Representative Review

Tom Bean, Texas

City in the United States in Grayson County

About Tom Bean

Tom Bean is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 930 at the 2020 census, down from 1,045 at the 2010 census.

Tom Bean is part of the Sherman–Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

How Tom Bean is governed

Form of government not yet listed.

0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

Residents of Tom Bean

Registered voters elect the officials below.

  • Mayor

    Executive

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    The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

    • City Manager / Administrator

      Executive

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      The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

  • City Council

    Legislative

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    The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

    • City Clerk

      Administration & departments

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      Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

    • City Attorney

      Administration & departments

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      The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

    • Boards & Commissions

      Legislative

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      Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

  • Municipal Court

    Judicial

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    Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

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Population over time

From 1,045 in 2010 to 930 in 2020 (−11.0%).

2010 2020
Show the numbers
YearPopulation
2020930
20101,045

History

On October 27, 1888, Tom Bean was founded on what was then a new branch of the Cotton Belt Railway between Commerce and Sherman, Texas.

The town was named by J.W. Pennell in honor of his friend Thomas C. Bean, who was a wealthy, eccentric land surveyor and donor of the land upon which the town was built. Bean, a bachelor who lived in Bonham, Fannin County, Texas owned a section of land at what ultimately became the town, and as an inducement for the railroad to build through that area, he donated land for the railroad right of way, and later 50 acres of land to be used for the townsite.

Bean died in 1887; the year the city of Tom Bean was informally established. Nearby Whitemound, which was bypassed by the railroad, lost its post office to Tom Bean in 1888; many Whitemound settlers subsequently vacated and moved to the new town where they established homes and businesses.

Mr. Bean's estate began to sell town lots surrounding the railroad in the 1890s. The city school was moved in 1891 from a one-room structure to a two-story building with an auditorium. Several Christian denominations, including the Church of Christ (1890), Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist, established churches in town.

J.B. Hindman was the first railroad agent, and a boxcar served as the first temporary depot until a more permanent one could be erected in February 1888.The original business district ran parallel to the railroad, but in 1906, three brick buildings were erected one block south of the railroad.

News from the time indicates that Tom Bean first voted to incorporate sometime in mid 1891. W.W.Arnold was elected as Tom Bean's first Mayor in 1893, and H.A.Sroufe was its first City Marshal. A city charter was signed in 1897, and the first mayor elected thereafter was Ice B. Reeves.

In the early days of the 20th century, the city boomed. Within a few years, it boasted a grain company, a furniture company, a drugstore, a newspaper called the Tom Bean Bulletin, a saloon, a dance hall, a movie theater, a justice court, a jail, and the Tom Bean social club.

As time progressed, the sharp increase in automobile travel and transport, and the decline of cotton as the principal crop of the area, led businesses to the larger cities of Denison and Sherman, the county seat.

Though never again the railroad boomtown of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the community enjoyed a growth spurt in the 1950s and 1980s, celebrating its centennial in 1987.

Current growth is due to its proximity to nearby Sherman, 11 miles (18 km) to the northwest.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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