Gunter was founded in 1902 (other sources report 1901, with a post office as early as 1898) when the family of John (a/k/a Jot) Gunter deeded 328 acres (1.33 km2) for the original townsite, near the intersection of current State Highway 289 and Farm to Market Road 121. The first residence was established in 1903 by Albert Earthman, who would later charter the First National Bank in Gunter. A second bank, the First State Bank, would later open.
Gunter steadily grew until 1924, when the First State Bank (having outlasted the First National Bank) closed its doors, leaving many businessmen and farmers in financial ruin. The Great Depression and two devastating fires in 1930 and 1948 further damaged the local economy.
However, Gunter began to grow again in the 1950s, and experienced its greatest growth in the last two decades, growing 37% in population during the 1990s. Gunter has started to experience overflow growth from the northern Metroplex suburbs, due to its location on State Highway 289 approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Celina, as well as its proximity to the Sherman-Denison metropolitan area and nearby Lake Texoma. In May 2002, a branch of Ada, Oklahoma-based Landmark Bank (now part of Simmons Bank) opened in Gunter, providing the town its first financial institution in nearly 90 years.
The city's boundaries expanded dramatically during the decade between 2000 and 2010. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2), all land, in 2000, which had risen to 17.6 square miles (45.7 km2) in 2010, of which 17.5 square miles (45.4 km2) were land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km2), or 0.63%, were water.[5]
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,060 people, 495 households, and 413 families residing in the city.
Government
Gunter is led by a six-person City Council, consisting of the Mayor and five members, all of which are elected at-large.
On December 12, 2023, all five of the at-large members resigned from their positions (and failed to appear at a scheduled City Council meeting the following night), leaving the Mayor as the only remaining member.[11]
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Gunter has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.[13]
^Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.[9][10]
