Postal service has been available to the citizens of Argyle since July 24, 1878, when Miss Emily Wilson received her commission as Postmaster. Miss Wilson was born in Peoria, Illinois, December 25, 1848, and migrated to Texas where she bought a farm near Pilot Knob. It was on this farm that Miss Wilson operated the first Post Office from a log cabin, which is known today as the southeast corner of Crawford Road and I 35W intersection. The cabin was approximately one mile north of Johns Well and the Old Campgrounds. Mail was delivered to this office via stagecoach, and settlers came by the cabin to get their mail.

When the railroad created the town of Argyle in 1881, the Post Office was moved from its first site, two miles east of the railroad. Dr. Wayne Wright then took over the office that was near the railroad, and the mail was delivered four times daily by train. The railroad station agent, G.A Schnably, or the operator Tom Wingo, would deliver the mail from the station to the Post Office. Following the closing of the train station, it became the responsibility of the postmaster or clerk to pick up the mail, no matter what time of day or night.

To better serve the surrounding community, two rural routes were established in the late 1880's after the Post Office was moved to Argyle. The roads were lanes or trails, and the mail was delivered by horse-drawn buggies or hacks. In bad weather, the carriers had to ride a horse, and to keep warm they carried heated rocks or bricks. Routes were thirty miles long, and it would take an entire day to make the trip. Sam D. Davis, who came to Argyle in 1885, was the first rural carrier for Argyle. He was married to Trude Hays but they had no children, and consequently, Mr. Davis or "Mr. Sam," as he was fondly termed, claimed all the children on the route as "his." He often carried candy in his mail pouch for all the children that met him at the mailbox. Robert Boyles was the rural carrier for Route Two, and Eugene S. Boyles was substitute carrier.

In 1888, Walter J. Hamilton and Herman Fehlison erected one of the first business establishments in Argyle which housed the Post Office as well as general store and a bank. Hamilton served as postmaster for a period of time and served as such until a massive fire in 1895 started, which destroyed all businesses in town and all the post office records, Charlie Hardee was appointed Postmaster and moved the office into a corner of his rebuilt drugstore. When Hardee decided to "go west," he sold his drugstore to Dr. David Hinkson, who received the next appointment as Postmaster. Because of a busy schedule, Dr. Hinkson found it necessary to hire Miss Inez Horton to run the post office for him.

On June 26, 1919, Bascomb William Meadows was appointed Postmaster. He operated the office in the drugstore for a short time and then bought the R.W. Fenton Hardware Store and moved the office back to its original place. Meadows, born on June 14, 1874, in Salem, Alabama, came to Texas in 189 to work on a farm. He married Emma Allen Scott on October 23, 1896, and the couple had four children - Ovie Callaway, Lillian, William T. and Georgia Belle. His salary as postmaster was very small and was based on the amount of stamps cancelled. Some months it would be $20.00 for operating the Fourth Class Office. He had to count the stamps cancelled and keep records for quarterly report. His wife, Emma Allen Meadows, was appointed Assistant Postmaster, and all the children were bonded and took the oath of office as clerks so they could work in the office located in one corner of the store. During his tenure of office many changes occurred, and the office was move from one little corner in the general store to a small room adjoining the store.

James Henry Cook came with his family to Argyle in 1917 from Mount Alba, Texas and followed Robert Boyles as the Route Two rural carrier. Julia A Cook and LaVerne B. Morris served as substitute carriers during this time. Mr. and Mrs. Cook had three children - Mackie, Richard and Herman. Upon Mr. Cook's retirement in 1940, his son Richard succeeded his father. By that time the two routes were combined since roads had improved and, by car, delivery took only half a day.

In the 1920's, the federal government allocated funds to employ mail messengers to dispatch First Class mail by crane via moving train and the trains that stopped in Argyle. Mail messengers who have served the Argyle Office were: Chester Horton until May of 1935; Perry C. Wood until December 1953; George "Bud" Davis until December of 1954; E. Ray Davis until January of 1955; and S.R. Jones until the mail delivery contract was let by truck and still delivered by this method in 1998.

