Rule is a small town in western Haskell County, in the West Texas plains about 55 miles north of Abilene, at the intersection of US 380 and State Highway 6. The community was established in anticipation of the arrival of the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, and it was named for William A. Rule Sr., a railroad official. A post office opened in 1903, and the first train arrived in 1905, cementing the town's place as a rail-era trading point for the surrounding farm and ranch country. In its early decades Rule grew around its depot with the customary businesses of a plains railroad town — general stores, cotton facilities, churches, and a school — and it became the principal settlement for the farms and ranches that surround it. Cotton, grain, and cattle drove the local economy through much of the twentieth century. The town's footprint has always been compact, covering about 0.7 square miles, and its population has settled near 570 after peaking earlier in the century. Today Rule retains the institutions of a functioning small community. It is served by Rule Independent School District, home of Rule High School, which keeps education close to home for area families. The town sits along the US 380 corridor between Haskell to the west and Stamford to the east, placing it within reach of both neighboring towns and the larger center of Abilene to the south. Residents value the quiet, wide-open character of the plains, strong community ties, and the unhurried pace of rural West Texas life. For those seeking a small-town setting rooted in the region's railroad and agricultural past, Rule offers a genuine slice of West Texas.