The first town settled in the county was Trickham.  It is in the extreme southeastern part of the county, on the line of John Chisum’s old cattle trail, near its entrance into the county.  It is hard to determine just when the first little store was put in down on Mukewater, but it was sometime during the late eighteen-fifties, and most probably about the time Camp Colorado was established there.  One authority tells us that “John Chisum started a little store down on Mukewater about a mile below the army post for the convenience of his trail drivers.”  His brother-in-law, Emory Peters, who had a crippled hand, ran the store with the help of a man named Bill Franks.  George Teague was bookkeeper at Chisum’s store.  In those days the nearest bank was in Austin.  Mr. Chisum always carried his money in a wallet hung on the horn of his saddle.  According to Dick Fiveash, “John Chisum would send Franks to Austin after money to pay off his men, and Franks would return with his saddlebags full of gold and silver; or he would be sent to Austin with the money received from the sale of a herd of cattle, to be placed in the bank.”

John Chisum never lived in Coleman County, but for a number of years maintained his store at Trickham and a ranch headquarters on Home Creek; also a series of corrals in this and nearby counties for aid in the distribution of his cattle, which ranged from the Concho down the Colorado over all the southern part of the county, and remained there until 1867, when he went on up into Lincoln County, New Mexico, where the range was less crowded and he could have the valleys of the Pecos for his herds.  In May 1874, John Chisum sold his store at Triekham to L. L. Shield, who came into Coleman County from Hunt County.  Mr. Shield enlarged the old building, which for so long had been the center of all activities in that part of the county, into one of generous proportions, in which he installed a general mercantile business, the first of its kind in the county.  Mr. Shield also bought cattle and marketed them for a number of years.

L. L. Shield Store, 1870s

The history of the earliest development of Trickham is told by Dick Fiveash.  “I was born in Erath County in 1862 and moved with my parents to Coleman County in 1864.  We settled on Mukewater about a mile south of where Trickham is now.  My father built a log cabin to live in.  There were very few people in the county at that time and my uncle, Bill Williams, and his family, who came with us, were our only neighbors.  My Uncle Bill, who was a real pioneer, became known all over the county as “Mukewater Bill.”  He had lots of fights with the Indians and owned a bridle which was made out of the hide of an Indian he had killed.  “There was lots of wild game in the county when we first came, and a long while after.  I’ve seen the valleys of the creek black with buffalo plenty of times, and we could always find deer and turkeys.  We had to go to Austin after our flour and it cost $20.00 a barrel.  It generally took us two weeks to make the trip.  My cousin, Lot Ellington, had come to live with us and help with the cattle.  We also had a man named Tom Moss.  My father sent Lot Ellington to Ft. Worth after supplies and somewhere he was exposed to smallpox.  Soon after he got back he took it and died.  Then all the family took it from him.  My father and mother both died and so did Tom Moss.  Everyone was afraid to come near enough to do anything for us, since in those days, in 1876, doctors didn’t know much about treating smallpox or vaccinating against it.  Dr. Edwards at Brownwood was the only doctor we knew.  He came and looked in at the door and when he saw how terribly bad it was, he turned and went back home without doing anything at all for us.

“There was a young Dr. Page at Brownwood then who had been there only a short while, a friend of the Grady and Cheatham families, who had all come from Kentucky.  When Dr. Page heard about what Dr. Edwards had done he got on his horse and came out to see about us, and stayed with us ‘til the disease had run its course.  Dr. Page had been vaccinated and he had a light case of varioloid, but soon got over it.  When my father and mother died, no one could be found to help the doctor prepare them for burial.  They were wrapped in blankets and buried at night.  The people did dig the graves, but they didn’t help fill them up.  Charlie Shield, brother of Lee Shield, helped dig the graves and kept them from digging one for me, as I was not expected to live.