Following Mr. Meadows' retirement at age seventy on June 1, 1944, his daughter, Lillian E. Meadows Thompson, was appointed acting postmaster. On October 18, 1945, she received her commission as Postmaster and served in that capacity until her retirement in 1968. Mrs. Thompson was born August 26, 1899, and was reared on a farm in Argyle, attended school at Argyle, North Texas Normal College in Denton and upon receiving her teaching certificate, she spent the following six years teaching in the small schools of Denton County at Litsey and Aubrey. Before she received her degree in home economics from CIA she had taught at Dolthan, Carbon and Artesia, New Mexico. Mrs. Thompson then taught six years at Hardin-Simmons University before returning to Argyle to help her father in the family grocery store.

Richard Cook died in 1952, and the rural route was left open. For a time, William T. Meadows delivered the mail, continuing a career he began on November 15, 1924. He had served as an office clerk in 1919 and was married to the former Jewel Dunnigan of Argyle. Mr. Meadows retired as substitute rural mail carrier in 1975, completing fifty-one years of service to the Post Office Department and the Argyle community. Mr. Meadows also owned and operated a service station in Argyle and drove the Argyle School bus for many years.

James P. Heath of Argyle received the appointment as Rural Carrier on December 28, 1953. He and his wife, Norma, have two sons - Jimmy and Johnny. Mr. Heath is a graduate of Denton High School and Texas A & M. His grandfather had come to Argyle in 1882 from deep east Texas and bought land on what is now FM Road 407. His father, Penn Heath, was born in 1898 on this land which still belongs to the Heath family. Argyle now has two rural routes serving 765 patrons and covering ninety miles. James Heath is the present carrier for Route 1 and James Faught is the Route 2 carrier.

By 1945, mail delivery had increased enough to require additional help in the Post Office and Georgia Belle Allen was appointed clerk and Assistant Postmaster at that time. Postal clerks who have served in the office are Mrs. E.E. (Ethel) Pickle, Ben Brown and Susan Chupp. The current Postmaster is Lowell (Buddy) Nafe who transferred from the Denton Post Office upon the retirement of Mrs. Thompson. Mr. Nafe is married to the former Patsy Howard of Argyle, and they have three children. The Nafes are active in school and church activities. Present day postal facilities are housed in a modern brick building at the corner of Highway 377 and Dallas Street.

The office is now a Second Class office serving 185 patrons with post office boxes. The new facilities were completed on June 5, 1968, and mail is delivered and dispatched once daily by truck

One of the first commercial enterprises in the Argyle area was the cattle business. Post-Civil War settlers had brought their cattle with them in their migration to Argyle and found that the area was all open range. The cattle business really began to boom after the coming of the railroad in 1881 and continued to be the livelihood of many settlers during the early 1900's. As well as encouraging the cattle business, the railroad opened the door to new enterprises for Argyle farmers. With transportation, far-off markets became accessible, and farmers began to grow small grain crops such as wheat and oats as a commercial crop. Very little hay was raised during this early period of Argyle's history, and old-timers recall that cattle pastured on dead grass during the winter months. Some of the farmers expanded into the sheep and hog raising business.

Another early businessman in Argyle was W.H. McColIum, who bought the entire Block Number Seven in the Town of Argyle for $300.00 on September 5, 1888. The same year, Jeff Wimms opened a blacksmith shop to shoe horses and repair equipment for the ranchers and farmers. R.W. Fenton had purchased the land in 1874 where Meadows Store stands in 1981, and opened a grocery store there in the late 1880's. N.C. White operated a drygoods store and "Doc" Fullingham owned the drugstore and was the town doctor. This early history is constructed entirely by the memory of long-time residents, because all records were destroyed in a fire which swept through the town in 1895. The fire began in the drygoods store and was out of control before the citizens could marshall together in any effective way. The town was gone, and rebuilding took time and lots of pioneer spirit. But by the early 1900's, things were growing again. White and Fehlison reopened a drygoods store and also sold groceries and implements. Fenton owned the hardware store and ran the Post Office. W.H. Hardee and Sam Karnes were the town blacksmiths. The drugstore changed hands many times with some of the owners being Dr. McCollock, Miller Faught and Dr. Clark. Early grocery stores were owned by Oscar Hall and C.D. Cogdell.37 Other businesses included a cotton gin, barber shop, livery stable, cafe, millinery store and the Argyle State Bank. But the weather was not to be outdone by a destructive fire. A black tornado "swooped down" out of the sky in 1910 and leveled several brick buildings and sent citizens clambering to their cellars or to those of their neighbors. Most of the cellars were small holes in the ground with mounded dirt for a top and had wooden doors. No deaths were reported, but many families were crowded to the point of "smothering" in the cellars. The day following the tornado, residents without cellar protection began digging their own cellars.

