William Whitewright Day

In 1878, New York investor and financier William Whitewright Jr. (1815–1898), after whom our community was named, purchased a tract of land in the path of the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad, which was then extending its tracks across the county from Sherman to Greenville. Within 10 years of its founding, the community had incorporated and supported a private school, Grayson College, a public school, a newspaper, and several businesses, including three hotels, two cotton gins, and two banks.