“I saw why the three men were killed by Indians at Trickham, Dave Upton, Jake Dofflemeier, and Charlie McCain.  They were all scalped and a green mesquite stick had been punched through their noses.  The first one was Charlie McCain, about sixteen years old.  He was out with his father, Brunson McCain, after a load of wood when a bunch of eight or ten Indians ran onto them.  Mr. McCain cut the horses loose from the wagon and put Charlie on one of them, telling him to run.  The Indians followed, killed the boy, and took the horses.  Then they went on and didn’t bother anybody else.  Dave Upton lived up on Camp Creek (a small tributary of Hay Creek) near where the Rendleman place is now.  One day he was out in the woods and discovered a small band of Indians.  He didn’t think they saw him, so he started on a run to Trickham to warn the people to put up their horses.  The Indians started after him, as they had probably seen him first, soon overtook, killed, and scalped him, and threw his body in the brush.  They stripped him also and carried off his clothes.  Jake Dofflemeier also lived up the creek from Trickham.  He had a fine horse of racing stock of which he was very proud.  Everybody around knew the horse.  The morning he was out looking for his horse he ran onto a small band of Indians out after horses, too.  They killed and scalped Mr. Dofflemeier and rode on through Trickham, where the horse was recognized.”

Mrs. George Green, now living in Coleman, tells us that her grandfather, L. J. Tankersley, U. S. Army man, and companion, Mr. Carmine, Ranger, from Comanche, were killed by Indians at Trickham, and are buried there.  Mrs. Tankersley always told her family in telling of those perilous days on the frontier that there was never any danger from the wandering Indian tribes.  The trouble was caused by the marauding bands.  These men were buried where the town of Trickham grew up around them, the
first and last buried at that place.  The graves are unmarked, but a wall about 1 1/2 feet high of flat sand rocks is built over each.  The Fiveash family was buried out to the west of Trickham about half a mile.  Charlie Ellington was also killed by the Indians.

On October 14th, 1883, a petition was filed with the Grand Lodge of Texas for a lodge at Trickham, Texas. This petition was approved on December 8th, 1883.  A dispensation was granted on December 15, 1883 and District Deputy McConnall set Sam Houston Lodge to work.  Rev. J. C. S. Baird was Master of the lodge, W. D. Watson was Senior Warden and John C. Jones was Junior Warden.  Sam Houston Lodge No. 597 was officially chartered on December 12, 1884.  Among the early members were W. D. Mathews, Mose Waters, H. Volentine, B. C. Hardin, E. P. James, C. F. Shield, W. F. Stacy, P. Himmins, M. R. Cheatham, J. L. Vaughn, W. B. Hunter and many other early settlers.  As with most early lodges, Sam Houston Lodge No. 597 met in the top floor of a building and the lower floor was used as a school and on Sundays, a church.  This lodge demised in 1894.

Trickham led in another field also, having been known throughout the country for its good singers, quartets, singing conventions, etc.  This interest developed early because of song leaders in the Sunday School and church contributing their efforts.  Some of this roster contains names like Jack Mulhis, Edmund Laswell, Tom Stacy, Homer Goodgion, Ceo. W. Bobo, Walter Stacy, A. J. Martin, Albert Dean and, more recently, Joe Stacy.  Many of us recall the singing schools as early as 1908 or sooner, taught by Edmund Laswehl and Aud Myrick, where we learned our notes in music, which gave us the necessary skills to become singers, song leaders and organists or pianists.  Ceo. W. Bobo, song leader, singing school teacher and songwriter for the Vaughn, Stamps and other music companies, came into the community in the early teens and was instrumental in creating a further interest in music.  He was able to direct quartets and to bring in singers of the highest quality to singings and big conventions from these music companies, keeping the people here in touch with the best caliber in the field of sacred music.

Excitement ran high when Trickham won another first, which was an oil well.  About the year 1908, the first oil well in Coleman County came in on Vaughn land southwest of Trickham, and we all flocked to the scene to see it.  Then, following that, about 1910 to 1912, an oil-drilling crew from Humble, Texas, came to Trickham to drill for oil.  This crew of four or more men built a little shack in the middle of Trickham where they lived while drilling a well south of Trickham on Vaughn land.  It resulted in the Hot Wells that were popular for so long.  But here, Cupid entered in.  Three of them dated Trickham belles of prominent families, which resulted in one marriage, and of course this couple moved away.  It was as late as about 1930 when Trickham began to use natural gas in the businesses and homes which came from a gas well two or more miles west of Trickham.

