Welcome to Overton, TX!
Designated Lone Star City
City Hall (903) 834-3171
Police Department (903) 834-3145 – Fax (903) 834-3216
Email us: info@cityofoverton.com or cityadmin@cityofoverton.com
Community Calendar: cityadmin@cityofoverton.com
Community Calendar
City of Overton Water Restrictions
Community Updates
Order of Election – Kilgore Junior College – 5/4/2019
ORDER OF ELECTION FOR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS Kilgore Junior College District An election is hereby ordered to be held on May 4, 2019, for the purpose of electing Board of Trustees Member, South Zone, Voting Unit 1, Place 7, for the regular six year term. Early...
2019 City Clean Up Information
April 2019 is Don't Mess with Texas month. The City of Overton will be holding its annual City Wide Clean Up Days on Friday April 26 and Saturday April 27, 2019. Please click here for detailed information regarding hours and accepted materials. Rusk County will be...
Public Hearing on CDBG Close Out – 3/21/19
City of Overton TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE The City of Overton will conduct a public hearing concerning the Texas Department of Agriculture and closing out the City's project for their Community Development...
Failure to Submit DLQOR – Violation Notice
2017 Consumer Confidence Report
Please click to go directly to this 2017 Consumer Confidence Report: 2017 CCR Report
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.
