Coolidge was established in 1903 by the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway when tracks were laid between Hillsboro and Mexia. Like many communities in the area cotton farming was a primary industry but, as cattle ranching began to replace farming, Coolidge lost its rail service in 1942.
An early blacksmith shop operated by an immigrant from Norway became an important addition to the local business economy. The railroad depot was restored and became city headquarters and houses a museum containing much of the local history: farming implements, printing presses from the Coolidge Daily News, and other relics of the past.
Dr. E. DONNELL THOMAS grew up and graduated from High School here. In 1990, Dr. Thomas shared in a Nobel Prize in Physiology of Medicine for cell and organ transplantation. Later with his wife discovered bone marrow transplantation.
Site of the Annual Mesquite Tree Festival each May.
