Nixon

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for Nixon, over in Gonzales County. Pull up a chair, because this one starts with a widow, a nephew, and a railroad that needed convincing. In 1901, plans were made to extend the route of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad, connecting the South Texas towns of Cuero and Stockdale.

That's the setup. Now, railroads don't just lay track through empty country without somebody making a deal, and that's where the Nixon family comes in. After the 1904 death of rancher John T.

Nixon, his widow Lucinda and their daughter Zeddie didn't sit back and wait for the world to come to them. They went and found their attorney and nephew, Robert F. Nixon, and they told him to go broker something with that railroad.

Something that would benefit the family. And Robert F. Nixon did exactly that.

The Nixons put land on the table, a proper townsite, right-of-way for the railroad tracks, property for shipping facilities, a depot, and here's the part that shows you somebody in that family could really read a contract: every odd-numbered block in town would go to the railroad to sell for profit. In return, the railroad promised to advertise the townsite across the United States. You give us every other block, we'll tell the whole country about the place.

The original town survey was completed on March 2, 1906, and the first lots were sold later that very month. Now, once word got out, people came. Settlers from nearby communities started movin' in first, and right behind them came the outsiders, folks pouring in from other Texas towns and from places as far away as Alabama and Ohio.

Cotton was the cash crop of the day, and those settlers knew it. Much of the area grassland was plowed under so that cotton could be planted, and before long, three cotton gins dotted the townsite of Nixon. Three.

Cotton held that position as the area's main economic export all the way until World War II, when the poultry industry stepped up and became the economic driver for the region. The railroad tracks that symbolize the very creation of Nixon have since been removed. The cotton gins no longer remain.

But Nixon itself? Nixon continues as an important center of commerce in Gonzales County. Sometimes the deal outlasts everything that made it.

What the marker says

IN 1901, PLANS WERE MADE TO EXTEND THE ROUTE OF THE GALVESTON, HARRISBURG AND SAN ANTONIO (GH&SA) RALROAD TO CONNECT THE SOUTH TEXAS TOWNS OF CUERO AND STOCKDALE. AFTER THE 1904 DEATH OF RANCHER JOHN T. NIXON, HIS WIDOW, LUCINDA, AND THEIR DAUGHTER, ZEDDIE, APPROACHED ATTORNEY AND NEPHEW, ROBERT F. NIXON, TO BROKER A DEAL WITH THE RAILROAD THAT WOULD BENEFIT THE NIXON FAMILY. THE NIXONS PROVIDED LAND FOR A TOWNSITE THAT INCLUDED RIGHT-OF-WAY FOR THE RAILROAD TRACKS AND PROPERTY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHIPPING FACILITIES AND A DEPOT, AND IN ADDITION, EVERY ODD-NUMBERED BLOCK WOULD BE GIVEN TO THE RAILROAD TO SELL FOR PROFIT. IN RETURN, THE RAILROAD PROMISED TO ADVERTISE THE TOWNSITE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, ENCOURAGING ITS SUCCESS. THE ORIGINAL TOWN SURVEY WAS COMPLETED ON MARCH 2, 1906, AND THE FIRST TOWN LOTS WERE SOLD LATER THAT MONTH. SOON SETTLERS FROM NEARBY COMMUNITIES BEGAN TO MIGRATE TO THE NEW TOWN, AND THEY WERE QUICKLY FOLLOWED BY "OUTSIDERS" WHO POURED IN FROM OTHER TEXAS TOWNS AND FROM LOCATIONS AS FAR AWAY AS ALABAMA AND OHIO. BECAUSE COTTON WAS THE CASH CROP OF THE DAY, MUCH OF THE AREA GRASSLAND WAS PLOWED UNDER SO THAT COTTON COULD BE PLANTED. SOON, THREE COTTON GINS DOTTED THE TOWNSITE OF NIXON. COTTON REMAINED AS THE AREA'S MAIN ECONOMIC EXPORT UNTIL WORLD WAR II, WHEN THE POULTRY INDUSTRY BECAME THE ECONOMIC DRIVER FOR THE AREA. ALTHOUGH THE RAILROAD TRACKS THAT SYMBOLIZE THE CREATION OF NIXON HAVE BEEN REMOVED AND THE COTTON GINS NO LONGER REMAIN, NIXON CONTINUES AS AN IMPORTANT CENTER OF COMMERCE IN GONZALES COUNTY.