Carmine was founded on December 24, 1883, by Benjamin J. Thigpen, a highly regarded physician.  He purchased 46 acres of land for $230 and plotted the townsite as “Sylvan”, but subsequently changed the name to Carmean, after one of the original highly-respected settlers of the area, Newton Carmean.  The spelling of the town was changed to Carmine on June 15, 1892, to eliminate confusion for the postal service with the town of Cameron.  The railroad opened a small station in the new city of Carmine where farmers could ship their products to market.

By 1900 Carmine had four general stores, four saloons, two blacksmith shops, a new paper named the New Century, several churches, and ten other businesses…