Abbott
Abbott, Hill County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1881, on land owned by G.M. Dodge, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas (Katy) Railroad built a line through a new town named for Joseph Abbott, a Hill County resident, lawyer and U.S. Congressman. Winston W. Treadwell soon opened a general store managed by L.C. Barnett, who built and occupied the town's first residence. Ten years later, the community supported a school, several businesses, a post office and three churches. Abbott suffered major fires at the turn of the 20th century, but its residents rebuilt. Today, their history is maintained through religious and educational institutions, as well as cemeteries, which chronicle the lives of generations of area residents. (2006)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1881 the Missouri, Kansas & Texas (Katy) Railroad laid a line through a new Hill County town named for Joseph Abbott, a local lawyer and U.S. congressman. Merchant Winston Treadwell soon opened a general store, and within a decade Abbott boasted a school, a post office, several businesses, and three churches. Devastating fires near the turn of the century failed to break the town, whose residents simply rebuilt.
Why it matters
Abbott's birth alongside the Katy line illustrates how the railroad conjured whole communities out of the Texas prairie in the late nineteenth century.
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Related people
- · Joseph Abbott
Themes & tags
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