Westminster

Westminster is at the intersection of Farm roads 3133 and 2862, twelve miles northeast of McKinney in northeast Collin County. It was established in 1860 and named Seven Points. By 1885 it had grown to include the nearby communities of Prospect and Graybill. In 1888 J. M. Harder opened a private school in the town. Seven years later Harder sold the school building to the Methodist Church, which established Westminster College. The college, a preparatory school for ministers, was named after Westminster, Maryland, a stronghold of Methodism in that predominantly Catholic state. Within a year of the school's opening Seven Points residents decided to change the community's name to that of the college. In 1899 a post office branch was established, and in 1914 the town incorporated, choosing the commission form of government. The following year the Greenville and Whitewright Northern Traction Company built a line from Anna to Blue Ridge through Westminster. From the early 1900s to the 1920s Westminster served as a cotton market and retail trade center for area farmers. By 1920 the population was 600, and the town had ten to twelve businesses and a high school. The Greenville and Whitewright Northern Traction line was abandoned in 1920, and major railroads bypassed the town. With the beginning of the Great Depression the town's population dropped to 268. Employment opportunities in the Dallas area following World War II further contributed to the decline. In 1950 Westminster had 192 residents. By the early 1970s the population began to recover, and in the late 1980s the community had 320 residents and two businesses. The population was 388 in 1990 and 390 in 2000.