 Italy bears no cultural ties to the "Old Country"and if there are citizens of Italian heritage - it's merely coincidental. The name was contributed by the postmaster of 1880 who imagined the climate of Texas comparable to that of Italy.
History in a Pecan shell. A timeline of significant events in Italy, Texas: - 1860: Scattered settlement begins
- 1879: the brothers Aycock built the first house and use it as a combination of house, store and post office. The town was split over what the name should be - some wanting Egypt and others Italy. Gabriel J. Penn, the Waxahachie postmaster settled the matter for them by filling in the blank on the application with the name Italy. The postal authorities gladly accepted Italy (there was already an Egypt in Wharton County).
- 1890: The population reaches 500 Italians (not really Italians, but what else are you going to call them?)
- 1891: A big year for Italy. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad arrived (actually in December 1890), the first newspaper was published, and the town was officially incorporated.
- 1900: population is 1,061
- 1901: The International-Great Northern Railroad reaches Italy
- 1913: The Electric Interurban between Waco and Dallas comes through Italy (Electricity for the city was provided by Waco)
- 1920s: Italy had five gins, a compress, and a cottonseed oil mill.
- 1925: The population reaches 1,500 and the Italy Independent School District was established.
- 1930: Italy starts the Great Depression with a population of 1,230 people and 45 businesses.
- 1960: Italy's population remains nearly the same with only 1,183 people and half the businesses.
Italy Today
Italy is the home of the S. M. Dunlap Memorial Library.
Because of its slow growth from the 30s, Italy is a town that should be visited on an Ellis County trip. It remains very representative of a North Texas cotton town of the 1930s.
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