Two brothers, Gustavus and Edwin Graham, wanted a piece of the wide open spaces in Texas. So in 1872, they bought 125,000 acres in Young County and established Graham. They also bought a local salt works but that didn't do too well and closed up after a few years. They then encouraged those from back east to settle in by promoting home site sales and donating land for a courthouse, churches and schools.
Political players will like that Graham is the county seat
Two brothers, Gustavus and Edwin Graham, wanted a piece of the wide open spaces in Texas. So in 1872, they bought 125,000 acres in Young County and established Graham. They also bought a local salt works but that didn't do too well and closed up after a few years. They then encouraged those from back east to settle in by promoting home site sales and donating land for a courthouse, churches and schools.
Political players will like that Graham is the county seat. It sprawls over a flat 5.6 square miles in northern Texas and as of the 2010 U.S. Census, had a population of 8,903. As for living in the city, you can take advantage of shopping at a main street section, complete with central square, and finding fun through the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
First, decide where you're going to move. If you want to be closer to work, most of the businesses surround the city on the north, west and southwest borders, with a small swatch in the northeast. If you need to be near transportation connections, then routes 15, 67, and 380 provide the fastest trips into and out of town. Graham Municipal Airport is in the northeast and is useful for private and general aviation. If you don't own your own plane, you'll have to take commercial airlines at Wichita Falls Municipal, about 70 miles north.
Weather is generally not an issue. You can arrive even in January because the temperature averages about 42 degrees, which isn't cold enough for any snow. What also doesn't happen here are the much-publicized Texas tornadoes and their unpredictable swaths of destruction. Both January and August are the driest months, so schedule your move around that time if you want to avoid any rain.
Less than 10 percent of the properties in the city consist of apartments so you need to do everything to get your potential landlord on your side or you may lose out to a more desirable tenant. Pay off your debts and clean up your credit. You can check your credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com. Do this as far in advance as possible. If you find any mistakes, it may take several weeks to get it corrected.
Apartment managers like to see that you have a lot of money left over to afford the rent. Making at least three times what you can afford to pay is typically a requirement. When you tour an apartment complex in Graham, bring pay stubs and letters of recommendation from previous home rentals. You'll then have supporting documentation right there if you decide to fill out an application.
Consider choosing a single-family house as your rental home, which there are plenty of in the city. To find these properties, hire a real estate agent that specializes in rentals. She can advise you about what part of town you should be looking in based on what you want in a property. Either she or you can then use your negotiating skills to lower the rent because you're dealing with individual owners.
Living in Graham offers you a choice between two neighborhoods, each with their own amenities, and a sweet apartment complex to choose from.
City Center: Rows of charming Victorian buildings filled with individually-owned shops surround the main square of this neighborhood. Pratt's Books, for example, sells both used and rare tomes, and Welch Western Wear makes sure you blend with the locals. Most homes are in the southern half while much of the north consists of empty tree-covered spaces. Most of the main highways meet in this area, making it great for commuters so start looking for your rental property now!
Eastern: This neighborhood has the Wal-Mart Supercenter, the airport and an honest-to-goodness drive-in theater with digital projection. Nearly all the properties here were built from 1940 to 1999 with under 10 percent from the 21st century. If you work in or need to be near medicine, the Graham Regional Medical Center takes care of your health needs.
Top Apartment Community
Lone Oak Apartments: If you're dying to find an apt for rent, you can rent one of the 64 affordable units ranging from one-bedroom apartments to three-bedroom models. Your amenities include off-street parking and one-story living, so nobody is above or below you.
You have to take advantage of the sunshine by visiting such outdoor spots as Fireman's Park and Shawnee Springs Park. These parks may have picnic tables or playground, but strangely enough, no playing fields for organized sports. A couple of places even allow overnight camping: Lake Eddleman Park contains 12 RV spaces and Kindley Park has 10. Both also have electrical hookups. The rules are simple: keep your dog on a leash, don't bring any alcohol and don't set off fireworks.
If you want to spend time on the water, head for Lake Graham, which is about five miles north of the city. It catches the hot water discharged by the power plant. You can fish for large-mouth bass, channel catfish and white crappie; launch your own vessel from boat ramps; and go camping, swimming or picnicking.
For indoor entertainment, start at Graham Regional Theater, which concentrates on musicals and music performances. Grander entertainments can happen at the larger Graham Memorial Auditorium, which hosts major musical stars and children's recitals.
The Old Post Office Museum and Art Center explains the city's history with artifacts and photographs. The Art Center rotates several exhibits, some of which displays work by local artists. The Young County Arena boasts almost 6.2 covered acres for focusing on larger activities such as rodeos, horse shows, tractor pulls and circuses.
The quickest way to find out about your new home, other than mingling with the locals and asking lots of questions, is by taking two popular tours. The Downtown Walking Tour tells you about the ornate buildings that decorate downtown. The Driving Tour of Young County puts the tour right in your car so an audio CD can tell you about cattle drives, frontier settlers and interesting sites about the Old West.
