Slaton developed from the coming of the Santa Fe Railroad after O.L. Slaton, a Lubbock businessman and banker, helped secure the railroad right-of-way through the area. The town was laid out in 1911 and named for him, and the Pecos and Northern Texas branch of the Santa Fe line reached Slaton in May 1911, one month after the first town lots were sold. Slaton's official opening day was June 15, 1911, when the first of Santa Fe's four daily passenger trains arrived. The town grew rapidly as the railroad made it a division point with a Harvey House, roundhouse, machine shops, and a two-story freight and passenger depot. A post office opened in 1911 with Annie Higbee as postmistress, buildings quickly rose on the square as businesses were established, and the Santa Fe hired Dr. Samuel Houston Adams as surgeon for the Slaton Division. Slaton was incorporated in 1912, with R. J. Murray elected mayor and Joe H. Teague, Sr., serving as first city marshal. In one of Texas' foremost agricultural regions, Slaton has continued to base its economy on ranching and farming.