The name is from the Spur Ranch, which formerly included the town site. E. P. Swenson and his associates purchased the Spur Ranch in 1907 and began subdividing the land for sale to settlers. Charles Adam Jones, then manager of the Spur interest, played the leading role in persuading Daniel Willard, head of the Burlington Railroad, to route a proposed railway line northwest from Stamford through the future site of Spur. On November 1, 1909, the first train of the Stamford and Northwestern passed through the new depot at Spur as the town was opened. Over 600 lots had been sold. The first businesses in town were the W. S. Campbell Mortuary and Furniture Store, which started operation ten days after the town opened, and the Spur Hardware and Furniture Company, managed by N. A. Baker. Other early business concerns included the Spur Inn, the furniture store of C. Hogan and Company, the Love Dry Goods Store owned by C. L. Love, the Brazelton-Pryor Lumber Company managed by F. W. Jennings, and the first newspaper, the Texas Spur, published by Oran McClure.