William Warden was the first settler to the area in 1844, coming from
Missouri. He received a land grant from
Peter's Colony for of land along the east fork of the
Trinity River in 1850. He settled here with his family to start farming soon after. There were two gins, a grain elevator, a church, a hotel, and a general store in Climax in the mid-1890s. A post office was established at Climax in 1895 and remained in operation until 1901, after which mail was sent from
Farmersville. The community has served as a retail point for local farmers for most of its history. It had a population of 40 from 1940 through 2000. On June 29, 1974, a transport
boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion occurred in Climax, resulting in 108 tons of
vinyl chloride from rail being released into the air. ==Geography==