Settlers claiming land grants from Peters Colony began homesteading this area in 1844. It is believed many residents came from Carrollton, Illinois, and the new town was named Carrollton. The name became permanent when a post office was established in 1878 with J.M. Myers as the first postmaster. The town emerged from a scattered community when the railroads arrived with freight and passenger service: the Katy in 1878, the Cotton Belt in 1888, and the Frisco in 1901. A.W. Perry worked to drive growth by making railroad right-of-ways available, plotting residential additions, and granting use of land for schools, churches, and the cemetery. In 1900, brothers J.S. and G.F. Myers plotted the town square area. By June 1913, the city had incorporated and elected W.F. Vinson as its first mayor. At this location in 1933, the first city hall was built, a two-story frame building that provided city offices, headquarters for the volunteer fire department organized on March 1, 1927, and housing for the fire truck.