Located in southeast Collin County, Nevada grew from an area first settled in 1835, when John McMinn moved his family onto a 1600-acre land grant in what later became the McMinn Chapel community, four miles north of the present-day town. The rich Blackland Prairie drew additional settlers, and in 1852 Granville Stinebaugh of Missouri purchased 160 acres and established Nevada. The arrival of the St. Louis and Southwestern Railroad in 1888, later the Cotton Belt Railroad, shifted the town closer to the depot and helped nearby settlers move in as a booming commercial district developed with restaurants, shops, hotels, offices, and fraternal lodges. Nevada incorporated on Jan. 24, 1891. Although the community at first had no denominational churches and used an old gin house for worship by all faiths, by the 1890s it had Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Christian churches. Education was also a priority, with early classes held in homes until a school was built. In 1902 John Evans purchased land east of town and opened the Evans Addition as interest increased. On Monday, May 9, 1927, at 2:20 A.M., a half-mile-wide tornado completely destroyed the west side of town, killing 27 and wounding 75, but the citizens continued to work and hope for future growth.