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Hamilton County, Texas

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Contents

History/Timeline

1886 courthouse, Cross stitch image in Courthouse
pre 1700-1800s Five Indian burial mounds have been found on the banks of Cowhouse Creek, about 3½ miles from Pottsville. Waco and Tawakoni Indians lived on the Brazos and Trinity rivers 60 miles to the E and NE; they traded with the Tonkawas, a nomadic tribe that moved around Central Texas[1][2]
1821 shortly after Mexico claimed its independence from Spain, Anglo settlers from the North came to Texas, claiming Mexican citizenship.[1]
1836 Texas's independence from Mexico (1836) [1]
1854 - After Texas annexed by the USA, Robert Carter and family were the first Anglo settlers in the county.[1]
1855 - More settlers arrived: James Rice, Henry Standefer, Frederic Bookerman, William Beauchamp, and Asa Langford, settling in the town of Hamilton.formed a community that later becomes the town of Hamilton. Asa Langford began Langford's Cove, which expanded into present-day Evant. [1]
1858 22 June 1858, 6th Texas Legislature formed Hamilton County, from parts of Comanche, Bosque, and Lampasas counties. It was named for James Hamilton Jr. with Hamilton, Texas as the county seat.[1]
Hamilton Co. in Texas.
1858--Hamilton County was created 22 June 1858 from Bosque, Comanche, Lampasas, and Coryell Counties.[2]FamilySearch genealogy</ref>
1863, 1877, 1886--Courthouses and many county records were destroyed by fires in September 1863, March 1877, and February 1886.[2]
1850-1870s Native Americans remained in area and attacked settlements.[1]
Civil War, 1862-65 (Men were away in the war. County growth was impeded by the Civil War, (the remaining men formed militia units for the county's defense from the Indian raids. Life on the frontier was dangerous.[3]
1867 Comanche raiders attacked a school where Ann Whitney was the teacher. [1]She helped students escape before finally succumbing to 18 Comanche arrows.[1]
1875 - Ranchers drove their cattle to market on a branch of the Chisholm Trail that ran between Hico and Carlton. [3]
1882 the Hico community began its annual Hico Old Settlers' Reunion.[1]
Bullman Bowstring Bridge
1884 -- Bullman Bridge The Bullman Bridge is one of the few remaining Bowstring Bridges in Texas. It was built by King Bridge Company, 1884, is located on Hamilton CR 301 (old Waco-Hamilton road) at the Leon river crossing.. It is featured in the State's Transportation Enhancement Program. One of the few remaining bowstring bridges in Texas[4]
1900 cotton was planted on 47,500 acres (192 km2) of county land. [1]
1907 Stephenville North and South Texas Railway arrived to connect Hamilton with Stephenville. [1]
1911 Second railway, St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas bringing a tie for Hamilton to Gatesville and Comanche..[1]
1934 During Great Depression, the Civil Works Administration helped many Hamilton county men earning low or no wages. The payroll included 747 Hamilton County men, who together earned about $2,000 per day.[1]
1950 Ollie P. Roberts (also known as Ollie L. Roberts, "Brushy Bill" Roberts, or William Henry Roberts), a resident of Hico during the late 1940s, claimed to have been theoutlaw Billy The Kid. The assertion is based on a legend that Patrick F. Garrett helped Billy fake his own death. Hico Chamber of Commerce responded by opening a Billy The Kid Museum.

First School, Hamilton County

The first school of Hamilton County was a private, isolated school located on Leona River, which started after the Civil War. Months for school were only the summer months, as the children were needed to help their families in the fall and winter. This small school house was badly built, a square of logs. There were loose openings in the walls, but these ventilated it during July, 1867. School teacher, Ann Whitney heard a group horsemen were approaching. Ann thought the horsemen were settlers from town.

Ann Whitney Marker.

These horsemen were Comanches and began shooting arrows into the classroom ( one of them was a red-headed white man). Ann made a mistake in assuming this. Ann pushed some students to safety, and trying to help the rest. The Comanches came inside and shot the brave school teacher. Two children were hiding beneath the floorboards, while Ann arranged her skirts to conceal them. Young John Kuykendall was captured, but the other boy escaped..He related the story later. Amanda Howard, age 17 saw much of this and rode to warn the settlers of the attacking Comanches.

Miss Whitney was buried in the Graves-Gentry cemetery of Hamilton. School children erected the marker for her grave. “In Memory of Ann Whitney - frontier school teacher - Born in Massachusetts about 1835. Killed by Comanche Indians July 9, 1867. Resting in hope of a glorious resurrection. Erected by the schoolchildren of Hamilton County.[5]


Government Offices

  • 1863, 1877, 1886--Courthouses and many county records were destroyed by fires in September 1863, March 1877, and February 1886.[2]

Hamilton County has had three courthouses: 1860, 1878, and 1886

1st courthouse, 1860 no image

2nd Courthouse, 1878

3rd Courthouse, 1886 Style - The limestone building was Second Empire style until it was redone in the Classical style in 1931.

