Aquilla, TX

Aquilla is on Farm Road 933 twelve miles southwest of Hillsboro in southwestern Hill County. Settlers, attracted to the site because it was the nearest point to Hillsboro, where timber could be found, began moving into the area in the 1840s. The original settlement, near the site of present Aquilla, was called Mudtown. The community of Aquilla and nearby Aquilla Creek were probably named for early settler Aquilla Jones. The town received a post office in 1859. Twenty years later the tracks of the Texas Central Railroad crossed southwestern Hill County, passing within a few miles of the timber settlement. Shortly thereafter, businesses and residents moved a few miles south to the rail line. The community's population was 175 in 1886 and 100 in 1892. A series of illnesses resulted from drinking creek water, so a well was dug in 1897 to provide fresh water. One of the state's first chartered banks opened at Aquilla in 1905, when the town also had a health spa. In 1910 the population surpassed 200. By 1914 it had a population of over 500 and thirteen retail stores, three hotels, four churches, a school, a newspaper, a bank, and a thriving lumber company. By the late 1950s there were 250 residents and ten businesses in Aquilla. In 2000 there were thirteen businesses and 136 residents.