Whitney, the first railroad town in Hill County, was established in 1879 on the route of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad and was named for railroad investor Charles A. Whitney. Lots in the new town were sold at a "Grand Picnic" on November 25, 1879, and an eager crowd bid on lots priced between $100 and $750. Several merchants who purchased lots set up "tent stores" while carpenters worked night and day to complete wooden frame stores, and soon a central business district was operating. The town came to include a post office, bank, school, several churches, civic organizations, a newspaper, and many businesses. Its opera house became the cultural center for entertainment, offering theatrical and musical productions and later movies. Several devastating fires burned much of the downtown area over the years, but citizens rebuilt each time. The building of nearby Whitney Dam expanded the town's population in the late 1940s and early 1950s and brought increased tourism from visitors to the newly created Lake Whitney. Whitney observed its 100th birthday on November 25, 1979, with a centennial celebration that included a parade, musical entertainment, and fireworks.