1886 Courthouse (before additions) image hangs in hall

"The original 1886 section, built in 1886, is located in the center. The N and S side wings, crenellated towers and east and west side columned porticos were part of the 1931 addition by architect E.M. Miles." - Terry Jeanson

1886 Courthouse after additions, renovation
Geography

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hch03

Location - in Central Texas, is bounded on the north by Comanche, Erath, and Johnson counties, on the west by Mills County, and on the south by Lampasas and Coryell counties.
Center: lies at 31°47' north latitude and 98°13' west longitude, 114 miles N of Austin.
Named for James Hamilton, a South Carolina governor who invested some $216,000 in gold to finance the Texas struggle for independence from Mexico.
Size 844 square miles
Vegetation -wooded with pecan, live oak, elm, cedar, and post oak.
Soils--sandy loams, sands, dark, limy, crumbly, prairie clays alluvial bottoms of the river valleys.
Elevation 900 and 1,600 feet above sea level.
Topography rolling prairie, with flat-topped buttes rising abrubtly on the divides streams
Rivers/creeks Leon, Lampasas, and Bosque rivers.
Valleys - deep, wide stream valleys are bordered by limestone cliffs abut flat divides. T
Rainfall is 29.61 inches
Temperature in January is 34° F, and t in July is 96°.
Growing season lasts 239 days.
Agriculture earns about $31 million yearly, 90% cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, and poultry.
Crops -sorghums, small grains, cotton, hay, and pecans
Irrigated land totals about 5,000 acres.
Agribusiness - than 40 dairies.
Manufacture of garments, wooden molding, steel products, earns $5 million annually.
Oil Hamilton County- oil production; production was about 2,067 in 1990.
Highways - U.S Hwy 281 (north to south),State Hwy 36 (NE to SE), State Hwy 22 ( E to W)

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hch03

Adjacent counties
Erath County (north)
Adj counties..
Bosque County (northeast)
Coryell County (southeast)
Lampasas County (south)
Mills County (southwest)
Comanche County (northwest)
Protected areas
  • Cooper Lake State Park
  • Jim Chapman Lake
1884 -- Bullman Bridge The Bullman Bridge is one of the few remaining Bowstring Bridges in Texas. It was built by King Bridge Company, 1884, is located on Hamilton CR 301 (old Waco-Hamilton road) at the Leon river crossing.. It is featured in the State's Transportation Enhancement Program. One of the few remaining bowstring bridges in Texas[6]
Bullman Bowstring Bridge
Demographics

In 2000, there were 8,229 people residing in the county with a population density of 10 people/sq. mi. per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 93.81% White, 0.15% (12) Black or African American, 0.44% (36) Native American, 0.15% (12) Asian, 0.05% (4) Pacific Islander, 4.36% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. 7.41% of the population were Hispanic. The median income for a household in the county was $31,150, and the median income for a family was $39,494. Males had a median income of $26,703 versus $20,192 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,800. About 10.60% of families and 14.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.20% under age 18 and 13.80% age 65 or over.[7]

1936 Hamilton jail

Highways:

  • U.S. Highway 84
  • U.S. Highway 281
  • Texas State Highway 6
  • Texas State Highway 22
  • Texas State Highway 36
  • Texas State Highway 220

Politics:
In national politics Hamilton County voters voted solidly Democratic until the early 1950s, when majorities began to fall regularly into the Republican column. From 1952 to 1992 the county voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election but two: 1964, when a majority of county voters supported Lyndon B. Johnson, and 1976, when a majority supported Jimmy Carter.[8]

Cities
  • Cranfills Gap (mostly in Bosque County)
  • Hamilton (county seat)
  • Hico
Town
  • Evant (partly in Coryell County)

Unincor Communities

  • Carlton
  • Fairy
  • Indian Gap
  • Jonesboro (partly in Coryell County)
  • Ohio
  • Pottsville
  • Shive
  • Sunshine
    • McGirk (Ghost town)

Formed From

  • 1858--Hamilton County was created 22 June 1858 from Bosque, Comanche, Lampasas, and Coryell Counties.

Resources

Census

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_County,_Texas

1860 --- 489 —
1870 --- 733 49.9%
1880 --- 6,365 768.3%
1890 --- 6,313 −0.8%
1900 --- 13,520 114.2%
1910 --- 15,315 13.3%
1920 --- 14,676 −4.2%
1930 --- 13,523 −7.9%
1940 --- 13,303 −1.6%
1950 --- 10,660 −19.9%
1960 --- 8,488 −20.4%
1970 --- 7,198 −15.2%
1980 --- 8,297 15.3%
1990 --- 7,733 −6.8%
2000 --- 8,229 6.4%
2010 --- 8,517 3.5%
Est. 2015 --- 8,159

Notables

County Events
  • Billy The Kid Museum in Hico
  • Hico Old Settlers' Reunion.

Military

Land
Cemeteries



Sources

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_County,_Texas
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 FamilySearch genealogy
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hch03
  4. ↑ http://www.texasescapes.com/CentralTexasTownsNorth/HamiltonTexas/Bullman-Bridge-Hamilton-County-Hamilton-Texas.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPersonalities/Ann-Whitney.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.texasescapes.com/CentralTexasTownsNorth/HamiltonTexas/Bullman-Bridge-Hamilton-County-Hamilton-Texas.htm
  7. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_County,_Texas
  8. ↑ https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hch03




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