[4] The site was first settled in 1871 by brothers Gustavus A. and Edwin S. Graham, primary shareholders in the Texas Emigration and Land Company of Louisville, Kentucky.

During that same year as when Graham was settled, the Warren Wagon Train Raid occurred about 12 miles north of the city.

[5] New families started to arrive, and the brothers began promoting the sale of homesites and doing civic improvements.

The town's newspaper, known as The Graham Leader and still in existence today, was first printed in 1876, the same year that the first temporary courthouse was built.

Other businesses from these early years included a gristmill, sawmill, cotton gin, and brick kiln, two hotels, and several stores.

Throughout the 1870s, they divided their time between Texas and their families back north, but in 1879, with the town flourishing, they moved their wives and children to Graham permanently.

In 1921, with her son Malcolm, she set up the Graham Foundation as a continuing fund for the city's growth and improvement.

In 1921, the Wichita Falls and Southern Railroad, one of the Frank Kell and Joseph A. Kemp properties, extended its line into Graham from Newcastle.

By 1966, Graham had 17 churches, seven schools, a hospital, a radio station, two libraries, three parks, and two newspapers.

[11] Geographically, Graham is located in the western Cross Timbers area of North Texas.

According to a mural on the courthouse depicting the arrival of the Graham brothers, the town square is physically the largest of any in the country.

Graham ISD and NCTC also have a partnership offering dual-credit courses to high school juniors and seniors.