Carmine is on U.S. Highway 290 at the Fayette-Washington county line (West of Brenham). Dr. B. J. Thigpen and his family moved to the town site on Christmas Eve, 1885. Thigpen had been promised the position of station agent on the Texas and New Orleans Railroad if he would promote the town originally called Sylvan. This was later changed to Carmean in honor of Newton Carmean, the first postmaster. In 1892 the spelling of the town was changed to Carmine (but it is still pronounced Car-mean). The town grew through active promotion. By 1900 it had four general stores, four saloons, two blacksmith shops, a newspaper named the New Century, several churches, and ten other businesses. Both the railroad and the highway provided direct links between Houston and Austin. In 1950 Carmine had twenty-four businesses and a population of 650. Students attended the consolidated school of Carmine-Round Top. During the 1960s, however, cotton gins closed and farmland reverted to pasture. U.S. 290 was straightened between 1958 and 1964 and bypassed the town. The railroad line was closed, and the track was removed between 1980 and 1985. By 1985 the town had twenty-five businesses and a population of 239. In 1990 the population was 192.

Carmine is currently home to a number of antique shops and is conveniently located for visitors to Festival Hill in Round Top and the Shakespeare Festival in Winedale.