By the turn of the century, cotton had also become a major crop in the Argyle area, and most of it was ginned locally in the cotton gin built in 1908 by J.C. Smith on the east side of the railroad (on the lot behind the present Gulf Service Station operated by Ben Brown). 'Almost everyone grew cotton," say some of the old timers, and school days were shortened for many youngsters who were excused early either to pick cotton or to work in the gin. John Thompson (Argyle resident and former Precinct 3 County Commissioner, 1950-1964) began working in the cotton gin in 1912 at the age of sixteen. According to Thompson, he worked at the gin from 1912 to 1929, and he recalls that one season over 3,000 bales of cotton were ginned. A good cotton picker or hand could pick three to four hundred pounds of cotton a day. The pay was about 65 cents per hundred pounds or about $2.00 per day. The combination of boll weevils, soil exhaustion, and low prices caused cotton farming to decline in Argyle. The gin burned in 1930 and was not rebuilt. Many farmers in Argyle then turned to peanuts, and sold some peaches, pears and plums to their neighbors in Justin. Will Gibbons (born 1887 in Argyle) remembers taking fruit to Dallas and getting ten cents each for watermelons.

The Argyle State Bank had its beginning on September 29, 1906, when a group of citizens filed with the Secretary of State of Texas for a bank charter. The charter, number 16345, was granted and filed October 1, 1906, in the office of the Secretary of State. The Argyle State Bank had capital stock of ten thousand dollars, divided into one hundred shares of one hundred dollars each. Those citizens who associated themselves together, as provided by law into a corporation for the purpose of establishing a bank, both of deposit and discount were: W.J. Hamilton, J.H. Paine, R.W. Fenton, W.E. Smoot, J.T. Simmons, G.A. Schnably, C.M Hall, T.B. Breeding, M.D. Fullingham, W.Y. Fincher, Mrs. Jessie Moffett (feme sole), Sam Davis, R.L. Boyles, N.C. White, A.B. Horton, P.E. Wade, H.M. Holbrook, C.G. Cogdell, J.W. Boyles, Sam Brown, H.T. Stewart, Tom Stewart, W.H. Hardee, J.D. Reed, L.l. Bullard, Peyton Wingo, Tom Wingo, Will A. Wallace and D.P. Taylor of Denton County, Texas.

Distribution of the shares were: Five shares each to Hamilton, Paine, Fenton, Smoot, Simmons, Hall, Breeding, Fullingham, Fincher, Davis, R.L. Boyles, White, Horton, Bullard who resided at Argyle; Five shares to Mrs. Jessie Moffett, who resided in Denton; Two shares each to Wade, Holbrook and Reed, who resided in Argyle; One share each to Cogdell, J.W. Boyles, Brown, H.T. Stewart, Tom Stewart, Hardee, Peyton Wingo, Tom Wingo, Wallace and Taylor who resided in Argyle and nine shares to G.A. Schnably who resided in Argyle.

The Board of Directors who served for the first year as managers of the Argyle State Bank were: W.J. Hamilton, J.H. Paine, W.E. Smoot, G.A. Schnably, J.T. Simmons, C.M. Hall, T.B. Breeding and M.D. Fullingham. The bank opened for business on October 16, l906.38c The land on which the bank was located was first purchased by W.J. Hamilton in 1889 (Vol.40, page 379, Denton County Deed Records) and sold to the Argyle State Bank after it opened for business on December19, 1906 (Vol.106, page 491, Denton County Deed Records). A red brick building housed the bank in the front part and the back part was a drugstore. The bank had a rather unusual history attached to its brief existence in the Argyle community. According to Mrs. Miller Faught, a long-time Argyle resident, the sleepy populace was awakened by explosions at 1:30 AM on February 14,1912. None of the citizens ventured out to confront the robbers as ten explosions were heard through the town. The Denton County Sheriff was notified but was delayed by a flat tire, and the desperados made a clean, safe getaway with $1700.00. All that remained for the sheriff to see was the bare blasted bank vault. A day long search failed to produce the bandits. Rumors have it that Jesse James, the Dalton Brothers, the Storys or the Chadwick Gang might have robbed the bank, but no one knows for sure.

