Kyle, Texas, was founded in 1880 when settlers from the nearby established communities of Blanco and Mountain City purchased lots in the 200-acre township deeded to the International-Great Northern Railroad by David E. Moore and Fergus Kyle, who gave his name to the new city. Beneath a live oak tree, which still stands, lots for both businesses and residences that had been laid out by surveyor Martin Groos were sold at auction in October 1880. Within two years, the town had 500 residents, although it would not be incorporated until 1928. Around the time Kyle was founded, Col. R.J. Sledge brought German workers to his Pecan Springs Valley plantation east of Kyle, generating new customers for his mercantile store in town. Kyle has been the home of some famous people, including author Katherine Anne Porter, Boston Red Sox pitcher Tex Hughson, Rhodes Scholar Terrell Sledge, and Dean Edwin J. Kyle, namesake of Kyle Field at Texas A&M University.