Osceola, Texas, Hill County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

Settlement occurred as early as the 1850s but it wasn�t until the late 1870s when Dick Gee and J. L. Burgess set the wheels in motion for a community. A post office was granted in 1878 and the submitted (and accepted) name was that of the Indian Chief during the Seminole Wars.

Local landowner John A. Stephens donated a right-of-way to the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railroad a short distance NW of the community. Service began in January of 1904.

During the 1910s, Osceola added new businesses, including a lumberyard, grocery and even a jewelry store. Education of Osceola�s 116 pupils was accomplished by only two teachers utilizing a one room school.

The population was a respectable 400 by the mid 1920s but during the Great Depression, Osceola lost its bank and the railroad cancelled its operations.

Somehow the town retained its population and by the mid 1940s it had actually increased to 525 residents. By the 1970s it had decreased to 363 people and the 1990 census reported a mere 90.

A closed business in Osceola
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2013

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