A short history of Nevada
The first settlement in the area, by John McMinn in the 1840s, was McMinn Chapel, populated mostly by his family and friends. In 1861, Granville Stinebaugh purchased a quarter-section four miles south and established the town on his farm and named it in honor of Nevada Territory, through which he had passed on his way to search California. Nevada enjoyed some prosperity after becoming a stop on the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, and the town incorporated in 1889.
On May 9, 1927, a half-mile-wide F4 tornado ripped through Nevada, leaving 19 dead, 100 injured, and property damage exceeding $650,000. The town had a difficult recovery; citizens voted to unincorporate, and placed the restoration of the community in the hands of the Collin County authorities, but the growing mechanization in agriculture, along with the Great Depression, caused the town to decline. The railroad later removed its tracks from the area.
Growth in Collin County during the last 25 years has moderately improved life in Nevada. The population has again reached its 1927 peak.
Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Nevada, Texas, revision 1378591704 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.