Dermott, on U.S. Highway 84 in northwestern Scurry County, was named for Pete McDermott, who donated the land for the town and established a store there in the 1890s. A post office was granted in 1902 with William H. Smith as postmaster. Like many small Texas towns, Dermott literally followed the railroads. The town moved first to be near the Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific tracks; subsequently, although Dermott had no depot, the trains stopped to load cattle and cotton. Sometime before 1915 the town was moved to the Santa Fe tracks, where cattle-loading pens were built. With the Scurry County oil boom of 1949 the town's fortunes rose, but they fell with the bust in 1951. In 1990 Dermott still maintained a post office, though the population had fallen to five.

Named for S. P. McDermott, who had crossroads store and was an early postmaster. Began as a community called Dark, 1-1/2 miles northeast. (School in area was named Bookout). Town moved 1909 to the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railroad. It had a hotel and a number of businesses. The Santa Fe was built in 1911, and the competing railroads made this a busy cattle shipping center, with full loading pens. Town moved 1915 to Santa Fe Railroad. The R.S. & P. tracks were taken up in 1942. The town had new population in the late 1940s, during county oil boom. (1966)