 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.