DUANE
The story
In 1876 a family of German descent, the John Henry Himmels, settled in this area of Hill County. Seven years later, Miss Emma B. Himmel became the first teacher of the Himmel Branch School.
The school was the beginning of a town that, through a misspelling, came to be called Hammel's Branch. Other prominent names of early settlers were the Clinkscales, Elkins, Giles, Hall, Haskins, Jennings, Kuykendall, Lynch, McClure, Snow, Thompson, Watson, Wells, White, and Williams families. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad laid a line through the settlement in 1893-94, and the community began to flourish.
Eight business establishments, including a general store, gin, and blacksmith shop, opened along the rail line. In 1903 a post office was established in the depot, and the town legally became known as Hammel's Branch. After World War I, the town began to decline.
In 1920, the last store closed. The school held its last classes in 1925. Evidence of the community can still be found upon close examination.