Jabez Haning

Jabez Haning (1827-1883) came to Grayson County with his family in 1846. In the 1850s, Haning obtained a grant of 320 acres of land from the Peters Colony. His land was located about nine miles south of Sherman. In 1873 the Houston & Texas Central Railway established a line south of Sherman. The route went through the Haning property, and they donated land for a townsite in 1872. That year, the town was renamed from Summit, because of the highest elevation from the Red River to the Gulf of Mexico, to Howe after railroad official F.M. Howe.  The city officially became incorporated in 1874 and it was all because of the generosity and vision of Jabez Haning.