Chilton, Texas

CHILTON, FALLS COUNTY, TEXAS

CHILTON, TEXAS. Chilton is on State Highway 7 a mile east of U.S. Highway 77, twelve miles west of Marlin, and twenty-one miles south of Waco in northwestern Falls County. The first settlers in the Chilton area were five Missouri families who arrived in 1854. Newton B. Maxey, one of the early settlers, established a wagon line to Galveston to bring in supplies. In the first year of settlement John Wethers was mistakenly shot by another settler, who thought he was a bear. The man who shot him lost his mind and was sent back to Missouri. In 1873 the site was bought by James C. Gaither. The town was originally called Abney's Farm. In 1876 Lysias B. Chilton, in partnership with W. J. de Bardeleben, opened a store near the present site of Chilton. The post office opened in 1882 and was named after Chilton. When the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway built through the county in 1888, the town was moved closer to the tracks and officially designated Chilton by the Texas Townsite Company. Chilton then became one of several railroad stations in Falls County and served as a shipping center.

In 1884 it had a population of 100, a steam flour mill, a cotton gin, a Baptist church, a First Christian church, and a district school. By 1896 the Chilton school had three teachers. Population estimates for the early twentieth century vary widely, from 230 to 750 for the same period. They also fluctuate markedly afterward. By 1914 Chilton had a bank, three churches, a large lumberyard, two cotton gins, a new schoolhouse, a telephone system, and a weekly newspaper, the Chilton Homeland.

The first oil well in the county was brought in on Deer Creek southeast of Chilton in April 1922. During an attempt to find oil in 1924, hot artesian wells were discovered, and the water was piped throughout the town. In 1935 the Chilton school district had 585 students, 8 percent of the students in Falls County. By the mid-1950s, when the Chilton district was one of only four independent school districts in the county, the town's population reached 750. It stayed at that level until the mid-1970s, when the number of residents dropped to 310, which was still the reported population in 1990. In 2000 the population was 274. In the 1930s the town had twenty-five businesses, but by 1966 the number had dropped to eleven. In 1988 Chilton had ten businesses, six churches, one school, a town hall, and a recreation center. In 2000, however, the town had thirty-five businesses.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: William Leshner, "Rosebud, Lott, and Chilton, Texas," Texas Magazine, January 1911. Lillian S. St. Romain, Western Falls County, Texas (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1951).

Lisa C. Maxwell

Info from The Handbook of Texas Online.

