The Houston and Texas Central Railway built through the area in 1873, and a railroad switch was located in the community.

It was called "Summit" because at 810 feet (250 m) above sea level, it was supposed to be the highest point between the Red River and the Gulf of Mexico.

By the late 1880s, the town had become a major grain shipping center and was the home of red rust-proof oats.

In 1890, Howe had a population of 450, a steam gristmill, a Farmers' Alliance Cooperative, and Baptist and Methodist churches, as well as a number of hotels, doctors, druggists, and barbers.

On May 15, 1896, an F5 category tornado passed through the west side of Howe and the Farmington community, sweeping away around 17 homes.

[6][circular reference] On October 6, 1904, The Arlington Journal reported a fire through Howe's business district and named four stores it destroyed.

Throughout most of its history, Howe remained primarily an agricultural center, but some oil has been produced in the area.

It started in a field behind the Summit Hill housing division, where a home was destroyed off Smith Road, then it proceeded northeast and crossed US Hwy 75, where trucker Gene Marshall was filming it; the storm tossed his truck and semitrailer to the other side of the road along with three cars.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.1 square miles (13.2 km2), all land.

Howe Texas was featured on the back page of the 2600 - The Hacker Quarterly magazine, Autumn 2024 edition, for its 2010 census population of exactly 2600.