The telephone came early to Trickham.  There was a means of communication in the L. E. Page Store as early as 1903, used for emergencies to Santa Anna.  Then, probably by 1906, Mr. Kilgore had run a line on wire fences from Winchell across to the Gill Ranch southwest of Trickham where there was a telephone switchboard or exchange.  Then followed the same pattern on wire fences to Trickham.  The telephone exchanges in Trickham were always located in homes where the family there would operate it.  Among the families running the telephone company here were Ed and Ruth Limroth, Homer and Katie Lawrence, Lev and Mamie Lawrence and the A. J. Martin family.  Since then Trickham is served by the Coleman County Telephone Co-Op.

What could be considered the first doctor, at least performing a doctor’s duties, was a midwife, Mrs. McElwreath, called Grandma McElwreath.  This woman of such indomitable strength and vision, who came from Georgia by the mid-1870s, was instrumental in bringing many of us into the world who were born before or after the turn of the century.  Her work was carried on until through 1908 at least, and then other doctors came in.  Dr. Seitz lived in Trickham during the first decade when there was a drug store run by Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Wilson, who also had the post office in that building at that time.  By 1910, Dr. Sonendriker was a physician in Trickham.  Dr. Lyon and Dr. Boone were also doctors in Trickham.

Early in the century Trickham had a variety of businesses lining “Main Street.”  Just to the north of it and to one side, and of great importance, was a blacksmith shop.  Before 1910, it was owned and operated by Mr. Tommy Harrison.  Then after that the following owned and ran it: Mr. Frank Rucker and Mr. Gid Matthews; Mr. Frank Rucker and Mr. Ord Harrison; and Mr. Drury.  Another blacksmith shop later was located on the south side of Main Street run by Mr. O. V. (Pete) Mitchell followed by Mr. Clyde Haynes and Mr. Tom Bingham.  These last two left an unusual sign on the site of the shop.  One of these blacksmiths was a justice of the peace and a notary.  Thus the sign indicates the services available  - justice of the peace, a notary, also could do ox-welding and offered “matrimonial services.”

The cotton gin was another basic ingredient in the early economy of Trickham.  The first gin was located near the creek and northeast of the main center of things before 1900 and was run by Mr. Burge.  The location after that was always just east down Main Street toward the creek.  It was owned and run by Mr. Ed Bartlett and last by Mr. Jake Walters.

Then the two stores on the south side of the street were a large store run by Mr. Obe Smith and son Dave, and one run by Mr. Willie Bailey.  A two-story building on the north side of the street was the Tom Stacy Store - later run by Mr. Rodgers.  To the west of it was the drugstore, barber shop, by Johnny Volentine and Mr. L. E. Page ‘s store. But at the west end of the street was a large general store - the Lawrence Store.  This was later bought by Jim Matthews in the early teens.  The wide range of merchandise that could be bought on this street ranged from dress material to horse collars to kerosene

The Tom Stacy Store about 1900

Beginning with the 1940’s and a little earlier, consolidation of schools was one step toward the beginning of the end of such rural communities.  This, coupled with the war years when people went elsewhere to work, all contributed to the demise of this once bustling community, changing the lifestyle of its citizens.  Finally, with the closing of the post office in 1979, run by Mrs. Minnie Wilson, and the closing about two years earlier of the last store, run by Leston Cozart, leaves the Martin Dairy as the only remaining business.  The Texas Almanac shows an area population of Trickham to be 12 in 1980.

Map of Trickham, from Irene Durham

Residences: Marked with circles Public Buildings: marked with a square Graves of Pioneers: marked with a circle inside a square 1. Drug Store and Post Office 2. Telephone Exchange 3. Willie Bailey Store 4. Blacksmith Shop 5. L.E. Page Store 6. Tom Stacy Store 7. Church 8. Union Church 9. Obe Smith Store 10. Church 11. Shield Rock Store 12. Lawrence Store 13. School 14. Gin