Aerial view of Sunset, Texas, an unincorporated community in southern Montague County, framed to echo the 1890 T.M. Fowler bird's-eye drawing

Sunset

A Butterfield Overland Mail relay station operated near present-day Sunset as early as 1858, making it one of the county's earliest transportation nodes.

A Butterfield Overland Mail relay station operated near present-day Sunset as early as 1858, making it one of the county's earliest transportation nodes. Permanent settlement followed in 1870; the post office opened in 1880. Sunset incorporated as a city in 1884 and disincorporated April 19, 2007.

At a glance

Population
586
Founded
1880
ZIP code
76270
Status
Unincorporated
Distance
15 mi from Montague
Role
Unincorporated community on State Highway 101 in southern Montague County; disincorporated April 19, 2007

Founding

A Butterfield Overland Mail relay station operated about two miles from the present townsite from 1858 to 1861 — the first through-service west of the Red River. Permanent settlement began in 1870 from Denton County; Sam Smith opened a grocery store and applied for a post office in 1880 under the name Smithville, but postal authorities assigned the name Sunset instead.

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