Notable Growth Stories

Carrollton’s growth story is definitely worth noting. This city’s development is unbelievable, to be honest.

1. From 150 People to 139,248 in 140 Years

Back in 1885, Carrollton had exactly 150 people living here. Today, there are 139,248 residents and the math is wild. Between 1970 and 1980, the population jumped 193 percent.

Three-quarters of every house you see got built during that one decade because people were literally racing to move here.

2. Where 40+ Languages Are Spoken Daily

If you step into any Carrollton grocery store, it’s like taking a trip around the world without buying a plane ticket. Over 40 percent of people here are Hispanic or Latino, but that’s just the start.

You’ve got Korean families running businesses, Vietnamese pho spots that never close, and Indian restaurants dishing out curry so good it makes you question your life choices.

3. The Only City Where Three School Districts Fight Over You

Most cities barely handle one school district without drama. Carrollton? They’ve got THREE different ones all trying to educate the same kids: Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, Lewisville ISD, and Dallas ISD.

Schools are constantly trying to one-up each other and test scores stay high because everyone’s in full competition mode.

Historical Fun Facts About Carrollton, TX

Carrollton’s backstory is way more entertaining than any suburb has a right to be.

4. Buffalo Hunters and Longhorn Scares

Before anyone even thought about building strip malls here, massive buffalo herds owned this place completely. Native American tribes built impressive communities along the Trinity River.

Then settlers started rolling in with hilarious mixed reactions: one guy mailed dirt back East to convince his family to move here, while some European family took one look at those giant longhorn cattle and booked it straight back to Europe.

5. When Illinois Homesickness Named a Texas Town

Carrollton got its name because pioneers from Carrollton, Illinois, were feeling super homesick and decided to just name their new Texas town after their old one.

The name became official on May 16, 1878, when they got their first post office. By then, this place had already developed its own Texas attitude with just enough Midwest stubbornness.

Railroad Empire Secrets

Railroads might sound boring, but Carrollton’s railroad story is chaotic and amazing!

6. The Town Where Four Railroads Played Chicken

Four different railroad companies all decided they HAD to run their tracks through tiny Carrollton at the exact same spot. The Cotton Belt, Katy, Frisco, and Burlington-Northern all converged right here. This turned Carrollton into this important shipping center for cattle, grain, and cotton.

7. Electric Trains That Made Cowboys Jealous

So in 1922, while cowboys were still riding horses everywhere, Carrollton got its first electric train, called the Texas Interurban Railway, running between Dallas and Denton.

Cowboys went from being the coolest way to get around to watching electric trains zoom past them like they were stuck in slow motion.

Celebrity Hideouts & Hometown Heroes

Carrollton has been hiding some seriously impressive people, too!

8. Selena Gomez’s Secret Childhood Hideaway

Yeah, so that global superstar Selena Gomez? She actually spent part of her childhood right here in regular old Carrollton before becoming massively famous.

While she was born in Grand Prairie, she lived in Carrollton during some of her early years. She probably walked around the same streets you drive down every day.

9. Olympic Gold Medalists Train Where You Shop

Madison Kocian, who won Olympic gold in gymnastics at the 2016 Summer Olympics, is straight up from Carrollton. Former Dallas Cowboys safety Darren Woodson went to high school right here, too.

So basically, while you’re picking up milk and eggs, you’re walking where Olympic champions and NFL stars used to hang out.

Bizarre Business Adventures

Now, let’s talk about business. Carrollton’s business history is also worth talking about!

10. The Brick Factory That Built Half of Dallas

So around 1904, someone had the brilliant idea to start making bricks right here in Carrollton. The Carrollton Pressed Brick Company started cranking out bricks that literally built Dallas: the Belle Allen home, the old Grapevine High School, and lots of buildings around the town square.

These bricks had “CARROLLTON” stamped right into them. This little town was branding itself all over North Texas way before anyone knew what branding even was.

11. Buffalo Ranches Still Roam Inside City Limits

You thought the buffalo story was just history? Nope! In the 1940s, “Colonel” C.W. Josey bought land and decided to bring buffalo and longhorns back to Carrollton like some Wild West theme park.

He had a massive 1,000-acre ranch right inside the city limits. The ranch is mostly a sports complex now, but that lake you see there? That’s from a quarry that used to supply clay to one of Carrollton’s brick factories.

12. Ice Delivery Was Once a Luxury Service

Back in 1904, getting ice delivered to your house was basically like having a personal chef today. People got ice delivered once a week unless it got really hot, then they’d bump it up to twice a week, like some premium service.

