Town of Aquilla
Aquilla, Hill County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Named for Aquilla (from the Spanish word for "Eagle") Creek. The townsite was surveyed, 1879, when the Texas Central Railroad was built through Hill County. As businessmen and citizens moved here, Aquilla grew to be a main shipping point. At one time, it had 13 retail stores, 3 hotels, a health spa, 4 churches, a school and other businesses. One of the earliest chartered state banks in Texas opened here in 1905. At the town's peak (1910-1920), ranchers, farmers, and drummers (traveling salesmen) filled the streets. Presently, a sound farming economy prevails.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Named for the nearby creek, Aquilla was surveyed in 1879 as the Texas Central Railroad pushed through Hill County, and it quickly grew into a busy shipping point crowded with stores, hotels, churches, and even a health spa. At its peak in the 1910s the streets filled with ranchers, farmers, and traveling salesmen, and one of Texas's earliest chartered state banks did business here before the town settled into a quieter farming life.
Why it matters
Aquilla's rise and gentle decline trace the familiar life cycle of the small railroad boomtowns that once dotted the Texas cotton country.
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Related events
- · Texas Central Railroad
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Aquilla Creek Truss Bridge
Gholson, TX
Aquilla Creek's crossing was notoriously impassable in wet weather, so in 1887 the county judge contracted for an iron span with a hundred-foot approach on each bank. The first firm failed to finish, and the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Works of Leavenworth, Kansas, completed the truss bridge in 1892 for $3,000. Two sister iron bridges over the same creek fell in the 1950s, but strong local support saved this one even after a modern concrete bridge took over the traffic in 1998.
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