Gunter

History

Gunter was founded in 1902 (other sources report 1901, with a post office as early as 1898) when the family of John (a/k/a Jot) Gunter deeded for the original townsite, near the intersection of current State Highway 289 and Farm to Market Road 121. The first residence was established in 1903 by Albert Earthman, who would later charter the First National Bank in Gunter. A second bank, the First State Bank, would later open. Gunter steadily grew until 1924, when the First State Bank (having outlasted the First National Bank) closed, leaving many businesses and farmers in financial ruin. The Great Depression and two devastating fires in 1930 and 1948 further damaged the local economy. Gunter began to increase its population in the 1950s, and experienced its greatest growth, at 37 percent, during the 1990s. Gunter has started to experience overflow growth from the northern Metroplex suburbs, due to its location on State Highway 289 approximately north of Celina, as well as its proximity to the Sherman-Denison metropolitan area and nearby Lake Texoma. In May 2002, a branch of Ada, Oklahoma-based Landmark Bank (now part of Simmons Bank) opened in Gunter, providing the town its first financial institution in nearly 90 years. On May 19, 2004, two Burlington Northern rock freight trains collided head-on near Gunter. The wreck killed one of the engineers on one of the trains and injured the rest of the crew members.

Geography

Gunter is located in southwestern Grayson County. State Highway 289 leads north to Sherman, the county seat, and south to Celina. The city's boundaries expanded between 2000 and 2010. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of , all land, in 2000, which had increased to in 2010, of which were land and , or 0.63%, were water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,316
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,855
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  1,764
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,612
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,590
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,461
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,398
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  1,384

Most recent

• M 2.51 — 2023-09-25
  10 km S of Wilson, Oklahoma
• M 2.9 — 2023-07-11
  10 km S of Wilson, Oklahoma
• M 2.51 — 2022-07-20
  9 km WSW of Lebanon, Oklahoma
• M 2.53 — 2021-12-20
  14 km ENE of Leon, Oklahoma
• M 2.51 — 2020-06-11
  14 km NE of Leon, Oklahoma
• M 2.55 — 2020-01-06
  13 km NE of Leon, Oklahoma