Getting to Trenton
The town sits at the southwest edge of Fannin County, where SH 121 meets US 69, with Business 69 running through on Pearl Street. From the courthouse square in Bonham it's about 15 miles, all on SH 121.
Trenton grew up around the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad, got its post office in 1881, and once shipped onions by the carload: 158 carloads in 1933 alone. We also work the country around it, from Orangeville and Randolph out to the Grayson and Collin County lines. More towns are on our Fannin County service area page.
Water, sewer and septic around Trenton
City water from two wells
The city pumps its water from two wells, one a block east of city hall, drilled about 1,500 to 1,600 feet into the Woodbine sand. The state's regional water plan calls for one more Woodbine well.
Rural water on three sides
Outside town, Southwest Fannin County SUD serves the north and east, Desert WSC the west, and West Leonard WSC the south. Desert WSC keeps its office right in town, on Hamilton Street.
City sewer
Trenton runs its own sewer system and treatment plant, so houses inside the city limits are generally on city sewer.
Septic past the city limits
Fannin County's environmental office in Bonham permits septic systems outside town. The county soil survey says the Fairlie and Dalco clay around town drains very slowly, and nearly every new septic system in the county is a spray system.
How old pipe wears out
Galvanized supply pipe rusts from the inside until the opening narrows, so the first sign is usually weak pressure at one faucet, then at more of them. Cast iron drains scale up and crack the same slow way. The clay under town doesn't help, since the county soil survey says it shrinks and swells as it wets and dries.
Newer houses are going in too. The Anderson Crossing subdivision was platted in 2023.
Work we do around Trenton:
- Water line repair and repiping in Trenton when old galvanized pipe gives out
- Drain cleaning for slow drains and main line backups
- Sewer line repair on cast iron and clay lines
- Water heater repair and replacement
- Faucet, toilet and valve repair
Questions from Trenton
How soon can you get to Trenton?
Usually within a day or two, and emergencies go first. Trenton is about 19 minutes from Bonham, all on SH 121, and we give you a time window when you call 903-227-0170. If a pipe has split, the shutoff at the meter box or the main valve where the line enters the house will stop it until we get there.
Is Trenton's water hard?
Nobody publishes a hardness number for the city wells, but the closest Woodbine well water that has been tested is very soft. Southwest Fannin County SUD, which serves the country north and east of town, reports hardness around 2 parts per million and sodium around 226.
Water heater makers say soft water with that much dissolved salt uses up a tank's anode rod faster, so have yours checked more often than the manual suggests.
Who permits septic systems outside town?
Fannin County does, through its environmental office at 1203 E. Sam Rayburn Drive in Bonham. The clay around Trenton drains so slowly that most newer systems out here are spray systems, so an alarm or a sprinkler problem goes to your aerobic maintenance company. A backup between the house and the tank is ours; see septic line repair.
What goes wrong most in Trenton houses?
In the older houses, it's usually weak water pressure from old galvanized pipe, slow drains and aging water heaters. If the pressure is fine at one faucet and weak at another, the trouble is usually in the pipe feeding that fixture.
Call 903-227-0170 or request service online.
