The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 67, July 1963 - April, 1964 Page: 486
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Judicial District in Hamilton. John Quincy Anderson was a
member of the Commissioners' Court for many years.
This community was situated on the fringe of the Western
Cross Timbers,' which provided a sufficient supply of wood for
the use of the first settlers. The underlying beds of limestone,'
visible in the cliffs along the banks of Honey Creek, later proved
to be a more abundant and cheaper source of building ma-
terial." The grass-covered prairies were conducive to stock raising
which was the principal industry, although some wheat, corn,
and tobacco were cultivated."
In 186o, John R. Alford arrived with a small stock of dry
goods from Freestone County and opened the first business in
the settlement. Because the mail route from Meridian to Brown-
wood crossed the community, the residents petitioned the United
States government for a post office. The request was granted,
and Alford was appointed postmaster. When given the privilege
of naming the office, he chose Hico, the name of his home town
in Kentucky.
Homelife in this community was typical of the frontier. The
first houses were of logs with puncheon floors or without floors,
and most of the primitive furnishings were hand hewn by the
settlers. The diet was also simple; there was a plentiful supply
of wild game consisting of deer, hogs, prairie chickens, and
turkeys, but corn bread, jerky beef, and coffee constituted the
pioneers' staple fare. The nearest flour mill was in Clifton, thirty-
five miles to the east, and there was a corn mill at Iredell on
the Bosque River ten miles from Hico.T
Not only were these men and women confronted with the
usual privations of frontier life, but they were subjected to
sudden attacks by "the most fierce and savage tribes of Indians
that ever infested any country."" These were principally roaming
3E. H. Sellards, W. S. Adkins, and F. B. Plummer, The Geology of Texas (Austin,
1932; The University of Texas Bulletin, No. 3232), 274.
'Ibid., 93.
5J. J. Durham, "Hamilton County," Texas Almanac, 1867 (Galveston, 1867), 121.
'U. S. Eighth Census, x86o (Hamilton County, microfilm, Texas Collection,
University of Texas Library).
7Tom Stinnett, "Early Days in Hamilton County," Frontier Times, XIII, 450.
8E. L. Deaton, Indian Fights on the Texas Frontier (Hamilton, 1894), "Introduc-
tion," unpaged.486
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 67, July 1963 - April, 1964, periodical, 1964; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101197/m1/564/: accessed March 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.