Winfield's storied and colorful history includes coal mining, brick and pottery manufacturing, and the famous Winfield Truck Stop. When the Texas and St. Louis Railway was being constructed through western Titus County in 1880, the citizens of Gray Rock, on the western boundary of the county, were asked to donate money and land to the company for routing the road through their community. When the merchants refused to cooperate, W. C. Barrett deeded a portion of his land a mile northeast of Gray Rock to railroad officials for a depot, and the road was built north of Gray Rock. At its earliest stages the community that began to emerge around the depot was called Barrett, but when the post office was opened there in 1887 with Patrick H. Carr as postmaster, the village was called Carr. In 1892 the name was changed to Winfield, in honor of the general passenger agent for the railroad, W. H. Winfield. In 1890 the population was reported at forty-seven. By 1896 the town had three churches, several stores, a pottery operated by J. S. Hogue, and a population estimated at 150. During the early years of the twentieth century, the town experienced its greatest period of growth. By 1914 it had a brick company, a newspaper, numerous stores and gins, two banks, and a population estimated at 700. The two banks merged in 1919, and the resulting bank closed in the early 1920s. By 1925 the population of Winfield had declined to 629, and by the 1940s it was 350. The town was incorporated in the 1940s and maintained a relatively stable population for several decades. In 1980 residents numbered 349, and in 1982 the town had five rated businesses. In 1990 the population was 345.
Geography
Located on Interstate 30, approximately halfway between Mount Pleasant and Mount Vernon, Winfield is the second largest town in Titus County. Winfield is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.9 square miles, of which, 0.9 square miles of it is land and 1.06% is water.
As of the census of 2010, there were 524 people, 175 households, and 133 families residing in the city. The population density was 538.7 people per square mile. There were 195 housing units at an average density of 209.7/sq mi. The racial makeup of the city was 37.8% White, 00% African American, 0.56% Native American, 18.04% from other races, and 1.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 41.8% of the population. There were 193 households out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% were married couplesliving together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.2% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.50. In the city, the population was spread out with 33.7% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,114. About 17.7% of families and 19.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.7% of those under age 18 and 19.2% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Winfield Independent School District served Winfield until 2018. In addition to Winfield, the district also served the town of Miller's Cove. Winfield ISD had one school, Winfield Elementary, that served students in grades kindergarten through eight, while Mount Pleasant Independent School District and Mount Pleasant High School served the district at the high school level only. In 2009, the school district was rated "recognized" by the Texas Education Agency. In its final year of operation, 2018, it had fewer than 200 students. From 2014-2018 there were attempts to improve the district. In 2018 it lost its accreditation from the TEA. Winfield is now served by Mount Pleasant Independent School District.