On May 4, 1925, the bank amended the charter from Guaranty Fund Plan (provided by acts of the 2nd called session of the 31st Legislature) and to change the name to The Argyle State Bank to that of Bond System as provided by Senate Bill 112-114 of the 30th Legislature.38e Sometime in 1927, a relative of the first cashier in the bank was thought to have been embezzling funds since he was caught burning official papers and documents outside the bank.38f The bank was closed by orders of the Board of Directors on October 29, 1927. Today, in 1998, the bank building, located at the corner of Highway 377 and Denton Street, is presently owned by Otha Mullens.

"Water is so easy for people to get that they seldom think how necessary it is for man, animal and plant. But the early pioneers had to hunt for a never-failing spring or brook before deciding upon a spot for a cabin. Bitter battles have been fought for the possession of some muddy water hole or tiny stream which would furnish this liquid. Next to the air we breathe, water is probably the most important thing in our lives. Without it, both men and animals would die. Throughout the course of history, civilizations have sprung up and followed the water courses. When the water supply failed, the civilizations went down or even vanished."40 Discovering water was of prime concern to the early settlers of the Argyle community and their search was assisted by Will Gibbons' father who had come to Argyle in 1877 from Kentucky. He was a railroad employee and understood the techniques of blasting from having worked in a quarry. His talents were utilized to help neighbors in digging or blasting shallow water wells. Prior to the shallow wells, such as Johns Well, families depended on natural springs, rain, branches and creeks for a source of water. One notable spring was on the Fulton place, east of Argyle near the Lane Schoolhouse. The George KIeins now own the property in 1981 and still use the spring water in their home.

On the same land that Dr. M.D. Fullingham donated in 1909 for the First Baptist Church building, he also dug a water well and piped water throughout the town, and a faucet was located in the yard of each household. There was still no indoor water supply, plumbing or bathrooms as we know today, but citizens were grateful for a more convenient source of water. Citizens had not had much luck in digging their own shallow wells. Those living on the east side of the railroad had been unable to dig any type of surface well to supply an adequate or safe source of water. Those residents on the west side of the tracks had successfully dug wells, but they produced "hard" water.

In 1981, four different systems provide a safe and adequate water supply for the community. In the original townsite, residents are served by the private system begun by Dr. Fullingham and now owned by Otha Mullens. The system services forty-four households. Two other private systems, Stonebridge and Stonecrest, provide water for housing developments. The Argyle Water Supply Corporation was organized in 1962 and now services 570 households and businesses. The system has thirty-eight miles of water line serving approximately a fifteen square mile area. Assisting the Argyle Water Supply Corporation and serving on the first Board of Directors were Ray Crawford, T.J. Self, Sr., Charles F. Jenkins, Wallace Lynch and C.A. Whisenhunt, while the Farmers Home Administration provided funding for the system. Others who have served on the Board of Directors have included: Jay S. Armstrong, Earl W. Cochran, F. Phil Johnson, Ray Stefl, H.O. Franks, Jr., Sam Rountree, Dr. Joe Lynn, Glen Savage, Bobby Anderson, Al Utesch, Richard Hueholt, William Smith, Mike Fulter and Doug Morris. Rural water supply corporations have proven to be a revitalizing force in the development of the rural areas in the 1960's and 1970's.

Newcomers can now purchase land, build a home and have a safe and adequate water supply without having to dig their own well. Argyle citizens today not only have an adequate water supply for their homes, families and livestock, but can now have such luxury items as a swimming pool and automatic lawn sprinkling system.

