Town of Aquilla

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight with a little color on top. The town of Aquilla, Hill County, Texas. Named for Aquilla Creek, which takes its name from the Spanish word for Eagle.

Right away you know this place had some ambition behind it, even before the first nail was driven. The townsite was surveyed in 1879, the same year the Texas Central Railroad came cutting through Hill County. And when the railroad arrives, friends, people follow.

Businessmen, citizens, all manner of folks looking for opportunity. They followed those tracks right into Aquilla and started building something. Thirteen retail stores.

Three hotels. A health spa, if you can believe it, out here on the Texas prairie. Four churches to keep everybody honest, a school, and other businesses besides.

At one time, Aquilla had all of that humming along at once. Then came 1905, and one of the earliest chartered state banks in Texas opened right here. Not in some big city.

Right here. The town's peak ran through 1910 to 1920, and in those years the streets were full. Ranchers came in from the surrounding land.

Farmers brought their business to town. And the drummers, that's what they called the traveling salesmen, they filled the hotels and worked every storefront on the block. Aquilla was a main shipping point, a place where the whole region converged.

The Eagle had landed, you might say, right there along that creek. These days, a sound farming economy prevails in Aquilla. The big boom years are history, but the land is still working.

Still earning. Some towns flame out entirely when the good times pass. Aquilla just settled in and kept going.

There's something to be said for that.

What the marker says

Named for Aquilla (from the Spanish word for "Eagle") Creek. The townsite was surveyed, 1879, when the Texas Central Railroad was built through Hill County. As businessmen and citizens moved here, Aquilla grew to be a main shipping point. At one time, it had 13 retail stores, 3 hotels, a health spa, 4 churches, a school and other businesses. One of the earliest chartered state banks in Texas opened here in 1905. At the town's peak (1910-1920), ranchers, farmers, and drummers (traveling salesmen) filled the streets. Presently, a sound farming economy prevails.