Hunt, Col. William Hudson

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for Colonel William Hudson Hunt, as recorded by the Texas Historical Commission in Wise County. Now settle in, because this man lived a life that could fill a bookshelf and still have pages left over. William Hudson Hunt was born in Ithaca, New York, in 1815.

And somehow, someway, by 1836 he had made his way to Texas, arriving just in time to join the War for Independence. That right there tells you something about the kind of man he was. He didn't come late to a party.

He came when the stakes were highest. After the fighting, he stayed on and served in the Army of the Texas Republic, and he was part of the Santa Fe Expedition. The Republic kept finding uses for him, too, because his engineering and surveying skills were something special.

Those skills earned him a seat on the council that located the very site of the Texas capitol. He surveyed public and school lands. He proposed roadways.

The man was drawing the bones of a new state while most folks were still figuring out where they'd sleep that night. Then came 1855, and Colonel Hunt made a decision. He headed to Wise County, settling along the West Fork of the Trinity River, and he built his residence and ranch headquarters on a hill.

That hill would later be known as Cactus Hill. A creek ran nearby, and it would later bear the name Hunt's Creek, right where it met the West Fork. He and his wife, Catherine, whose family name was Cordel, raised five children on that land.

They built livestock and grazing operations, and Colonel Hunt got into the cattle business alongside his neighbors, one of them being noted rancher Daniel Waggoner. That cattle business, the marker tells us, later thrived. Hunt also specialized in raising sheep, because apparently one kind of livestock wasn't enough of a challenge.

He wasn't just a rancher, either. He laid out the county seat of Taylorsville, a town that would later be known as Decatur. He became postmaster at Cactus Hill.

He was active in church and Masonic activities. And he led his fellow residents in a successful effort to bring the Butterfield Overland Mail Route through Wise County. That last one, getting a major mail route routed through your county, that's the kind of civic win people talked about for generations.

Then 1861 came, and with it, the death of his wife Catherine. Colonel Hunt moved his family to Decatur. He lived three more years.

In 1864, his death came not in battle, not from illness, but from a wreck caused by a runaway team of horses leading his vehicle. After a life spent shaping a republic, surveying a capitol, building a ranch, and raising a family, it ended on a road. He and other family members were buried in the family cemetery at Cactus Hill.

But Cactus Hill didn't get to keep them. The construction of a dam and the creation of Lake Bridgeport required that Colonel Hunt and his family be reinterred here, the waters rising over the place where he had built everything he called home. Today, the marker remembers him as a pioneer, a rancher, and a noted leader in the early days of Wise County.

The hill is under the lake. The cattle business he started with Daniel Waggoner thrived long after him. And Colonel Hunt, born in Ithaca, New York, rests in the Texas soil he helped survey.

What the marker says

(1815-1864) Born in Ithaca, New York, William Hudson Hunt became a principal figure in the development of Wise County. He came to Texas in 1836, joining the War for Independence. He then served in the Army of the Texas Republic, participating in the Santa Fe Expedition. His engineering and surveying skills led to an appointment to the council which located the site of the Texas capitol. He also surveyed public and school lands and proposed roadways. In 1855, Col. Hunt became an early Wise County pioneer, settling along the Trinity River's West Fork. He built his residence and ranch headquarters on a hill (later Cactus Hill) at the confluence of a creek (later Hunt's Creek) with the West Fork. He and his wife, Catherine (Cordel), raised five children on the land. Hunt built livestock and grazing operations, and together with neighbors, including noted rancher Daniel Waggoner, he began a cattle business that later thrived. Hunt also specialized in raising sheep. Col. Hunt was also a community leader. He laid out the county seat of Taylorsville (later Decatur) and became postmaster at Cactus Hill. He was also active in church and Masonic activities. Additionally, he led residents in a successful effort to encourage routing of the Butterfield Overland Mail Route through Wise County. In 1861, after the death of his wife, Col. Hunt moved his family to Decatur. His death in 1864 was the result of a wreck caused by a runaway team of horses leading his vehicle. Col. Hunt and other family were originally buried in their family cemetery in Cactus Hill, but the construction of a dam and creation of Lake Bridgeport led to their reinterment here. Today, Col. Hunt is remembered as a pioneer, rancher and noted leader in the early days of Wise County. (2008)