Abbott

Duane's take

The way I tell it, I'm working straight off the official marker for Abbott, up in Hill County. Let's see what it says. Now, every town along a railroad line has a beginning, and Abbott's beginning has a name attached to it.

The year was 1881. The land belonged to a man named G.M. Dodge, and through that land came the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad, the one folks called the Katy.

The Katy laid its line right through a brand new town, and that town was named for Joseph Abbott. Joseph Abbott was a Hill County man, a lawyer, and a United States Congressman. That's the kind of name you put on a town.

Now, a town is just a name on a map until somebody shows up to do business. Winston W. Treadwell showed up.

He opened a general store, and he put a fellow named L.C. Barnett in charge of running it. But here's the thing about L.C.

Barnett. He didn't just manage the store. He built the first residence in the whole town and moved himself right into it.

First one to hang his hat there. Ten years on, Abbott had grown into something real. A school.

Several businesses. A post office. Three churches.

Three. That's a community with opinions and convictions, and the walls to house both. Then came the fires.

At the turn of the twentieth century, Abbott suffered major fires. More than once. Now, a fire can end a town just as sure as a railroad can start one.

But Abbott's residents rebuilt. Every time. That says something about the people who chose that place.

Today, the history of Abbott is kept alive through its religious and educational institutions, and through its cemeteries, which chronicle the lives of generations of area residents. Cemeteries get the last word, as they tend to do. But in Abbott, they're not the end of the story.

They're part of how the story keeps getting told.

What the marker says

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)