Texhoma began in 1901 when the post office called Loretta, formerly northwest along the Beaver River, moved to the new Rock Island Railroad tracks and was renamed for its location in two states. From only five families then, the town grew to 1000 people by 1908 and served a large trade territory, with many stores, three banks, two schools, three churches, and five wagon yards supporting the movement of goods to and from farms and ranches in Hansford, Ochiltree, and Sherman counties in Texas and Texas and Cimarron Counties in Oklahoma. Separate towns on the Texas and Oklahoma sides were incorporated early and competed fiercely in the early years. After 1910, many small frame downtown buildings gave way to brick structures; a brick school rose on the Oklahoma side in 1909 and on the Texas side by 1913, and the first Texhoma High School class graduated in 1913. Town services expanded quickly, including a telephone company in 1907, a public water system in 1913, an electric plant in 1921, downtown brick paving in 1928, and gas service and a sewer system in 1929. After the hard years of the Depression-Dust Bowl of the 1930s and World War II in the 1940s, further building followed, including new school buildings, a medical clinic and fire station, several new churches, a municipal swimming pool, and a TV translator. Gas booms in the 1940s, agricultural irrigation in the 1950s, and the swine industry in the 1990s contributed to the town's economic stability. Its public school system remained a source of pride, with state championships in football in 1971, girls basketball in 1992, boys basketball in 1994, and girls track in 1996, while many other teams also reached state tournaments. In 1976, the legislatures of both states combined the two school systems, which continued to maintain separate school boards with excellent cooperation.