This community began in the late 1860s when entrepreneur Thomas M. West established a stagecoach stop, dry goods store, and post office here. Known as the Bold Springs Settlement, these commercial structures stood on a section of the Dallas Road leading to West's ranch property. Early Anglo-American settlers were drawn by abundant good water and rich wooded prairie blacklands. In 1880 the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad erected a depot at Bold Springs, and in 1882 the community was renamed West in honor of Thomas West. The arrival of the railroad and the rise of cotton production in the 1880s attracted many Czech and German immigrants. By 1900 the town had become the economic and cultural center of the thriving farming region of northeastern McLennan County. The community soon gained its first newspaper, bank, volunteer fire department, and first block of brick buildings. By 1910 West was a bustling town of about 2000 people, and since then it has experienced slow but steady growth. Since 1976, Westfest has celebrated the community's Czech heritage.