Elm Community

Elm Community. Settlers arrived in this area, which came to be known as the Elm Community, during the 1850s. Nicholas Farine, one of the first settlers, emigrated from France as a member of the La Reunion Colony located southwest of Dallas. The Colony failed in the late 1850s, and the Farine family moved here in 1859. Other pioneer families in the region were the Tolers, Metkers, and Storys., Farming was the primary occupation. Local farmers raised cotton, hay, fruits, and vegetables. In the 20th century, the Charles O'Connor family operated a large dairy here. , In 1899, John Finley Mills, a local farmer and merchant, opened the area's first post office, which he called Finley. The post office served the approximately seventy-five families in Elm and vicinity until it was discontinued in 1902. , Residents built a one-room schoolhouse in the community in the early 1880s. The Elm school, which offered grades 1 through 7, operated until 1948, when the Irving Independent School District took it over. , The Elm community succumbed to urban growth as the City of Irving annexed the farming area during the 1950s and 1960s. Today, local street names serve as a reminder of the early families of Elm.