Hico, Texas | |
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City | |
Hico
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Motto: "Where Everybody Is Somebody" | |
Location of Hico, Texas |
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Coordinates: 31°59′4″N 98°1′50″W / 31.98444°N 98.03056°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Texas |
County | Hamilton |
Government | |
Area | |
• Total | 1.5 sq mi (3.8 km2) |
• Land | 1.5 sq mi (3.8 km2) |
• Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
Elevation | 1,027 ft (313 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 1,379,057 |
• Density | 911.4/sq mi (351.9/km2) |
Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
• Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
ZIP code | 76457 |
Area code(s) | 254 |
FIPS code | 48-33548 |
GNIS feature ID | 1374058 |
Hico (/ˈhaɪkoʊ/, HY-koh) is a small city located in Hamilton County in Central Texas. The population was 1,379 at the 2010 census. The town motto is "Where Everybody Is Somebody!"
Named for its founder's unincorporated hometown in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky near Murray, just north of the Tennessee state boundary, Hico's original location was on Honey Creek. When the Texas Central line (part of the historic Katy Railroad) was built nearby, the citizens moved 2.5 miles to the rail line. Hico was incorporated in 1883 and became the Hamilton County shipping center. Over the years, it became a cattle and cotton market. Today, ranching and tourism dominate the local economy.
In 1903, Kentucky-based evangelist Mordecai Ham held the first of his seventy-five Texas revival meetings in Hico. There were 150 professions of faith in Jesus Christ.
Ollie P. Roberts, usually known as Ollie L. Roberts, "Brushy Bill" Roberts, or William Henry Roberts, a resident of Hico during the late 1940s, claimed to have been the outlaw Billy The Kid. Hico has capitalized on his infamy by opening a small Billy The Kid Museum, where visitors can decide whether Brushy Bill was indeed William H. Bonney. Brushy Bill claimed to have been born in Buffalo Gap south of Abilene, Texas. The museum offers a taped video presentation of FOX NEWS, narrating a documentary about Brushy Bill's claim. There is also a replica of a 19th-century jail in the museum and other artifacts of the period.