When the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad reached this area in 1885, company officials platted the town of Goldthwaite and built a reservoir to supply water for steam locomotives. A 25-foot-high dam near this site stored water from several springs, creating a pond that became a favorite swimming spot. The railroad dug a 50-foot-deep, spring-fed well at this site in 1906 to provide more water. In 1915, when these sources became inadequate, the dam was broken and reservoir drained. Today the springs form a stream which runs through Mills County Park, and the well is used by the city.

Named for S.P. McDermott, who had crossroads store and was an early postmaster. Began as a community called Dark, 1-1/2 miles northeast. (School in area was named Bookout). Town moved 1909 to the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railroad. It had a hotel and a number of businesses. The Santa Fe was built in 1911, and the competing railroads made this a busy cattle shipping center, with full loading pens. Town moved 1915 to Santa Fe Railroad. The R.S.& P. tracks were taken up in 1942. The town had new population in the late 1940s, during county oil boom.

This area was first settled in the 1840s and 1850s by pioneer farmers and ranchers. In 1881 the Chicago, Texas & Mexican Central Railroad extended a line here and constructed a switching station. John Duncan, who lived in the vicinity, was instrumental in securing railroad right-of-way. As a result, the area became known as Duncan Switch. Charles P. Nance and Chris Horne opened the first business in the area, a store at this site. Nance applied for a post office for Duncan but was denied because there was already a Duncan, Texas. He then changed the name to Duncanville. On Oct. 12, 1882, the post office was approved and opened in the store.

Acquired by the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad in 1883, the rail line through this area allowed local goods to be shipped to distant markets. Duncanville's growth was gradual, however, and by the 1930s only about 300 people lived here. Incorporated in 1947 with D.L. Hopkins, Jr. as the first Mayor, the town began to experience Rapid Growth in the 1950s and 1960s as a result of nearby urban development.

Today, Duncanville serves as the center of a major commercial area. Its continued development as one of the fastest growing towns in Texas reflects its rich heritage and community pride.

In 1890 Henry J. Runge laid out the town of Arcadia at the site of a railroad depot on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad near here known as Hall's Station. Sometime between 1890 and 1897, Evergreen Cemetery was established to serve the growing community of Arcadia. The first person known to be buried here was Susan Carswell Sims (d.1897).

The Evergreen Cemetery Association was formed in 1906; J.L. Polinard, R.H. Romine, and S.A. Franks were the original trustees. That same year the cemetery was granted a state charter and in 1907 Henry Runge deeded the 2-acre Evergreen Cemetery plot to the association. At that time the cemetery contained 13 known gravesites. Between 1906 and 1949 at least 47 people are known to have been buried here.

When the charter was not renewed in 1956 the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce stepped in and led a successful effort for its renewal in 1958. The purpose of the cemetery under the new charter was to provide a burial place for indigent residents of Arcadia. The last person buried in Evergreen Cemetery was Josephine Short in 1958. Grounds restoration by Arcadia volunteers and construction of a road to the cemetery by Galveston County were completed in 1972.

This congregation traces its history to 1883, when the Rev. A.R. Watson and a small group of worshipers formed a Baptist congregation in the community of Mukewater. The church moved to the new town of Bangs on the Santa Fe Railroad Line in 1890 and became known as First Baptist Church. By 1891 a sanctuary was built on land granted to the church by the railroad. It was replaced by a larger structure in 1923. Throughout its history, First Baptist Church has served the community with a variety of worship, educational, and outreach programs.

Organized by four charter members, the First Baptist Church of Celeste was begun in 1887, the same year the town was platted by the Santa Fe Railroad. The Rev. Jim Price was called as first pastor. A two-story building erected on South Third Street served both the church and the local Masonic Lodge. The building was destroyed by fire in 1907, and a larger structure was completed in 1910 on the same site. A new sanctuary was built on the corner of Third and Cockrell streets in 1970. This church has been part of Celeste history for over a century.

The First Baptist Church of Moody was organized in 1855 in the commuity of Perry (2 mi.N), with Elder S.G. O'Bryan serving as first pastor. Another early minister, the Rev. John McClain, had been present at the church's organization and served the congregation for many years. In 1883, two years after the Santa Fe Railroad bypassed the town of Perry, the Baptist church moved to this site in the new railroad town of Moody. The church has ordained several pastors from its membership and has contributed much to the heritage of the surrounding area.

As the township of Duck Creek began to take shape in 1858, four denominations shared religious services in the Duck Creek schoolhouse. Area development was delayed by the onset of the Civil War, but by the 1870s the town was recovering. The Rev. W.B. Cole organized First Christian Church in 1875 with 21 charter members. They met in the schoolhouse for several years. In 1884, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad missed Duck Creek by one mile. A new township called Embree sprang up beside the railroad line. In 1885, the Rev. W.B. Cole's son, Charles L. Cole, became the growing congregation's first full-time minister; the following year, church members erected their own house of worship. In 1888 the congregation purchased the land on this site and moved the church building here. The two townships incorporated in 1891 to become Garland. The congregation grew with the area. Between 1922 and 1924 a new brick building was erected. The church was remodeled and additions were made as needed. The congregation persevered despite the difficulties of the Depression era. From 1954 to 1964 the church established two new congregations, Monica Park and Western Heights Christian churches.

The membership of the First Christian Church of Garland reached 1000 in the year 2000. At the dawn of the 21st century, the First Christian Church serves its congregation and the wider community with such outreach ministries as counseling services and offering free meeting space and financial aid to many nonprofit organizations. The First Christian Church of Garland continues in the traditions of its founders.

When the Santa Fe Railroad organized Temple in 1880, it offered lots to any church that would erect a building on the site. In 1888 a group of Christian called an evangelist, the Rev. W.S. Lockhart, in an effort to organize a congregation. Within a year, they had secured a site for a church building between Central Avenue and Avenue A and had called the Rev. C.H. Strawn as their first pastor. The Rev. Mr. Strawn organized such church groups as the official church board, the Ladies' Aid Society, and the Sunday School. The congregation grew so rapidly by 1903 its members had moved into a new building on the corner of 3rd Street and Adams Avenue. In 1909 the graded Sunday School system was adopted, and an educational annex was added in 1914.

The next years saw active growth. The Bell County Convention of Christian Churches was formed, the Men's Bible Class flourished, the ladies of the church united to become the Women's Council, the church began to sponsor the Boy Scouts of America. Many devoted members willed portions of their estates to the church, and by 1948 a modern building was dedicated. Continued member support enabled the church to celebrate its centennial in 1988.

The Rev. Grant. L. Hayes, first Methodist circuit rider in this area, founded the Ivanhoe, Oklahoma, church 3 miles to the north in 1902; the Stillwater Church, 6 miles east, in Texas in 1904. After Follett originated on the Santa Fe Railroad in 1917, the two congregations merged here. The Old Ivanhoe Church bell, cast in Ohio in 1907, was relocated at the Follett building site in 1919, installed in first church tower in 1924, and brought as a link from the historic past to the modern church (built 1961) in 1976.