Prior to the advent of electricity, homes, schools, churches and businesses were lighted by candles and kerosene lamps. Food was prepared on wood cookstoves, and heating was provided by kerosene (coal-oil) heaters, fireplaces and coal jacket heaters. Electrical service was brought into the Argyle community in the early 1930's as indicated by abstracts. Some residents signed utility easements as early as May 30, 1930. A rare treat in the Argyle School, even as late as the early 1940's, was getting out of class to go out to the coal pile to fill the coal buckets. The production of butane and propane soon eliminated this happy chore for the school children. Many homes today are still using liquid gas even though natural gas, via Lone Star Gas, has been available to some areas of the community since the early 1960's. Electrical service is provided by Texas Power and Light Company and the Denton County Electric Cooperative. In 1997 the Denton County Electric Cooperative, changed its name to Coserv, they now provide telephone, gas and electricity.  Texas Power and Light is now known as Texas Utilities.

Telephone service has ranged from the early party line wooden phone mounted on the wall to the direct dial service of 1981 provided to over four hundred households by General Telephone Company. An early deed, dated February 14, 1933, notes that W.W. Billingsley sold to Marion V. O'Keiff the Argyle Telephone Exchange which was located where Connie's Style Station is today, at the corner of Rusk Street and Highway 377.

The system consisted of a switchboard, fifty-seven subscribing telephones, poles, wire, telephones and boxes both in service and discontinued in storage, tools, supplies, office fixtures, franchise if any and good will. Prior to the modern technique of burying telephone cables, many of the phone lines were strung along fence rows. A switchboard operator handled all the calls, and phone service was available from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Prior to General Telephone, independent phone service was provided by Baker, Wade, Will Carpenter, W.W. Billingsley, O'Keiff, Roy Wallace, Gerald Thweatt and Mathilda S. Larnard. Mrs. Larnard sold her interests and merged with Century Enterprises in December of 1969. General Telephone Company took over service from Century Enterprises.

Fire plagued the early settlers of the Argyle community destroying homes, schools, businesses and grazing land. The danger still exists today, but the threat has been lessened with the organization of the Argyle Volunteer Fire Department in 1963. Mr. and Mrs. C.A. Whisenhunt, Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Jenkins, H. Elmo Smith and Grover Wallace served as organizers.

Women of the community in the summer of 1973, began training to assist with fire protection because of the absence of men from the community during the working day and the consequent realization of the women that they must provide for the needs of their community. Participating in the training were: Mrs. Bobby (Sue) Anderson, Mrs. T.E. (Martha) Beavers, Jr., Mrs. John (Martha) Hanson, Mrs. Richard (Tootsie) Hensley, Mrs. Richard (Sonny) Hueholt, Mrs. Charles (Yvonne) Jenkins, Mrs. Foster (Sherley) Long, Lori Long, Mrs. Billy (Cathi) Robbins, Mrs. Wriley (Sherrie) Robbins and Mrs. Al (Kay) Utesch. In 1981, the women do not respond to all of the fire calls, only those where they are needed under emergency conditions. They provided a necessary service until the membership of the department increased.

Members of the 1981 Argyle Volunteer Fire Department were: Fire Chief, Robert Tracy; Assistant Chief, James Price; Fire Marshall, Robert Denning; Captains, Bobby Crawford and Steve Gee. Grover Wallace and Richard Hensley have served as Fire Chief in the past years. Other members (past and present) have included: Ray Stefi, Ben Brown, Bobby Anderson, John Hanson, Wriley Robbins, Sam Carroll, Billy Cart Robbins, T.E. Beavers, Jr., Foster Long, Odis Fuller, Jr., Elmo Smith, E.W Cochran, C.F. Jenkins, Buddy Watson, Jim Klir, Mike Anderson, Rickie Parker, Ronnie Parker, Jack Payne, Phil Jones, Gene Roberts, Ed Klir, Byron Lake, Frank Krawiec, Duane Milano, Frank Leach, Roy StilIwell, Tim Weaver and Lilliard Clark.

