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Van Alstyne, Texas

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the East Grayson census division. It lies in ZIP code area 75495. The Survey maps it on the Van Alstyne quadrangle. 4,369 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 784 feet above sea level.

Van Alstyne within Grayson County

On record in Van Alstyne

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Van Alstyne grew from 3,046 to 4,369 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20103,046
20204,369+1,323 (+43%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 7 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

112 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 112 fires within 5 miles of Van Alstyne between 2005 and 2017, burning about 1,281 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 7 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined53
Debris and open burning35
Equipment and vehicle use8
Arson/incendiarism7
Smoking3
Recreation and ceremony2
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Natural1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 September 2005Debris and open burning10 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
30 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
3 September 2005Debris and open burning5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
3 September 2005Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
23 September 2011Debris and open burning7.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceKNOB HILL FIRE
21 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCR 478 FIRE
21 September 2011Debris and open burning2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceSISTER GROVE FIRE
21 September 2011Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceGF

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Grayson County

Storms near this place

42 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Van Alstyne in 42 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 21 hail, 15 thunderstorm wind, 5 flash flood, 1 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2009Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne$100,000Three businesses at the Wilson N. Jones Plaza located on the northeast corner of HWY 75 and FM 121 in Van Alstyne partially lost their roof due to straight line winds. Extensive water damage was sustained in the buildings. In addition, several trees were down in town and some fell on houses and vehicles.
April 1998LightningVan Alstyne$60,000A lightning strike started a house fire, destroying the house and contents.
September 2025Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne$10,000A public report indicated that several trees and power lines were blown down in and around Van Alstyne, with widespread power outages reported. A FEMA employee reported 12 inch or larger diameter trees were snapped just south of Van Alstyne.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne$10,00018 wheelers on Highway 75 blown over, signs blown down, and large tree was blown onto a house.
February 1998Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne$10,000Trees were blown down by strong winds and windows were broken.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne$8,000Estimated winds of 65 mph blew down trees, fences, power poles, and power lines in Van Alstyne. Some trees fell on power lines. One large tree in particular snapped about half way up and partially fell onto the building of the Van Alstyne Leader.
June 2023HailVan Alstyne$7,000no account filed
September 2025HailVan Alstyne$5,000Golf ball sized hail was reported in Van Alstyne.
May 2007Flash FloodVan Alstyne$5,000Water over six inches was flowing over the roads in Whitewright, and at least two roads had to be closed. In Van Alstyne, county roads and yards were underwater. A trailer was also flooded.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne$4,000Power lines were blown down across the southern part of the county.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne$3,000Power lines blown down. Winds estimated at 60 MPH.
May 2000Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne$2,000Trees and power lines were blown down.
April 2025HailVan Alstyne-A trained spotter reported penny sized hail in Van Alstyne.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne-A public report indicated multiple trees down in Van Alstyne, just north of Panther Pkwy and west of US Highway 75.
September 2025HailVan Alstyne-Reported via mPing.
September 2025HailVan Alstyne-Reported via mPing.
May 2024Flash FloodVan Alstyne-Emergency management reported 8 to 10 inches of water on roadways at the intersection of US 75 and FM 121. US 75 became closed due to high water.
May 2024HailVan Alstyne-Emergency manager reported 1 inch hail in Van Alstyne.
March 2023Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne-A wind gust of 71 mph was measured at U.S. Highway 75 and County Line Road on the far south side of Van Alstyne.
April 2022HailVan Alstyne-A photograph on social media indicated quarter sized hail in Van Alstyne, TX.
November 2018HailVan Alstyne-A trained spotter reported quarter sized hail approximately 4 miles south of the city of Van Alstyne, TX.
May 2015Flash FloodVan Alstyne-A social media report stated that flooding was occurring on Highway 75 near exit 51 in Van Alstyne, TX.
October 2014Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne-The sheriff's department reported that trees were blown down in Van Alstyne and Sherman.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne-Winds were estimated in excess of 65 MPH.
May 2007HailVan Alstyne-Quarter-size hail covering the ground.
May 2007HailVan Alstyne-Lasted about 10 minutes.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne-A tree was blown down.
March 2002Flash FloodVan Alstyne-The bridge at Eagle Point Crossing just west of Van Alstyne on FM 121 was washed out.
September 2001Flash FloodVan Alstyne-Streets in town flooded.
April 1999Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne-A trained spotter reported 60 to 70 mph winds associated with thunderstorms.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindVan Alstyne-Several large trees were blown down by high winds.
May 2024HailVan Alstyne-no account filed
May 2015HailVan Alstyne-no account filed
September 2011HailVan Alstyne-no account filed
May 2008HailVan Alstyne-no account filed
May 2006HailVan Alstyne-no account filed
July 2003HailVan Alstyne-no account filed
May 2002HailVan Alstyne-no account filed
April 2000HailVan Alstyne-no account filed
April 1999HailVan Alstyne-no account filed
February 1998HailVan Alstyne-no account filed
April 1995HailVan Alstyne-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Grayson County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Elmont3.2 miles7
Farmington4.9 miles7
Cannon5.1 miles7
Howe6.3 miles12
White Mound7.5 miles12
Pilot Grove8.2 miles7
Tom Bean8.4 miles7
Gunter9.2 miles7

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Van AlstyneAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q778693The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1370567. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.