Honey Grove is a city in Fannin County, Texas, United States. Honey Grove bills itself as "The Sweetest Town in Texas". The population was 1,715 at the 2020 census, up from 1,668 at the 2010 census.
History
David Crockett discovered the area of Honey Grove when he camped there on his way to join the Texas Army at San Antonio in 1836. Crockett sent many letters back to Tennessee, telling of an area with an abundance of honey-filled trees, hence the town's name. In 1837, Samuel Erwin became the first settler of the place. B. S. Walcott contributed much to the town's development, by planning the city's landscape and later on by selling building lots. In 1873, Honey Grove was officially established.
Samuel Erwin and David Crockett, old friends from Kentucky, were instrumental in the founding of Honey Grove. Samuel Augustus Erwin has a large gravestone marker in Honey Grove, stating: "Virginia-born Samuel Erwin was married in 1819 in Tennessee to Sally Rodgers Crisp (1795–1860), in a ceremony performed by local magistrate David Crockett. First settler in the Honey Grove area, Erwin arrived here in 1837 and surveyed land grants for other pioneers. A surveyor by profession, he platted the town site for his friend B.S. Wolcott in 1848. He was the town's first postmaster and one of Fannin County's earliest Justices of the Peace."
The Crockett Park Monument, in the same area, indicates that Honey Grove was named by Crockett, but he died before it could become a town. It states that one of his old friends, Sam Erwin, became the founder of the settlement. The monument reads in part that Crockett traveled by riverboat, horseback, and on foot, entering Texas along the Red River, camping at a site half a mile northeast of today's park, where he found wild bees and honey in hollow trees, and called the campsite a "honey grove". He is said to have told friends he would settle here later, but he died a few weeks later in the cause of Texan liberty, at the Alamo.
In 2007, Honey Grove was also a temporary filming location for an episode of One Tree Hill, in which the local high school won a contest the CW and Sunkist promoted. Fans submitted videos in hopes their town would be selected. Mark Schwahn, the creator of One Tree Hill, ultimately chose Honey Grove High School as the winner. The cast from One Tree Hill, who filmed with Honey Grove High School, included Chad Michael Murray, Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton, James Lafferty, and Bethany Joy Lenz.
Honey Grove Texas was also included in the television miniseries A Woman of Independent Means, starring Sally Field and Tony Goldwyn.
Geography
right|thumb|Map of the city in 1886
Honey Grove is in central North Texas, in eastern Fannin County, east of Bonham, the county seat, west of Paris, north of Greenville, east of Sherman, and northeast of the central business district of Dallas. Honey Grove was developed on flat to gently rolling terrain with scattered trees. The city is at an elevation ranging from about above sea level. U.S. Highway 82 and State Highway 56 traverse the city from east to west, and State Roads 34, 100, and 824 run north and south. Bonham is the closest major economic center. Its climate produces an annual average daily maximum temperature of 75.1 °F, and an average annual rainfall is . It is also a part of the Texoma region.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.40%, is covered by water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Honey Grove had a population of 1,715 and the median age was 37.5 years. 27.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.5% were 65 years of age or older; for every 100 females there were 91.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 86.0 males.
There were 667 households in Honey Grove, of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.5% were married-couple households, 17.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. Of all households, 29.0% were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 1,142 || 66.6%
|-
| Black or African American || 213 || 12.4%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 23 || 1.3%
|-
| Asian || 3 || 0.2%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0 || 0.0%
|-
| Some other race || 162 || 9.4%
|-
| Two or more races || 172 || 10.0%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 269 || 15.7%
|}
2000 census
As of the census