Carlton

History

Carlton was founded in 1877 by a man named H.H. Armstrong on land owned by two local settlers; rancher J. M. Evans and Dr. F. M. Carlton, the town's namesake. With growth stimulated by its location on the major area stagecoach line, Carlton prospered through the late 1870s and by 1878 possessed its own school and several churches. In 1879, the post office at nearby Honey Creek was moved to Carlton and renamed for its new location. In 1900, the community had a reported population of just over 160 and several businesses, including a large cotton gin. The Stephenville North and South Texas Railway, part of the historic Cotton Belt Route, was built through Carlton in 1907 on its way from nearby Alexander to Hamilton. Carlton reached its peak population of 750 residents by 1910. During this time, two small weekly newspapers had served the area; the Courier, which ran from 1907 to 1909, and the Citizen, which ran 1910-1936. Prosperity came to an end in the 1930s, however. Effects of the boll weevil blight of the 1920s and the Great Depression exacted a dire toll on Carlton. The railroad was abandoned in 1934, and by 1940 the population had fallen to 400. The declining population led to the closing of the Carlton schools in 1969 and by 1980 the reported population had dropped to seventy, a figure it maintained through to the 2000 Census.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  375
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  369
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  355
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  191
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  183
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  180
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  168
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  154

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2013-03-10
  6 km NNE of Godley, Texas
• M 3.3 — 2012-01-18
  9 km SSE of Godley, Texas
• M 2.5 — 2010-11-08
  3 km NNW of Rio Vista, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2009-06-07
  6 km NNE of Rio Vista, Texas
• M 2.8 — 2009-06-02
  1 km WNW of Cleburne, Texas