Located in south-central Collin County, St. Paul is one of the county’s oldest communities. Its name came from St. Paul Catholic Church, established in 1856 in the area, and the community was at one time known as Dump. In the late 1800s, St. Paul had two schools, two churches, a cemetery, a post office, a general store, a grist mill, a blacksmith shop, and a gin. The post office was established on May 12, 1876, with W.E. Marriott as the first postmaster. Along with the Catholic church, Methodist services began as early as 1856 in the homes of Mark L. Morris and Will Spurgeon until a permanent church home was built in the late 1890s. Education began in individual homes until public schools were established, and the community had two schools, one at the Catholic Church and the Morris school, constructed in 1873 and shared with the Methodist church. The school at the Catholic Church was a two-story building built by the community, and its upper floor was used by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish Catholic organization. The two schools later combined because the surrounding community was not large enough to support both, and the schools consolidated with the Wylie school district while the Catholic and Methodist congregations merged with churches in Wylie. St. Paul incorporated in 1971, and this rural agricultural community played a significant role in the early development of south-central Collin County.