Corn Hill Community

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Corn Hill Community, right here in Williamson County. Now, every community has a beginning, and Corn Hill's goes back to 1852, when a man named John E. King built himself a home on a hill near a cornfield.

King would go on to serve as county judge from 1858 to 1860, and he's the one who gave this place its name. Corn Hill was settled primarily by folks coming in from Texas and the southern states, and it became one of the earliest communities in all of Williamson County. That's not a small distinction out here.

The community sat right on the stage line running from Georgetown to Fort Gates, over in Coryell County, making it the first stop on that route. Travelers passing through, mail coming in. A post office opened in 1855, and by the 1860s, new residents were flowing in and putting down roots.

Then came George G. Grant. In 1878, he established the Corn Hill Academy Male and Female School, built right on land donated by Judge King himself.

The academy thrived. And when a school thrives, it grows. By 1886, it had moved into a new two-story building, four classrooms, a bell tower, and an auditorium that did double duty as meeting space for local church services.

By 1893, a public school opened as part of the Corn Hill Independent School District. By the end of the nineteenth century, Corn Hill had filled out into something real. A saddle club.

Several churches. Two local cotton gins. Corn Hill College.

Fraternal lodges and school organizations. For a dispersed agricultural community built around a hill and a cornfield, that is a considerable list. The early 1900s brought more activity still.

Residents got active in Populist politics and in the Farmers' Union. The Corn Hill and Gravis Telephone Company started up. A waterworks came in.

There was even talk of an interurban line running to Bartlett. That one never materialized, as grand plans sometimes don't. And then, 1909.

The Bartlett Western Railway came through, and it bypassed Corn Hill by two miles to the north. Two miles. Where the railway went, a new town rose up and took the name Jarrell.

Steam engines, and I want you to sit with that image a moment, steam engines helped physically move homes and businesses to the new townsite. Others went to the village of New Corn Hill. But some residents looked at what they had built and chose to stay.

Today, the dispersed Corn Hill settlement is still out here, a reminder of the area's early agrarian heritage. The railway went north. The town of Jarrell took root.

But Corn Hill, named for a hill and a cornfield by a county judge, has not entirely let go.

What the marker says

Settled primarily by settlers from Texas and southern states, Corn Hill was one of the earliest communities in Williamson County. John E. King, county judge from 1858 to 1860, named it for the home he built on a hill and nearby cornfield in 1852. The dispersed agricultural community was the first stop on the stage line running from Georgetown to Fort Gates (Coryell County). A post office opened in 1855 and by the 1860s, an influx of new residents settled here. In 1878, George G. Grant established corn Hill Academy Male and Female School, built on land donated by Judge King. It thrived and in 1886 moved to a new two-story building with four classrooms, a bell tower and an auditorium, which provided meeting space for local church services. By 1893, a public school opened as part of Corn Hill Independent School District. By the end of the 19th century, Corn Hill had a saddle club, several churches, two locl cotton gins, Corn Hill College, fraternal lodges and school organizations. By the early 1900s, community residents became active in Populist politics and in the Farmers' Union. Industrial activity of the early 1900s included the Corn Hill and Gravis Telephone Company and a waterworks; a planned interurban to Bartlett never materialized. The settlement began to decline in 1909 when the Bartlett Western Railway bypassed two miles to the north, establishing the town of Jarrell. Steam engines helped move homes and businesses to the new townsite, and other moved to the village of New Corn Hill, but many residents chose to remain here. Today, the dispersed Corn Hill settlement survives as a reminder of the area's early agrarian heritage. (2007)