A Women's Auxiliary to the Argyle Volunteer Fire Department emerged in 1971 and has been instrumental in providing financial support for the department. The department and the auxiliary have raised over $184,000 in their eighteen year efforts. Leadership for the auxiliary has been provided by presidents: Mrs. H.P. (Edith) Sheeley, Mrs. Harold (Sylvia) Barnard, Mrs. Charles F. (Yvonne) Jenkins, Mrs. Glen (Marcia) Savage and Mrs. Earl W. (Dorryece) Cochran, Vauline Bliss, Nancy Dyer and Mimi Denning. The auxiliary has sponsored a variety of fund raising events such as Chili Suppers, Cake Sales, Talent Shows, Raffles, Domino Tournaments, BBQ Dinners, Fashion Fling and Bake Sales, Garage Sales, Pet Vaccinations, Turkey Shoots, Christmas Gift Bazaars and direct solicitations. During Fire Prevention Week of each year, the department and auxiliary sponsor a Fire Prevention Poster and Essay Contest for the school children in conjunction with a contest for Miss Flame, Little Miss Flame and a Fire Chief Mascot.

Starting inconspicuously with a tanker converted into a firetruck, the department now has four firefighting units, individual apparatus and equipment for a well-trained group providing fire protection for the Argyle Fire District. A fifth truck will be added in the summer of 1981. The department and auxiliary purchased a two-acre tract adjacent to the roadside park at Highway 377 and FM Road 407. As a Bicentennial project, ground was broken for a new fire station in 1976. The building was completed in 1977 and the indebtedness against it has been paid off through the fund-raising efforts of the Auxiliary.

The residents of Argyle were self-sustaining farmers until the latter part of the 1800's when transportation and business opportunities became available to the settlers after the establishment of the railroad in 1881. Families worked, worshipped and socialized together with their neighbors. Social life for the young people did not include dancing or games of chance such as dominoes or cards. Baseball, box suppers, and riding livestock (rodeo style) filled the few leisure hours of pioneer children. Most families traveled to the various church revivals being held in the vicinity. A rare trip to Denton for special supplies would take from two to three hours. Mrs. Hicks remembers that on these trips the children slept most of the way except when the horses speeded up causing their heads to bump on the wagon floor. A special treat of cheese and crackers made the trip home a very pleasant event for the children. Even though dancing was not approved recreation for the young people, they managed to sneak off to the Timbers (Double Oak, Bartonville, Shiloh area) to attend dances featuring string music. There was square dancing only - no round dancing.

Various fraternal organizations existed in which the men of the community participated. These included the IOOF Lodge, Woodmen of the World Lodge and the Argyle Lodge A.F & A.M., No. 698.

The Masonic Lodge, No. 698 was chartered December 11, 1890 and met on Saturday evening on or after a full moon. The first officers elected were: W.T. Jones, Worshipful Master; J.C. Smith, Senior Warden; and C.M. Hall, Junior Warden. Serving as other officers were: J.P. Dooley, J.H. Johnson, D.D. Chadwick, W.F Boyles, Dr. J.O. McDowell, J.W. Curtis and G.T Davis. Other charter members included: S.E. Baucum, W.C. Fincher, Martin Guthrie, A.R. Holder, Dr. L.B. Hiatt, H. Jarriagin, Rev. C.N. Jarrell, Marion McCreeles, Dr. S.P. Odell, D.B. Ross, W.C. Smartt and the Rev. J.C. Smith. The original lodge building was destroyed in the 1895 fire, and the Lodge met in the second story of the school until 1912. The Lodge charter was arrested for insubordination when they refused to try two of their members for improper actions. Two members were fined in a Civil Court for gambling, But the Lodge took no action even after the Grand Master informed them how to conduct the trial and emphasized the need to uphold the dignity of the Lodge by conducting one. The trial was moved to another Lodge and the Argyle Lodge charter was arrested. The committee approved the action of the Grand Master. It was not until 1917 that the charter was restored along with the property to the Argyle Lodge.

The Argyle IOOF Lodge, No.366 became defunct and surrendered its charter to the Grand Lodge on about July 15, 1922. The Argyle Masonic Lodge bought the IOOF building and property on the south side of Denton Street behind Meadows Grocery on April 2, 1923. On October 30, 1935, the Argyle Masonic Lodge moved its building to the Argyle school grounds where it was remodeled. The Lodge met upstairs. An auditorium was remodeled for school and community purposes and the basement served for a storage area and wood workshop classes. At the time of this transaction, Argyle School Board members were: B.J. Dooley, J. Penn Heath, Ray Crawford, Roy S. Stocks and D.R. Frasher. Representing the Masonic Lodge were Roy Wallace and Frank Cope.

