Dallas Morning News
July 30, 1893

A GRAYSON COUNTY TOWN
The Pretty Town of Van Alstyne and What is Doing there.

Van Alstyne, Grayson Co., Tex. July 28. - [Special Correspondence.] - Situated forty eight miles north of Dallas on the Houston and Texas Central railroad is one of the prettiest of the smaller towns in north Texas.  It is Van Alstyne, named, I am informed, for Mrs. Melissa Van Alstyne, wife of one of the largest early stockholders of the Houston and Texas Central railroad.  The town is but little over a mile from the line of Collin county on the south, and fifteen miles from Sherman, the county seat of Grayson county.
The present population of Van Alstyne is probably not far from 1500.  A large proportion of the business houses are of brick while the surrounding residence portions of town show many lovely homes.  Indeed, Van Alstyne has a number of fine, beautiful residences of modern architectural design, and several elegant church edifices.  The Cumberland Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists and Christians all have good buildings, two of which are among the finest frame churches in the state.
A $13,000 college building was erected in 1891, which supplies room for the excellent public school taught here.  The public school employs from eight to ten teachers, and is under the supervision of the town, which is incorporated for school purposes.
There are about fifty business houses of all sorts in Van Alstyne, including two banks, three drug stores, two furniture stores, three dry goods and two hardware houses, a number of general stores, eight groceries and two hotels.  There are also two large lumber yards and two weekly newspapers, the NEWS and the LEADER.  A great deal of improvement has been done during the last twelve months, several large brick business houses having been lately finished on Marshall street, and six more are to be erected this summer and fall.
Van Alstyne has a good roller flour mill of seventy-five barrels capacity, and two steam cotton gins fitted up with improved machinery.  Being located in the heart of a fine black land section, surrounded by a high, open country, supplied with pure, unsurpassed health.  The adjacent country produces cotton, corn and small grain in abundance, and the shipments of agricultural products are usually large.  On an average the usual cotton shipments are about 1200 bales.  Some 900 cars of corn and oats have been shipped from here since September last.
The people here are an educated, refined community, and their beautiful little city is their pride.  Good order, good health and good will toward mankind are the prevailing conditions of this model town, and the natural beauty of its location well accords with the excellent moral condition of Van Alstyne.