Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas) Page: 77
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MORGAN
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Early day classroom in Morgan School
After the Mexican-American War which
ended in 1848, pioneers from the East began
moving westward. In 1854, Bosque County,
Texas, was formed. The town of Meridian
was founded in the same year to serve as the
county seat. The next year Kimball was built
on the banks of the Brazos River, twelve miles
northeast of the present town of Morgan.
Until these towns were founded, the nearest
post office was at Fort Graham, some twenty
miles away on the east bank of the Brazos.
In 1843, Samuel Nichols had come from
New York to Texas. He bought two sections
of land, then returned to New York. In 1859
Mr. Nichols moved onto his land in Bosque
County and built a rock house on Steele
Creek across from the present town of
Morgan.
The Chisholm Trail, used by ranchers to
drive beef cattle to northern markets, inter-
sected the Meridian to Kimball road at Pilot
Knob Prairie. It crossed Steel Creek at the
present town of Morgan and went on to
Kimball where a ferry crossed the Brazos.
Ed Nichols is quoted in the book Ed
Nichols Rode a Horse (written by his daugh-
ter, Ruby Nichols Cutbirth): "A band of
friendly Tonkawas built their wigwams on
Steel Creek in front of the Nichols house.
They lived there for several years, but were
friendly and did no harm."
In 1876, Louis Cole moved to Bosque
County. He was the grandson of the Rev.
James Graham who embraced the Baptist
faith while on a voyage from Scotland to
America as a Presbyterian missionary. Louis
Cole gathered a few scattered neighbors
under a live oak tree where Morgan now
stands and started the first religious work in
the community. In 1880, the Steele Creek
Baptist Church was changed to the First
Baptist Church of Morgan.
Work on the present auditorium was begun
in the fall of 1880 and completed in the spring
of 1881. In 1938, the additions now standing
were made. The church is still active as are
the other churches in Morgan-Methodist,
Pentecostal, Church of Christ, Catholic, and
a second Steel Creek Baptist Church.
By 1879, the population of the area around
Morgan, then called Steel Creek because of
its location on the creek, had increased to
that sufficient to justify a post office. The
first building was a little one-room shack, and
the first postmaster was E.J. Nickell who
served for only seven days. John Simms wasMartin Bros. Dry Goods, owned by Charlie Martin and Samuel Martin
City of Morgan, 1895
Interior of Rogers & Son Drug Store
Belcher Bros.-Livery, Feed, & Sale Stable
77
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Bosque County History Book Committee. Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas), book, 1985; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth91038/m1/93/?rotate=270: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Denton Public Library.