Newspaper unknown
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LIKED MARLIN
OVER WACO
CHILTON--SPL---The early settlers found
both prairie and dense thickets here. Tall grass and myriads of wild
flowers made a garden of the prairie. Along the creeks there were dense
woods and thickets. Postoak, hickory, ash, elm, hackberry, cedar, pecans,
liveoak, Spanish oak, mulberry, willow and, of course, mesquites were found in
abundance. Game was plentiful. Deer, antelopes, bears, wolves,
coyotes, wildcats, buffaloes and "lions" were here in the early days.
Until planters moved in with slaves,
cattle was the chief source of income for the people. The first gin was
built by Col. W. D. Gaines.
It is interesting to note how the railroad
changed the life in this section. Before the S. A. and A. P. came through
the larger settlements were at Durango, Carolina and Mooresville. In
fact, it looked like they would develop into fairly good-sized towns. The
railroad came this way and Chilton and Lott were built up instead.
Attracted by the cheap, fertile land, Col.
W. D. Gaines chose the land he bought because, afer visiting both places, he
thought Marlin had a much better chance to grown into a large city than did
Waco.
For amusements of these early citizens
there were dances, quilting, corn husking, house raising and singing but the
meetings held the most interest of all.
A wedding was a "notable" event,
according to one early historian.
The men hunted wild mustangs, shot at
marks for prizes and hunted and fished.
Being so far from markets, the men wore
buckskin hunting shirts in Winter, moccasins and fur caps. In Summer they
wore cotton shirts going in their shirt sleeves.
Falls County was organized in 1850.
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