Billiams Creek

Billiams Creek (also known as Billam's, Billiam's, Billiums, Billums, and Billum's Creek) rises seven miles southwest of Colmesneil in northwest central Tyler County (at 30°52' N, 94°32' W) and runs northeast for thirteen miles to its mouth on the Neches River, between Best Bend and Sheephead Bend, not far from the site of old Fort Terán, in the extreme north of Tyler County (at 31°00' N, 94°26' W). Billiams Creek, the water and power source for a thriving pioneer settlement established about 1840, is said to have been named for Chief Billiams of the Billiams Indians, a group of Cherokees that the early settlers found living along Billiams and Wolf creeks. The Billiams Creek area provided cypress and pine lumber and excellent cotton-growing blackland, and was the site of the Billiams Creek community.