Iced tea was literally a Sunday treat, and families would make homemade ice cream like it was Christmas morning.

Quirky Town Square Secrets

There are still some secrets Carrollton is hiding from you! These beat mystery novels, in our humble opinion.

13. A Creek Once Flowed Through Main Street

This is going to sound made up, but we swear it’s true. There used to be an actual creek running right through the middle of what’s now the town square. Water was literally flowing down Main Street before anyone thought that might be inconvenient for walking and shopping.

That gazebo you see in the middle of the square is exactly where that creek used to flow.

14. The Gazebo That Hides Underground Water Works

Speaking of that gazebo, it’s not just there to look pretty. It’s also sitting on top of secret infrastructure. The original bandstand, built in 1921, actually concealed the water works and a hand-pushed fire hose cart in its base.

So while the town band was playing concerts up top, there was literally firefighting equipment and water pumps hiding underneath.

15. Movie Theaters Projected on Grocery Store Walls

Before Netflix, Carrollton had the most creative entertainment setup ever. The first “theater” in town was just someone stretching a makeshift screen across the side of George F. Myers Grocery Store and projecting movies onto it.

This was peak small-town innovation. Imagine using the side of a grocery store as a movie screen.

Boundary-Bending Weirdness

Carrollton’s location makes zero geographical sense!

16. The City That Conquered Three Counties

Let’s mess with your head a little! Carrollton sits in THREE different counties: Dallas, Denton, and Collin. Most cities can barely handle being in one county, but Carrollton just casually sprawls across three like it owns the place.

This creates hilarious administrative chaos. We’re talking different county taxes, different voting districts, different everything, depending on which street you live on.

17. 20 Minutes to Anywhere That Matters in Texas

Carrollton is literally minutes away from anywhere. You can get to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in 20 minutes, which means you can literally be anywhere in the world faster than most people can get across their own city. 

Downtown Dallas? Quick drive. Arlington and the Cowboys stadium? Easy. Major corporations keep setting up shop here just because they can get anywhere without breaking a sweat.

Corporate Takeover Stories

Carrollton’s business scene is also wild right now. Here are some fun facts about it!

18. Fortune 500 Companies Choose Small-Town Charm

Massive companies like Halliburton, Thomson Reuters, and McKesson all decided that Carrollton, Texas, was the place to be. Over 5,000 businesses call Carrollton home now, and 13 privately held companies here pull in over $1 billion each year.

Why deal with big city headaches when you can run a Fortune 500 company from a place where you can actually find parking?

19. From Cotton Bales to Computer Chips Revolution

The economic transformation in Carrollton is super impressive as well. Back in 1900, this place had 13 cotton gins shipping cotton bales everywhere. Fast forward to today and Carrollton is manufacturing semiconductors and electronic components that probably power half the devices you use every day.

The Dallas area even got nicknamed the “Silicon Prairie” because of all the tech companies that moved here.

Parks, Recreation, and Outdoor Fun Facts

We know you’ve been waiting for this so hold onto your hiking boots because we’re to share cool facts about Carrollton’s outdoor scene.

20. More Park Space Than Most Small Countries

No joke, Carrollton has over 1,230 acres of parkland spread across 36 different parks. That’s more green space than Monaco has total land area!

You could probably spend a month exploring all of them without getting bored.

21. 26 Miles of Trails That Connect to Infinity

Carrollton has 26 miles of hiking and biking trails that basically connect to every other trail system in North Texas. It’s like they built a secret network where you could theoretically bike from Carrollton all the way to Oklahoma if you really wanted to test your endurance.

22. Colonel Josey’s Buffalo Ranch Became Your Soccer Field

Remember that buffalo ranch we mentioned? Well, Colonel C.W. Josey’s 1,000-acre ranch, where buffalo used to roam free, is now an epic sports complex. Your kids are probably playing soccer on the exact same ground where buffalo herds used to graze.

23. Quarries Turned Into Recreational Lakes

Carrollton has this genius habit of turning old industrial sites into gorgeous recreational areas. When the brick companies shut down, instead of leaving ugly holes in the ground, the city turned them into lakes and parks where families hang out now. Quite a recycling project.

Educational Excellence Facts

Carrollton’s education situation is also showing off!

24. Schools So Good, Three Districts Compete

Remember those three school districts? Well, this creates the most intense educational competition you’ve never heard of.

Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, Lewisville ISD, and Dallas ISD are all trying to outdo each other because nobody wants to be the district that’s slacking. Over 25 public schools operate here, and several consistently get top ratings.

25. College Access Without Leaving Your Backyard

You can get a world-class college education without ever leaving Carrollton’s backyard. Brookhaven College is right here, and the University of Texas at Dallas is just a quick drive away.

Because of Carrollton’s location, students have easy access to pretty much every major university in North Texas.

Transportation and Connectivity Fun Facts

Oh man, get ready because Carrollton’s transportation situation is absolutely bonkers in the best possible way.

26. The Great Railroad Intersection Experiment

Remember those four railroads? They created the most epic transportation experiment in Texas history. The Cotton Belt, Katy, Frisco, and Burlington-Northern all crossed paths right here like some railroad game of chicken that somehow worked perfectly. Carrollton became this crazy important shipping hub where you could get cattle to Chicago, grain to New Orleans, all from one tiny Texas town.

27. Green Line Trains Race Historic Steam Engines

You can literally ride the DART Green Line from downtown Dallas all the way to North Carrollton, and you’re basically following the same route that steam engines used over 100 years ago. The Green Line zips along tracks that parallel where those historic railroads used to run, so you’re getting a high-speed history lesson every time you take public transit.

28. DFW Airport: Your International Escape Route

Carrollton is exactly 20 minutes from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which means you can go from your front door to literally anywhere on Earth faster than most people can cross their own city.

DFW is one of the busiest airports in the world, so you’ve got direct flights to pretty much every major city you can think of.

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Cultural and Entertainment Facts About the City

Carrollton’s entertainment options have more personality than cities ten times its size.

29. Railroad Festivals That Rock the Switchyard

Every year, Carrollton throws the Festival at the Switchyard, and it’s the most perfect celebration of the city’s railroad history you could ask for. There is live music, food trucks, activities for kids, and vendors selling everything you didn’t know you needed.

The whole thing happens right where those historic railroad lines used to intersect.

30. Museums Where Pioneer Ghosts Still Live

The A.W. Perry Homestead Museum is hands down one of the coolest historical sites you’ll ever visit. This place was built in 1909 using materials salvaged from an even older house from the 1850s. That means, you’re basically looking at layers of Carrollton history all stacked up in one building. Walking through it feels like you’re stepping back in time.

31. The Movie Theater That Survived Hollywood’s Golden Age

The Plaza Theater opened in 1949 and somehow managed to keep showing movies until 1994. It survived the entire golden age of Hollywood, plus the rise of multiplex theaters and home video.

This little theater served people from a 10-mile radius for 45 years straight, which is basically unheard of in the entertainment business.

32. Community Gardens Where Neighbors Become Friends

Carrollton has community gardens where neighbors actually get together and grow fruits and vegetables like some kind of suburban farming collective. These are organized spaces where people share gardening tips, trade produce, and actually get to know the people who live around them.

In a world where most people don’t even know their neighbors’ names, Carrollton created spaces where people bond over tomatoes and zucchini.

Crime-Fighting Legends

Carrollton’s safety situation is also super impressive, which almost sounds fake.

33. Police and Fire Departments With Superhero Ratings

Carrollton’s police and fire departments are rated so highly for responsiveness and professionalism that other cities probably study them like they’re teaching a masterclass in public safety.

These aren’t just regular emergency responders. They’re the kind of people who show up faster than you expected and make you feel safer just knowing they’re around.

34. Crime Rates So Low, Criminals Get Lost

Here’s another thing that’ll make you want to pack up and move here immediately: Carrollton has one of the lowest crime rates in all of Texas. Their crime rates are so low that criminals probably get confused and end up in the wrong city by accident. You can walk around at night without constantly checking over your shoulder.

35. Subtropical Paradise With Mild Winter Escapes

Carrollton is in this perfect subtropical climate zone that’s basically like nature’s way of apologizing for making you live in Texas during the summer. Yeah, July gets hot, but January is so mild you can probably wear shorts.

Spring and fall are gorgeous here. There’s Instagram-worthy weather that makes you want to spend every weekend outdoors.

36. May Floods That Made Heroes Out of Neighbors

This is a wild piece of Carrollton history that shows what this community is really made of. Back in the day, May was flood season because of all the rain and creek activity. But instead of just dealing with it like a natural disaster, neighbors turned into heroes during these floods.

The Boatwright family became legendary for rescuing people during the 1928 flood. They risked their own safety to help their community.