Argyle Is Celebrating Its 145th Birthday by Giving Away Trees
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
Argyle turns 145 on Saturday, Nov. 7, the same date the town was founded in 1881. The party runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Argyle Town Hall. Admission is free, residents can take home one of up to 250 young trees, and there will be a birthday cake for the town. The town has never officially celebrated its birthday before. For the first one, it chose to combine the celebration with its yearly Arbor Day event. That choice tells you a lot about what Argyle is spending its time and money on.
Argyle's birthday comes from the railroad. The Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas says the Texas and Pacific laid track through the area in 1881. The town was founded on Nov. 7 of that year, when James Morrill received authority to build and maintain a depot, switches and side tracks. Before that, the area was known as Pilot Knob or Waintown. The post office moved from Pilot Knob to Argyle in 1881, and the Handbook says a railroad surveyor named the new stop after a garden in France.
So the birthday falls on a Saturday this year, on the exact date. In his August column in the Cross Timbers Gazette, Mayor Ron Schmidt tied the event to the arrival of the first locomotive and said the town hoped it would become an annual tradition.
The party has changed since it was first announced. In August, the mayor called it "The Argyle Jubilee," a first-time festival planned with the Argyle Business Association. The plan included live bands, vendors, children's entertainment, a wine and beer garden, and a tree giveaway with an Arbor Day theme.
By October, the event had a different name and a set time slot. The Argyle Business Association's event page now calls it the "Argyle Arbor Day and Birthday Bash" and lists it for three hours on Saturday morning at Town Hall. The mayor's Oct. 14 column in the Cross Timbers Gazette describes it as the town's annual Arbor Day event "and, this year, its 145th birthday celebration."
In practice, the town's annual tree pickup is now the birthday party. The September column had already set the Arbor Day free tree pickup for Nov. 7, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Town Hall. That's the same date, time and place the birthday now uses.
Here's what the two current listings say will be there:
Town Hall is at 308 Denton St. E, Argyle, TX 76226. The party is free, but the trees require registration. The association's page says residents sign up for a tree through ArgyleTX.com, and only people who live within Argyle town limits qualify. The town also has an Arbor Day and Birthday Bash page on its website. There are only 250 trees, so it makes sense to register early.
If you run a local business and want a spot, the association rents 10x10 outdoor vendor booths for $65. You bring your own EZ-Up canopy, table and chairs, and the association reviews and approves each vendor. Your card is only charged once your booth is approved. You can also send a free inquiry first if you're not ready to commit.
Combining the birthday with Arbor Day makes sense once you look at what the town has done this year. Argyle earned Tree City USA recognition for the seventh year in a row. The proposed 2026-27 budget also set aside another $12,000 for the town's tree rebate program, which helps residents with the cost of planting qualifying trees.
In September, the Town Council strengthened Argyle's tree-preservation rules. The change protects more trees and raises replacement requirements when protected trees are removed. In his October column, the mayor pointed to one stretch of road as the example: "Drive FM 407 between FM 1830 and Hwy 377 and look around. The trees, open spaces and backroads are part of what makes Argyle beautiful."
The same goal shows up after dark. The September column says Argyle is working toward certification as a Dark Sky Community and adopted new outdoor-lighting standards this spring to cut light pollution and light trespass. The stated goal is to protect the night sky and the town's rural character.
Tree City status, rebate money, stricter preservation rules and dark-sky lighting standards all came up in the mayor's September and October columns, the same two columns that put the tree pickup and then the birthday on Nov. 7.
The other half of the story is a few blocks from Town Hall. In his September column, the mayor described what the town is working toward:
"For years, Argyle has been a wonderful place to live, but not necessarily a place where you could spend an entire Saturday. That's changing."
Two projects near Hwy 377 and Cook Street make that concrete. The first is the Argyle Nature Trail. The town's bid notice describes a 4.85-acre project south of 202 Cook Street with a quarter-mile loop and three connector trails. Cross Timbers Gazette coverage of the first Argyle parks board meeting placed the trail behind Little Joe's Farmstead and Rapid Med, with construction expected to start by the end of August. The town's June 26 Town Manager's Notes projected construction would finish by Dec. 29, 2026, depending on contractor availability and material supply.
The second is the Argyle Marketplace, right next door. The Cross Timbers Gazette reported in June that ground had been broken on the two-acre, 23,000-square-foot development along Hwy 377 near Little Joe's Farmstead and Rapid Med Urgent Care. Plans include three retail and office buildings and a connection to the trail. Hurtado Barbecue is its first announced tenant. The Gazette reported in August that the restaurant expects to open there in spring 2027. The mayor says Hurtado will build a new restaurant with a patio facing the Nature Trail, rather than moving into the former St. Argyle's/Fuzzy's building.
The mayor's Saturday plan of a trail walk, lunch and local shops is set in this same area. Town Hall sits in that orbit too. In the same October column, the mayor noted that council approved a reduced amount in September for final engineering work tied to Main Street.
Getting there will mean dealing with Hwy 377 for a while. The mayor wrote in August that TxDOT planned to begin widening the highway this fall. He said the project would cover the full length of Argyle and take about 39 months from start to finish.
The association's events page carries updates on both November Saturdays. If you go to the Birthday Bash on Nov. 7, Town Hall is at 308 Denton St. E, and the tree sign-up is on the town's website.
We're based just up the road in Justin, and we follow these small-town milestones closely. If you're wondering how projects like the Nature Trail, the Marketplace or the Hwy 377 widening might affect your own street over the next few years, we're happy to talk it through with no pressure. Diamond Realty Group can tell you what we're seeing around Argyle. Contact Us anytime.
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