The Argyle Masonic Lodge was one of the more active in Denton County and sponsored community-wide fish fries and ice cream suppers until the late 1950's. Since the school no longer used the auditorium and wanted to build gymnasium, the lodge part of the once well-used community building was moved to a corner of the school grounds. The auditorium portion was torn down. A decline in membership, interest and support caused the Lodge to merge with the Denton Stanfield Lodge, No.217 on October 9,1962. The officers last serving the Argyle Lodge were: John A. Allen, Worshipful Master John D. Monroe, Senior Warden; and Donald Ray Dillard, Junior Warden Other officers included: J.A. Boyles, H.R. Sheets, W.T. Meadows, Peavey Livingston and Wallace C. Lynch.

No history has been obtained on the history of the Woodmen of the World Lodge other than the oldest citizens recalling that there was a WOW Lodge in Argyle. A number of WOW tombstones are in evidence at the Graham-Argyle and Prairie Mound Cemeteries to indicate that at some time in the past the WOW was active in the area. Just as the railroad was instrumental in bringing people and economic growth to Argyle, the automobile was equally instrumental in taking them away. According to an article published in the July 8, 1910, RECORD AND CHRONICLE of Denton, "the road leading south of town by the brickyard, known as the Denton-Argyle-Fort Worth Road, while it has been graded and graveled is in need of considerable repair and if something is not done it will be seriously damaged and the work previously done in measure will be lost. A committee has been appointed by the Chamber of Commerce to solicit subscriptions along the route to be put with the funds already conscripted by the banks and businesses of the town." By 1911, there were fifteen miles of surfaced roads in Denton County. In 1925, Denton County had one hundred and sixty-five miles of highways, and soon the migration was to begin from the "country to the city" as is evidenced by the Argyle population figures: 230 in 1925, dropping to 147 by 1947. As the soil became more and more drained of its nutrients from the growing of cotton, and the attack of boll weevils destroyed what cotton did grow, agricultural practices changed for the Argyle farmer. Profits from agricultural products were decreasing and sons of the Argyle farmers began to move to the city for employment. The population of Argyle decreased during the 1940's and 1950's until the second and current wave of immigration came in the mid 1960's.

Not only did the automobile and employment take citizens away, but Argyle contributed its share of men and women to both World War I and World War II. Among those serving from the Argyle Area in World War I were: Luther Wood, John C. Bays, James G. Marsh, Edgar Ballentin, Roy H. Baker, Ray Crawford, Frank Whitten, Hubert B. Whitten, Richard McMakin, Clifford A. Baker, William E. Gibbons, Allen Arthur, Jim C. Cogsdell, Ray N. Baker, Olin W. Middleton, CaIdwell Price, W.R. Harpole, Emory M. Hacker, Newt Fincher, Perry Wood, Ovie C Meadows, Walter Thompson, Virgil Brown, John Stewart and Joe Brown.

The advent of World War II saw both the citizens at home and the military men and women serving their country. On the home front, citizens planted victory gardens and canned their food supply, suffered through gasoline and tire, sugar, coffee and shoe ration coupons, and bought savings bonds, while school children conducted paper and scrap iron drives. Each Sunday, W.T. Meadows headed up the Civil Air Patrol watch which was held at the school grounds. Fortunately for the families of the community, no parent had to display a Gold Star in the window for a loved one lost in battle. Only the veterans themselves can describe what "hell" they lived through to return home to their families. Among those serving from the Argyle area in World War II were: L.C. Bays, Jr., Eugene G. Boyles, Geraldine Crawford, C.A. Cunningham, Roy V. Cunningham, Roy F. Cunningham, Frances Ruth Davis, John Ben Davis, Jack Davis, Frank Davis, Lee Roy Erwin, H.W. Erwin, Jr., Jack Faught, James Faught, Travis B. Faught, Edwin L. Faught, Newton Crawford Fincher, Joe E. Fincher, Herman N. Fincher, Ralph Frasher, Winford, F. Grimes, Delbert M. Hacker, Carroll M. Harper, C.B. Harper, Olin T. Hawk, Taylor B. Hawk, Charles M. Hawk, Samuel Lemon Haynes, Felbert Hudson, Miles F. Hurley, Elmer Lee Jennings, J.J. Jennings, Richard C. Jones, Emmett Jones, S. Roy Jones, Otis L. King, Walter R. Madewell, Paul Mata, Ascension Mata, Joe H. McDonald, Harvey A. McMakin, Morris C. Meadows, Joseph W. Payne, James Harvey Payne, Woodrow V. Pippin, Cecil E. Pippin, Cecil E. Pitt, Jessie Earl Smith, Melvin B. Smith, Vera W. Smith, Herman L. Smith, Carl Spencer, Eugene Spencer, Glenn Ray Stephenson, W.M. "Clyde" Stubblefield, Sam Stubblefield (POW), Walter H. Thompson, Perry Addison Wood, James M. Wood, Arthur C. Wynn and Weldon W. Wynn.

