The town of Moody can trace its history ot the pre-civil war settlement of Perry (2 mi.N). In 1881, the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad bypassed Perry, and a new town was platted on the land of early settler William Naler. Col. W.L. Moody of Galveston who supervised the laying of track in the area, named the town in honor of his family. Incorporated in 1901, the Moody community has thrived over the years and is the home of various fraternal, educational, commercial, religious, and medical institutions and organizations.

This congregation grew from an 1855 union church organized in the pioneer settlement of Perry (2 mi.NE). When the Santa Fe Railroad was laid through central Texas in 1881, the town of Moody grew up along its tracks, and many of the residents of Perry moved to the new railroad town. The Rev. J.W. Tremble became the first part-time minister for the small group of Methodists who had come from the Perry Union Church. The first sanctuary was built on Fourth Street in 1884. The congregation has worshiped at this site since 1956.

In the late 1880s Swedish born Nils Akeson moved from Iowa to this sparsely populated area of north Texas. As an officer of the Hale County Townsite Company Nils helped establish the town of Hale Center. He worked for the famous XIT Ranch from 1893 to 1899 and served as Hale Center's postmaster from 1900 to 1907. He helped bring the Santa Fe Railroad through Hale Center in 1909 and established the town's first mercantile business. As Mayor, land developer, church administrator and school trustee Akeson played a prominent role in Hale Center's early development.

Nomadic Indians crossed this region before Anglo-American pioneers arrived here in the 1870's. The first settlers were buffalo hunters such as I.S.(Tuck) Focht, who later became a rancher and businessman, and cattlemen such as confederate veteran John R. Lewis. Created in 1876, Nolan County was one of 54 countries carved from Bexar Territory. It was named for Philip Nolan (1771-1801), an Irish-born adventurer who came to Texas to capture wild horses and was killed in a skirmish with Spanish soldiers. Sweetwater, a small settlement that had grown up around a general store, was awarded the county's first post office in March 1879. It was also named the county seat when Nolan County was organized in January 1881. Sweetwater moved 2 miles northwest to its present location on the Texas & Pacific Rail Line in April 1881. It became an important rail center when the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient and later the Santa Fe Railroad also routed their track through the town. The economy of Nolan County is based on cattle and sheep ranching; cotton and feed grain crops; and gypsum, line, and petroleum production. The population of the county increased from 640 in 1880 to 16,220 in the 1970 census.

After Marsden Ogletree (1819-1896) and his family migrated from Georgia, he recieved a land grant in 1878. Inscriptions on two stones in this house indicate the structure was erected the same year. It served as the family home, grain store, and stopping place for the Lampasas to Belton stagecoach. Since the mail arrived by stage, a post office was opened here in 1879 with Ogletree as postmaster. Legend says that the settlement received the name "Coperas Cove" from a copperas-tasting spring in the cove of a nearby mountain.

Samuel Gilmore served as the second Postmaster. In 1881 Gilmore's father-in-law Jesse M. Clements (1822-1900) and his wife Charley deeded land for the right-of-way to the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad. The following year the railroad laid out the new townsite of Copperas Cove. Soon the center of the community, including the post office, moved over to the railroad. Later the town corrected the spelling of its name to "Copperas Cove."

In 1891 Clements bought this house and used it as the headquarters for his large ranching operations. The old stone stagestop remains a visible link with the community's pioneer heritage.

A.H. Steagall and Dr. E.P. Booth purchased 300 acres of land on the north side of the Bosque River in 1868. They mapped out and platted a townsite, which they named Valley Mills.

As settlers began arriving in the area, the first homes were built of logs. Soon, however, with products provided by a local sawmill, many more homes were constructed of sawn lumber. In addition to the sawmill, flour and grist mills were also built in the valley. Cotton gins were soon built, as well, to process hundreds of bales from neighboring farms.

A United States Post Office was established in Valley Mills in 1867, with Moses Isenhower serving as first Postmaster. Experiencing steady growth, the town at its peak boasted homes, general stores, a drugstore, blacksmith shop, boardinghouse, and stagecoach stop.

In 1881 the Santa Fe Railroad line was built through the area, but the tracks were laid on the south side of the river about one mile from the original townsite. Soon thereafter the residents of Valley Mills moved their town to be closer to the rail line. By 1900 the original site of Valley Mills had become a ghost town.

Roberts County was created on August 21, 1876, by the Texas Legislature, but remained unorganized, as in that year it had only one settler. Its 1880 population was 32. After the Santa Fe Railroad was built across this area in 1887, settlement increased. A January 1889 election to organize the county was invalidated by fraudulent voting. However, the disqualified officers opened a courthouse in a vacant store in Miami (20 miles southeast), the county seat according to the contested election, and placed the records in a heavy safe. The legally elected authorities later obtained the records by hiring a gunman to impersonate a landowner and to capture the safe when it was opened. Hauled to the legal county seat near this site, the safe was set on blocks and a 2-story frame courthouse was built around it. First known as Bennett and then as Oran, the town was renamed Parnell when the U.S. Post Office opened in March 1890. Parnell had a few businesses, about 12 residences, a school, and a saloon. Guests rode 25 to 30 miles to attend dances in the courthouse. Those attending court in Parnell had to camp out, as the hotel was small. Miami became county seat in 1898, and Parnell was abandoned.

The Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad built a siding switch called "Mark Belt" near here in 1883 as part of its Houston to Alvin branch rail line. In 1893 William Zychlinski purchased 2560 acres in this area which he subdivided and platted in 1894. Included in Zychlinski's subdivision was the 273-acre townsite of Pearland.

S.M. Christensen, president of the Southern Homestead Company, contracted to develop the townsite. As part of a plan to attract settlers to the townsite Christensen planted numerous pear and other fruit trees.

In 1900 the Santa Fe Railroad built a depot nearby which soon became a gathering place for settlers to meet visitors and pick up mail and supplies. Locally produced cotton, hay, cattle, fruit and vegetables were shipped to market by railroad from the depot.

Pearland's development, delayed by the devastating storm of 1900, surged about 1910 as the Allison-Richey Suburban Gardens Co. successfully promoted the area as an agricultural wonderland with vital railroad access.

Oil production, cattle ranching, and hay, rice, and fig farming sustained Pearland's growth. The railroad's importance diminished and in 1972 the depot closed. It was donated to the city and moved here through the efforts of many citizens and organizations.

S.A. Pool built this residence, a store, and a cotton gin on the river bank in 1870, when the town of Valley Mills stood on the north side of the Bosque. The building stone came from nearby Fitzhugh Hill. Robert A. Tibbs, a Mississippi Civil War veteran, bought the house in 1891. After acquiring it in 1926, Anselm Tibbs (1886-1967) removed the original Greek Revival portico and made other changes. The town of Valley Mills moved south of the river when the Santa Fe Railroad was built. As a consequence, this is the oldest house in the present, or "new" town.

The Prairieview Community traces its history to a rural settlement which began in the late 19th century. Miss Alice Rosser opened a school in a brush arbor at Mapes in 1889. Later housed in a one-room building erected on land bought from W.G. Williams, the school also served as a gathering place for worship services and community activities. In 1892 the name of the community was changed to Prairieview. The area economy was based on ranching and farming, for which marketing improved with the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1906.