TITLE	DESCRIPTION	CONTRIBUTED BY
1994 Chilton Pirates part a part b part c part d Long load time	1994 Chilton Pirate - Special 1994 Chilton High School Ex-Students Homecoming Edition. It contains a vast amount of pictures, history, and firsthand accounts of the town of Chilton and the Chilton School.	Jason Phelps
B.B. Phelps Gunshot Long load time	B.B. Phelps Gunshot- A Marlin Democrat article written about my G-Grandfather, Barney Bernard Phelps, gunshot wound.	Jason Phelps
Chilton Baptist Chruch 77th Homecoming Long load time	Chilton Baptist Chruch 77th Homecoming Pamplet	Jason Phelps
Chilton FBC Directory- before 1970 Long load time	Chilton FBC Directory- before 1970	Jason Phelps
Chilton FBC Directory-1983 Long load time	Chilton FBC Directory-1983	Jason Phelps
Chilton FBC Directory-1990 Long load time	Chilton FBC Directory-1990	Jason Phelps
Chilton Senior Class 1940-1941 Long load time	Chilton Senior Class 1940-1941	Jason Phelps
E. P. Newman and Son, Ernest	E. P. Newman and Son, Ernest E. P. Newman was Justice of the Peace in Chilton before 1900	Charles Newman
Main Street	Main Street Chilton, Falls Co., Texas 1940	Gates Family
William Abraham Tull	William Abraham Tull	Roy Juch
William Abraham Tull Family	Back Row: Julia, Bertha, Dollie's daughter, Rosie, Florence, Dollie, Julia Front Row: Gladys Beard, William Abraham, Griffin Beard, Lou Etta Vasser, Georgetta, Dollie' daughter, Sue.	Roy Juch
Tull Family	Thomas Marion and Amy Capel Tull Tull ca 1910	Roy Juch
Tull Family	Thomas Marion and Amy Capel Tull Tull ca 2000	Roy Juch
Mrs. R. R. (Sara Jane) Temple	Sara Jane Temple Sara Jane (one in center) was born in 1869 and died on August 15, 1953. She lived in Chilton and is buried in Chilton Cemetery	Ken Gates
Carolina Cemetery Historical Marker	Carolina Cemetery Historical Marker	Ken Gates
Gay Nineties Grim Reminder	Fourth of July newspaper article with picture of old hearse from 1890's	Ken Gates
Chilton Newspaper Articles	Chilton Newspaper Articles May 29, 1931 Page 1 Page 2 Page 3	Ken Gates
Joe Bob, Lermon & Darwyn	Joe Bob, Lermon & Darwyn Picture taken in 1946	Ken Gates
Stewart Whitaker	Stewart Whitaker Picture taken in 1946	Ken Gates
Pioneer Families Join To Settle Early Day Chilton	Pioneer Families Join To Settle Early Day Chilton Chilton Pirate June 25, 1994 It was written by Marian G. Gibbs who has given so much to Falls County. She has done many of the cemetery surveys that are on this web site. Page 1 Page 2 Note: These are large files so the load it is a bit longer.	Ken Gates
Sid J. Gaines Family 1931	Sid J. Gaines Family 1931 L - R "Dad" Gaines, Charles Limly and Sidney Gaines, Bryant Featherston and Sambo, Jenna Lou, Jack and John Henry, Lee Scott, Ruben and Lee Gaines.	Ken Gates
Ed Nunn Drugstore Chilton, Texas	Nunn's Drugstore Chilton, Texas Early 1900's	Photo donated by: Mike & Nancy Kelsey Submitted by: Robert L. Haddock
Maxey Drugstore Chilton, Texas	Maxey Drugstore Chilton, Texas Note: This photo shows the interior of the Maxey drugstore which was located in Chilton, Texas. If you can ID any of the individuals shown in this photo or provide any additional info about this business, please let Lindsay Hale Boyd know.	Photocopy provided by: Shirley (Herrington) Jones Submitted by: Robert L. Haddock Additional info provided by Mayme Hause
Mounted Horsemen Chilton, Texas	Mounted Horsemen Chilton, Texas Note: This photo shows a group of young men on horseback, posing beside an unidentified building. If you can ID any of the individuals shown in this photo or provide any additional information, please let Lindsay Hale Boyd know.	Photocopy provided by: Shirley (Herrington) Jones Submitted by: Robert L. Haddock Additional info provided by Mayme Hause
Shankel-Gardner-Levy Gin Chilton, Texas	Shankel-Gardner-Levy Gin Chilton, Texas If you can ID any of the individuals shown in this photo or can provide any additional information about this business, please let Lindsay Hale Boyd know.	Photocopy provided by: Shirley (Herrington) Jones Submitted by: Robert L. Haddock
Pictures of Downtown Chilton Before The Fire	On Tuesday, September 26, 2006, fire destroyed half of downtown Chilton. Some of the buildings the fire destroyed were more than a century old. Downtown Chilton Looking West on Main Street November 1983 Downtown Chilton on Main Street November 1983 Downtown Chilton Before & After The Fire May 2006 Downtown Chilton Before & After The Fire May 2006 Another View of Fire (Link to KWTX, Channel 10, Waco, Temple, & Killeen) Fire Destroys Half of Downtown Chilton	Mayme Hause
Downtown Chilton Then & Now 1908 - 1983	Downtown Chilton Then & Now 1908 - 1983	Mayme Hause
Augustus "Gus" Winfield Steed	Augustus "Gus" Winfield Steed in his Barber Shop located in downtown Chilton. Gus was b August 30, 1889 to Stephen Fulton and Mary Elizabeth (Tull) Steed. He d April 20, 1967. He was husband of Bessie Lee (Adams) Steed b April 11, 1894 d November 12, 1975. They were the parents of Jo Ann (Steed) Watts. Both Gus and Bessie are buried in Chilton Cemetery. This picture was taken December 1930 If you can ID this other man, please let Lindsay Hale Boyd know.	Jo Ann (Steed) Watts
Walter Lee & Hattie Coyal Maxey	Walter Lee & Hattie Coyal Maxey Abt. 1935	Coyal Maxey Gorman
Maxey Brothers	Maxey Brothers Sons of Walter Lee & Hattie Coyal Maxey Bill, Don, Lee, W. L., Byron & Jack Picture taken in front of their Mothers house Chilton, Falls Co., Texas Unknown Date	Coyal Maxey Gorman
Shelly B. Harrell	Shelly B. Harrell Here’s my grandfather, Shelly B. Harrell taken in Paris France during World War I.	Mike McKinney
Chilton’s Public Water Well	Chilton’s Public Water Well Abt. 1900	Mayme Hause
Adams Family Photos	ADAMS FAMILY PHOTOS Jesse L. & Julia Rogers Adams, Walter W. & Julia Adams Bass, Jarret & Mary Price Myers, P. W. & Rebecca Louisa Myers Adams and Their Descendants	Contributors: Mayme Hause Bobby Merritt
Eakin-Cooley-Gates Family Photos	EAKIN-COOLEY-GATES FAMILY PHOTOS Robert James & Amanda Jane Stidham Eakin, George Whitcomb & Rebecca Ann Eakin Cooley, William Henry & Minnie Bell Cooley Gates and Their Descendants	Contributors: Ken Gates Gates Family Pat Sommerfield