1870s
A Store Becomes A Townsite
Early settlers arrived from Denton County, and Sam Smith opened a grocery store that became one of the anchors of the growing community.
Sunset, Texas
A Small North Texas Town With A Long Memory
Sunset sits in southern Montague County near State Highway 101 and Farm Road 1749. Its story runs through frontier settlement, a post office name change, railroad growth, and the farm economy that shaped much of North Texas.
A surveying error once placed Sunset in Wise County, but a 1900 lawsuit awarded the land, including the townsite, to Montague County. That mix of local identity, boundary history, and working-land heritage is part of the place Sunset Pulse calls home.
1880
The Name Sunset Sticks
Smith applied for a post office under the name Smithville. Because that name was already taken, postal authorities suggested Sunset.
1882-1884
Railroad Momentum
The Fort Worth and Denver Railway came through the community, drawing nearby residents toward the tracks. Sunset voted to incorporate on July 26, 1884.
1900s
A Farm Market Center
By 1900, Sunset had grown past 600 residents and supported cotton gins, banks, a school, churches, a gristmill, a canning factory, and the Sunset Signal newspaper.
Community Landmark
Sunset Gas & Grill
Valero lists Sunset Gas & Grill at this address as a station with fuel and a quick-service restaurant. Sunset’s documented town history includes an earlier grocery store, railroad service, and farm-market institutions; the sources do not establish a historical connection between those businesses and today’s station.
📍 101 S Council Dr, Sunset, TX 76270Visit Grill Menu →
Atlas Pulse
72%LocatedSourcedSeededForgedBoundLive
Sunset townsite, southern Montague County is currently strongest against texas_place_history.tah.
Sunset Texas history Montague County railroad post office