Editing Hamilton County, Texas (section)

==History==
[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous peoples]] were the first inhabitants of the area. Later [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes settled in the area, including [[Tawakoni]], [[Tonkawa]], [[Waco people|Waco]] and [[Comanche]].<ref>[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hch03 Handbook of Texas, Hamilton County]</ref>

In 1821, shortly after [[Mexico]] claimed its independence from [[Spain]], Anglo settlers from the North came to Texas, claiming Mexican citizenship.

Following [[Texas Declaration of Independence|Texas's independence from Mexico]] (1836) and its [[Texas Annexation|annexation]] by the United States (1845), Robert Carter and family became the first permanent [[white people|white]] settlers in the county in 1854. The next year, settlers James Rice, Henry Standefer, Frederic Bookerman, William Beauchamp, and Asa Langford formed a community that later becomes the town of [[Hamilton, Texas|Hamilton]]. Asa Langford began Langford's Cove, which later grows into present-day [[Evant, Texas|Evant]]. In 1858 the Sixth Texas Legislature formed Hamilton County, named after [[James Hamilton Jr.]], from parts of [[Comanche County, Texas|Comanche]], [[Bosque County, Texas|Bosque]], and [[Lampasas County, Texas|Lampasas]] counties. In 1858, Hamilton was named the county seat.

Despite growing white settlements in Texas, Indian tribal presences remained. In 1867, Comanche raiders attacked a school where Ann Whitney was the teacher. She helped students escape before finally succumbing to 18 Comanche arrows.<ref>[http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5193005793 Texas Historical Markers, Ann Whitney] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301062024/http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5193005793 |date=March 1, 2012 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPersonalities/Ann-Whitney.htm Texas Escapes, Details of Comanche Attack]</ref>

In 1882, the [[Hico, Texas|Hico]] community initiated the annual Hico Old Settlers' Reunion.<ref>[http://hico-tx.com/hico-old-settlers-reunion.html Hico Old Settlers' Reunion] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325083341/http://hico-tx.com/hico-old-settlers-reunion.html |date=March 25, 2010 }}</ref>

By 1900, [[cotton]] cultivation had spread to almost {{convert|47500|acre|km2}} of county land. By 1907, the [[Stephenville North and South Texas Railway]] had connected Hamilton with [[Stephenville, Texas|Stephenville]]. The [[St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas]] connected Hamilton with [[Gatesville, Texas|Gatesville]] and [[Comanche, Texas|Comanche]] in 1911.

In 1934, the [[Civil Works Administration]]'s payroll included 747 Hamilton County men, who together earned about $2,000 per day.

In 1950, [[Ollie P. Roberts]] (also known as Ollie L. Roberts, "Brushy Bill" Roberts, or William Henry Roberts), a resident of Hico during the late 1940s, claimed to have been the outlaw [[Billy The Kid]]. The assertion is based on a legend that [[Pat Garrett|Patrick F. Garrett]] helped Billy fake his own death. Hico Chamber of Commerce responded by opening a Billy The Kid Museum.<ref>[http://hico-tx.com/billy-the-kid-legend.html Billy The Kid Legend] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330201836/http://hico-tx.com/billy-the-kid-legend.html |date=March 30, 2010 }}</ref>

In 2009, Hamilton was invaded by the West Texas Rattlesnake.