Ponder was at the intersection of Farm roads 156 and 2449 and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway tracks, in western Denton County. Settlers had reached the area by the 1850s. One of the first to arrive was Silas Christal, who settled just west of the site of future Ponder, where he built an oxen-powered gristmill. In 1886 the Santa Fe purchased land for a right-of-way through the community. The railroad called the community Gerald, and in 1887 the first passenger train arrived in town. In 1889, when it was discovered that another Texas town was called Gerald, the town was renamed Ponder, in honor of W. A. Ponder, a prosperous landowner and Denton banker.

1934 Bonnie and Clyde attempt to rob the Ponder State Bank, only to discover it had gone broke the week before!