Wylie, Texas is located in the southeastern corner of Collin County sixteen miles south of McKinney, Texas (the county seat). It’s located on State Highway 78 (N. & S.), and intersects with Farm Road 544 (E. & W.), a quarter mile south of Ballard Avenue or Main Street, so to speak.

Wylie was originally organized in the early 1870s as Nickleville, Texas and is said to be the name of the first store founded.

In 1886, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad laid the tracks about a half-mile north of the original town site. Within a year, the Nickleville businesses moved to take advantage of the services provided by the railroad, and in doing so renamed their new location Wylie. The name Wylie was for WD Wylie, a Civil War veteran and right-of-way agent for the railroad. The town is now situated half a mile north of the original center.

In that same year a post office was granted, and it was incorporated, with a form of government of alderman.

In 1888, the St. Louis Southwestern Railroad reached the city. The rich agricultural region and the two railways contributed to the growth of the city. In 1890, Wylie’s population was 400 and grew to 773 in 1900.

Before 1920, the city had more than thirty-five businesses, including two banks (current banking is now Capital One, Chase, Inwood National, and The American National Bank of Texas). It also included a school and weekly newspaper (Wylie now has several schools, including elementary, middle, and high schools), and (still has a newspaper by the name of the Wylie News. I’m not sure if this is the same paper or not) .

In 1920, Wylie received electric service and street lighting, and in 1923 the main street (Ballard Avenue) was changed from dirt to a gravel street.

Unlike many rural Texas towns, Wylie grew during the depression years up to 1940, and this was the result of increased dairy production to meet the growing demands of the Dallas area. And, in 1940, it reached a population of 914. Wylie also enjoyed the self-proclaimed title of “onion capital of the world” in the 1930s and 40s. “Wide Awake Wylie” became the town’s nickname in the late 1940s. 40 and 50 for nightly town hall meetings where businesses stayed open until midnight on some nights.

After World War II, the population continued to increase. The construction of Lake Lavon five miles north of the city and the selection of Wylie to house the offices of the North Texas Municipal Water District, designed to provide water to cities in four counties, brought the population to 1,804 in 1960. In the next twenty years the population more than doubled as a result of the growth of the Dallas urban area.

In the late ’70s, Wylie began to receive some of the growth from D/FW. Specifically in the 1980s and 1990s, Wylie’s population grew significantly. In 1980 there were 3,152 residents and ninety businesses in Wylie. In 1990, the population was 8,716, and Wylie had spread into Rockwall and Dallas counties.

The 1990s also saw two major catastrophes. On Mother’s Day in 1993, a tornado hit Wylie. In December 1998, two fires (one on the 9th and one on the 11th) destroyed and/or damaged a dozen businesses. The city and its citizens used this to revitalize the city center. For the year 2000 the population was 15,132.

In the 21st century, Wylie has become one of the fastest growing communities in Collin County, the DFW metropolis, and the state of Texas. In fact, it is listed as number 8 in the fastest growing cities nationally. With that growth, the City has transitioned from a “bedroom” community to a “balanced” community that combines quality residential living with a healthy business climate.

So there you have it as far as I know.