The area now known as Wharton was part of the Caney Run mail route established in 1838 by the Republic of Texas.

The community was named after two leaders in the Anglo-American struggle for Texas independence, brothers John and William Wharton.

What developed as a plantation community along the Colorado River was first settled in 1846 by some of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists.

European Jewish immigrants, arriving as early as the 1850s from Germany, established additional businesses and began the Congregation Shearith Israel, the only synagogue in a three-county area.

[5] Other settlers in the community included Swiss, German, Mexican, and Czech immigrants and, after the Civil War and emancipation, descendants of plantation slaves.

The area was first developed for agriculture, and planters used enslaved African Americans for labor before the Civil War.

By the 1980s, Wharton had such diverse industries as Health-focus, the largest physical rehabilitation and therapy service in the nation; M. I.

Drilling Fluids, a subsidiary of Magcobar Division of Dresser Industries; the Formosa Plastics Group, consisting of Nan Ya Plastics and J-M Manufacturing; Coastal Warehouse Limited, serving the agricultural industry; and Gulf Coast Medical Center and South Texas Medical clinics.

The Wharton County Historical Museum features exhibits on notable residents - broadcast journalist Dan Rather and Medal of Honor-recipient Roy Benavidez, as well as a wildlife collection.

[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.2 square miles (19 km2), of which 0.14% is covered by water.

State Highway 60 (SH 60) passes through Wharton, heading south to Bay City and north to East Bernard.

FM 102 starts on SH 60 in Wharton and goes northwest to Eagle Lake in Colorado County.

[8] The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.