Van Alstyne was built in 1872, for settlers to be near the railroad stop of the Houston and Texas Central Railway. The town was named for either William A. Van Alstyne, a civil engineer with the railroad, or for Marie Van Alstyne, a shareholder in the railroad company. The town was incorporated in 1890. Per a Van Alstyne Leader newspaper article September 3, 2015 the Outlaw "Bushwhacker Bill" Wilson, on whom the Clint Eastwood movie The Outlaw Josey Wales is based, was murdered somewhere in the vicinity of either the intersection of Texas Hwy 5 and Prong Creek 1 mile North of Van Alstyne or South of Van Alstyne halfway to the old ghost town of Mantua. A lot of movie buffs would likely be interested if this was marked somewhere in the town.
Geography
Van Alstyne is located in southeastern Grayson County at . The city limits extend south slightly into Collin County. The U.S. Route 75 freeway runs through the western side of the city, with access from Exits 50 and 51. US 75 leads north to Denison and south to the center of Dallas. Van Alstyne's immediate neighbors are Anna to the south and Howe to the north. According to the United States Census, Van Alstyne has a total area of, all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, 3,046 people, 1114 households, and 832 families resided in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 88.7% White, 4.50% African American,.8% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 3.7% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 9.4% of the population. Of the 1114 households, 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57% were married couplesliving together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 25.3% were not families. About 22.4% of all households were made up of householders living alone, 2.0% had a male living alone who was 65 years of age or older, and 8.9% had a female living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.5. In the city, the population was distributed as 30.5% under the age of 19, 4.9% from 19 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 25% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $51,450, and for a family was $69,773. About 9.5% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public schools
Students are served by the Van Alstyne Independent School District. Schools in the district include Partin Elementary School, Sanford Elementary School, Van Alstyne Middle School and Van Alstyne High School.
