Argyle is a city in Denton County, Texas, with a population of 2,365 as of the 2000 census. The master-planned community of Lantana, Texas (estimated population 6,000 as of May 2008) shares the Argyle mailing address.
The first white settlement, consisting of a few families, occurred in the Argyle area in the 1850s. The place was then known as Pilot Knob or Waintown. The settlement gradually acquired a few amenities in the late 1800s: a post office in 1878, a school in 1875, and a Baptist church in 1876. The community was formally founded and renamed Argyle in 1881, after the Texas and Pacific railroad built a track through the area. A railroad surveyor named the town after a garden in France.
Growth was very slow during the nineteenth century, and by 1890 Argyle only had a population of 148. The town did boast several agriculture-related industries, such as grist mills, general stores, and a cotton gin. In 1885 Argyle built a two-story brick school, and population grew until it reached 238 in 1930. Electricity and telephone service became available in the mid-1930s.
The Great Depression took its toll on the Argyle area, and population declined to only ninety in 1950. Argyle incorporated as a separate city on September 19, 1960, with M.H. Wilson as the first mayor. Gradually the town grew in population as more people from the Dallas-Fort Worth area discovered its rural charm. By the 1970s a number of retail establishments were located in Argyle, and the population reached 1,575 in 1990. The most recent Census Bureau estimate is that Argyle's population has doubled from that figure to 3,162 (2006). The high rate of growth is expected to continue as part of the general development of northern areas in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.