HAPPY,
TEXAS . Happy, on
U.S. Highway 87 in northern Swisher County, derived its name from
nearby Happy Draw, so named because cowboys on cattle drives were
elated to find water there. In 1891 Hugh Currie established a homestead
and post office on the trail by the draw, and a stagecoach exchange
station also operated at this location. In 1906 the Santa Fe Railroad
extended its line south from Canyon and bypassed Happy. Promoters
laid out a town by the tracks two miles to the west, and their
efforts attracted settlers from the Midwest. At the new site, Plains
Lumber and Grain Company was the first business to be established,
J. F. White opened the first general store, and the Happy News
began publication. By 1907 the post office had been moved to the
new town, and a one-room dwelling had been rented for the first
school. The First State Bank of Happy was chartered in 1908. Telephone service was ushered in, originally from a switch at the Currie farm and later from a telephone exchange in town. The first brick building was Mose Wesley's auto repair shop, erected in 1913. In August 1925 Happy was incorporated with P. J. Neff as mayor and Tom Bandy and William F. Miller as commissioners. During the 1920s new school facilities were built and a volunteer fire department was organized. By 1940 the town reported a population of 576, and two grain elevators constituted the skyline. In 1984 Happy had a population of 674 and twenty-seven businesses, most of them related to farming. The number of businesses dropped to fourteen and the residents to 588 by 1990, perhaps because Interstate Highway 27 bypassed the community. Happy uses the slogan "the town without a frown."