton".<ref>[http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/OKJOHNST/2004-07/1091316827 RootsWeb: OKJOHNST-L Mrs. W.C. Holmes wife of Dr. Holmes, son W.C. Jr. of Mannsville, Ok., died Fannin Co., Tx. 1914<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The name "Trenton" was submitted to the postal authorities (after [[Trenton, New Jersey]]), and the post office opened under that name in 1881.

The railroad drew people to Trenton from nearby communities, and a depot was built. The first population figures available show 200 people living there in the mid-1880s. Fifteen years later the population was 300 and the town had a school and all essential businesses, including a newspaper, a steam gristmill, a hotel, and a boardinghouse. At that time it became a major shipping origination point for cotton, corn, and oats produced by area farmers. A national bank was opened in Trenton in 1901 and by 1914 was capitalized at $40,000. By the mid-1920s the population had risen to just over 600 people, and the Trenton school system had 300 students enrolled. In the early 1930s farmers in the vicinity, influenced by the success of local farmer P. E. Brown, began large-scale commercial production of [[onion]]s. This new crop grew rapidly in importance, and production reached a peak in 1933 when 158 rail carloads were shipped from Trenton. The effects of the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] were devastating in the region, and by 1936 Trenton's population had declined to less than 500. During this time of economic hardship, the number of businesses serving the community dwindled to 28. With the recovery of the economy, the population also began to rise, with 634 reported in 1948 to an all-time high of 712 by 1967. In 1977 Trenton reported 615 residents and seventeen businesses. By the early 1980s the town had become the third-largest shipping point for onions in [[North Texas]]. It had an estimated 682 people and twenty businesses by 1988. In 1990 its population totaled 655, and in 2000 662 people made up the town.
<ref>[http://www.texasescapes.com/CentralTexasTownsNorth/Trenton-Texas.htm Trenton, Texas<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>