Editing Mills County, Texas (section)

== Transportation ==
Pioneers traveled through pre-Mills County by wagon pulled by ox, mule, or horse teams on primitive clearings through wooded areas or via crude trails that were often nearly impassable in wet conditions due to mud holes.<ref name=":6" /> Rivers were forded, but some waterways had log bridges.<ref name=":6" /> They went to Waco or Houston for supplies—a round trip to Waco took seven to ten days.<ref name=":6" /> Freight wagons moved the same way loaded with hogs, wood, hides, pelts, and pecans to be traded for supplies, and they were sometimes followed by a herd of cattle.<ref name=":6" />

Today the county maintains approximately 445 miles of county roads.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Goldthwaite Eagle - August 14, 2024 |url=https://1318.newstogo.us/editionviewer/default.aspx?Edition=ef70948f-1152-4bf3-9d19-05c542b64620 |access-date=2024-08-14 |website=1318.newstogo.us}}</ref>

In 1901, before the Texas Highway Department was formed, county roads were maintained via a $3.00-per-person tax, known as the "road tax."<ref name=":6" /> Instead of paying the tax, a person could work three days a week on the road or hire someone else to take his place.<ref name=":6" />

=== Railroad ===
[[File:Ca. 1900 Goldthwaite, Texas, train depot.jpg|thumb|Second passenger depot in Goldthwaite, Texas, c. 1898-1911<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |title=The Goldthwaite Eagle - March 16, 2022 |url=https://1318.newstogo.us/editionviewer/default.aspx?Edition=cc20b128-15a8-4d8c-8420-2c324bd79a7b |access-date=2022-12-08 |website=1318.newstogo.us}}</ref>|left]]
[[File:Santa Fe passenger depot, Goldthwaite, Texas, ca. 1920.jpg|left|thumb|Third passenger depot in Goldthwaite, Texas, c. 1915-1920<ref name=":22" />]]
The railroad had a profound impact on the development of the county.<ref name=":6" /> In 1885, the [[Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway|Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad]] laid tracks through Goldthwaite, Pegtown, and Mullin, then onto Brownwood, bypassing Williams Ranch and Center City, both of which had anticipated being stops.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=The Goldthwaite Eagle - March 2, 2022 |url=https://1318.newstogo.us/editionviewer/default.aspx?Edition=f80d799f-c564-40f8-9451-3e0c27c2fc8d |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=1318.newstogo.us}}</ref> The primary impetus for the railroad to pass through the county was to reach San Angelo livestock markets.<ref name=":24">{{Cite web |title=The Goldthwaite Eagle - December 28, 2022 |url=https://1318.newstogo.us/editionviewer/?Edition=cf8df216-52ea-43b7-841f-93759cee2ca4&Section=0 |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=1318.newstogo.us}}</ref>

The railroad created Goldthwaite and Mullin, similar to about twenty other townsites the railroad platted and auctioned along its path.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":12" /> On September 2, 1885, two years before Mills County formed, a GC&SFR train made a stop at Goldthwaite (then in Brown County), and on that day Thos. W. Jackson, Santa Fe Land Commissioner, begin auctioning lots that would be the foundation of the town.<ref name=":1" /> On December 31, 1885, regular train service began in Goldthwaite, with the town serving as a division point.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Blackwell |first=Hartal |date=1985 |title=Railroad Held Promise for Many |journal=The Goldthwaite Eagle}}</ref> By 1886, the railroad was the largest employer in the county, with thirty-six in its workforce.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Goldthwaite Eagle - May 11, 2022 |url=https://1318.newstogo.us/editionviewer/default.aspx?Edition=31bab42b-0c65-4ce1-aaff-ba12a4a770a1 |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=1318.newstogo.us}}</ref> In 1905, the railroad boosted land ownership and farming in Mills County by offering employees the option to purchase land along its tracks through payroll deductions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Goldthwaite Eagle - December 21, 2022 |url=https://1318.newstogo.us/editionviewer/?Edition=6f8bf65f-5407-4633-a389-c52b53c95f47&Section=0 |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=1318.newstogo.us}}</ref>

===Major highways===
*[[Image:US 84.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 84 in Texas|U.S. Highway 84]]
*[[Image:US 183.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Route 183 in Texas|U.S. Highway 183]]
*[[Image:Texas 16.svg|20px]] [[Texas State Highway 16|State Highway 16]]

=== Mail ===
Before the postal service arrived in pre-Mills County in the late 1870s, mail was carried by travelers or cowboys from San Saba.<ref name=":6" /> The earliest known postmaster in the area was James D. Williams at Williams Ranch, who was appointed on January 16, 1877.<ref name=":6" /> Miss Dera Humphries is recognized as first woman mail carrier in Mills County, serving from 1921 to 1941.<ref name=":6" />
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+Mills&nbsp;County&nbsp;post&nbsp;offices<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notification Service {{!}} Post Offices |url=https://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=TX&county=Mills&searchtext=&pagenum=1 |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=www.postalhistory.com}}</ref>
!Name
!Date(s)
|-
| Antelope Gap
|1892-1914
|-
| Big Valley
|1877-1906
|-
| Bowlder
|1880-1880
|-
| Caradan
|1899-1972
|-
| Center City
|1877-1920
|-
| Clements
|1899-1899
|-
| Coy 
|1894-1903
|-
| Ebony
|1891-1945
|-
| Goldthwaite
|1886-
|-
| Gorey
|1882-1883
|-
| Hannaville
|1876-1882
|-
| Hydesport
|1884-1887
|-
| Minor 
|1886-1892
|-
| Mullin
|1886-
|-
| Payne [Gap]
|1888-1916
|-
| Pompey
|1893-1893
|-
| Priddy
|1891-1895
|-
| Priddy
|1899-
|-
| Ratler 
|1892-1929
|-
| Regency
|1884-1934
|-
| Ridge
|1909-1917
|-
| Scallorn
|1916-1932
|-
| Sneed
|1893-1900
|-
| Star
|1884-
|-
|Williams Ranch
|1877-1892
|}