Hutto

Establishment of Hutto
In 1848, the year of Williamson County's founding, Nelson Morey and Josiah Taylor both opened stores in Shiloh. There was a school and a church. Residents included the well-known Juvenal, Kuykendall, Stearns, Smalley, Swindoll, and Wilbarger families. A log house stood nearby, built by Adam Orgain, a black man born a slave in 1835.

In 1855, James E. Hutto, a farmer, settled in the area now known as Hutto. In 1876, the International and Great Northern Railroad was built three miles north of Shiloh, a small farming community near the crossroads of FM 135 and FM 139 on the north side of Brushy Creek. The McCutcheon-Shiloh Cemetery is all that remains of the once-thriving town. James sold 50 acres of his land near Shiloh to create the town of Hutto. 

The Growth of Hutto
Originally not much more than a train depot, Hutto began to take shape in the 1890’s as more permanent brick structures were erected on the north side of the railroad tracks. By 1896, the population of Dutch, Swedish, and German farming immigrants had reached 700.

A fire in 1902 destroyed the east side of East Street. Although occupied for nearly 50 years, the City officially incorporated until 1911. 

Check out the Texas State Gazetteer (PDF) for a peek at Texas at the turn of the 20th century!

Prominent Original Locals
When the Hutto post office opened on June 27, 1877, officials appointed James E. Hutto postmaster. He became one of the most prosperous cattlemen in the county. He and his wife, Margaret Hughes, also from Alabama, raised eight children. In 1885, they moved to Waco, where James operated a very successful hardware business.

The eldest son of James E. and Margaret Hutto was John R. Hutto, who operated the Hutto gin and farmed. The second son, James E. Hutto, followed in his father's footsteps and became a very successful cattleman and later, cotton farmer. Other sons, William T., Charles W, and Robert B., were prosperous in both the cattle and cotton industries.

Adam Orgain, an African American man born into slavery in Tennessee in 1837 and taken to Texas, became the first settler in Hutto when he was placed to watch over his enslaver’s ranching and cattle interests in this area. For a full history of Adam Orgain and his settlement in Hutto, read "Adam Orgain: The First Settler of Hutto" by Mike Fowler.