J. E. Engle, an engineer for the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway was the namesake of the community after a railroad stop was established in the late 1870s.
A post office was established at Engle in 1888 and closed in the 1930s. By 1900 Engle had a blacksmith, a tinsmith, a lumbersmith, and three saloonsmiths (Texas escapes website).