Welcome to Overton, TX!
Designated Lone Star City
City Hall (903) 834-3171 – Fax (903) 834-3174
Police Department (903) 834-3145 – Fax (903) 834-3216
Email us: info@cityofoverton.com
Community Calendar: @cityofoverton.com
Community Calendar
Community Updates
3-17-2023 Rescind Boil Water Notice
3-17-2023 Rescind Notice
Heads up Overton residents for 3/16/2023
The City of Overton will be working another main leak on East Henderson Street on Thursday, 3/16/2023. The water system will need to be shut down while the repairs are being made.
3-15-2023 Boil Water Notice
3-15-2023 Boil Water Notice
Head’s Up Overton Water Residents
The City of Overton will be repairing a leak on East Henderson Street in front of the school on Wednesday, March 15, and will also be replacing a 10" water main valve. The water system will be shut down mid-morning and will be followed by a Boil Water notice after noon.
Head’s Up Overton Water Residents-REPAIRS COMPLETED 2/23/2023
Repairs to the Williams Street Water leak have been completed with no loss of water pressure causing any need for a Boil Water Notice after all. There is no boil water notice in effect for 2/23/2023.
History of Overton
The City of Overton, Texas located both in Rusk and Smith counties. Overton lies approximately 10 miles south of Kilgore (25 miles south of Longview), 15 miles west of Henderson and 20 miles southeast of Tyler.
The town was named after Major Frank Overton, an early settler and landowner who donated some of his land for the town site. It was platted in 1873 and a post office was granted that year.
Overton was originally intended to be a crossroads for two railroads. In 1875 the Henderson and Overton Branch Railroad, 16 miles long, was completed and was later joined by the International-Great Northern. When the nearby communities of Belleveu, Jamestown, Rocky Mount, and Salem were all bypassed by the railroad, Overton gained the businesses and people who wanted to benefit from the railroad lines. The town offered lots for businesses to relocate and many took the offer.
The Masons and Odd Fellows built the first school and a church was constructed in 1875. By 1888 the population had increased to 500 and had all essential businesses, including a newspaper. Overton prospered as an agricultural community and in 1904 the population had reached 568.
Oklahoman wildcatter C. M. (Dad) Joiner was drilling his third well in 1930 and the town of Overton helped raise the funds he needed to drill. When the well came in Overton, shared in Joiner’s success, as churches, schools, and a refinery were built. Hubbard College was founded during this time as well. The town’s once agrarian-based economy suddenly revolved entirely around the production of oil.
Overton’s population exploded from 426 in 1931 to 3,000 in 1933. By 1936 it was up to 4,500 and the town went through the Great Depression relatively unscathed. But by the end of World War II the population had declined by half – reaching just 2,000 in the 1950s and remaining at that level through the 1970s. In the 1980s Overton was Rusk County’s “second city” with a population of 2,430 in 1983. By the 1990s Overton extended into neighboring Smith County.