In addition to the great shifting population of the military training program, there was during the years of 1941-1947, the greatest civilian population shift of any comparable period in Texas history. The building of great war plants caused the inter-county migration of approximately 500,000 persons. This migration was primarily from the rural counties to the big industrial centers and to the smaller centers where larger war plants were located. On the basis of food ration card data of 1943, it can be calculated that approximately two hundred Texas counties, principally rural, lost population in varying degrees, whereas the remaining fifty-four counties, chiefly those containing the industrial centers, gained population. These gains were large in many instances.45 Although Denton County in its entirety did not suffer substantial population losses, the Argyle community did - due to its proximity to the Dallas-Fort Worth industrial complex and war plants. Those citizens who were serving in the military and who did not move to the city commuted by bus or car pools to the higher paying jobs at the war plants.

During this time, the women of the Argyle community were actively participating in the Argyle Home Demonstration Club learning to preserve and can food supplies, sewing family clothing items from their favorite "feed-sack" patterns, re-upholstering furniture, and learning to prepare "Master-Mix" and to cook without sugar. The counterpart organization for the youth of the community was the 4-H Club which stressed training in home economics and agricultural practices and leadership. Argyle has sent four 4-H members to the National 4-H Congress in Chicago: Margie Crawford Austin, Peggy Smith Bellar, Yvonne Allen Jenkins and C.R. Salmon. Mary Lou Mullens represented Argyle and Denton County at the State 4-H Dress Revue in 1950. The Argyle 4-H Club had many outstanding members and was one of the most active in Denton County.

The business community has been as varied as the services demanded or needed by the citizens. Ray Crawford began his sausage business in 1921 in his smokehouse at home. By 1960 he opened a retail business on Highway 377 and continued producing a specialized product until his retirement in 1969. The gates opened in 1949 to one of the first drive-in movies in the North Texas area - The Colonial Drive In Movie - operated by Mr. and Mrs. George Franklin until it was destroyed by high winds during a storm. In 1981, the community is served by two grocery stores (Meadows and J & P), several service stations and garages, beauty shops, leather shop, cafe, and various trade services; such as plumbers, electricians, carpenters and painters. In the early 1960's, Herschel and Rosemary Parker operated a newspaper, THE QUAD TOWN NEWS, prior to selling it to a Keller firm. The 20th century has also brought the demand for garbage service which is provided by W.F. Kerr and Richard Hensley (Dependable Trash Service). The Texas Farm to Market Road program has been responsible for the black-top roads: FM 407, FM 1830 and FM 1171 that now in 1981 are traversed by the citizens commuting to their jobs in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and to jobs and the pursuit of higher education at North Texas and Texas Woman's University in Denton. The town of Argyle is located within the Golden Triangle of Denton-Dallas-Fort Worth, and the area is bordered by two interstate highways, I 35E and I 35W.

There was a time in the history of Argyle when women had to take a "backseat" to their male counterparts in church activities, local government, community and social events. But like the women of the Smyrna Baptist Church of 1891, the women of the Argyle community now provide a creative and active role of leadership through their participation in church, school, government, charitable drives, PTA, Youth Organizations (4-H, Girl and Boy Scouts), Booster Club and sporting events and the Argyle Volunteer Fire Department and Auxiliary. The younger citizens as well as their parents are actively engaged in structuring the future history of Argyle - a blend of talent, interest, support and intelligence from young and old, new and longtime residents - a combination that will be hard to beat.