Abbott

Abbott is a half mile east of Interstate Highway 35 and ten miles south of Hillsboro in south central Hill County. It was founded as a railroad town on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas line in 1881 and named for Jo Abbott. An Abbott post office was established in 1882 and served the town until 1928. The United Methodist church was organized in 1883 by Rev. G. W. Swofford, pastor of the Hillsboro Circuit. A sanctuary was built in 1884 and a parsonage in 1885 on land that W. W. Treadwell donated. In the 1890s cotton was a major crop in the area around Abbott. During that decade two cotton gins, a gristmill, and more than fifteen other businesses were in operation in the community. Early establishments included general stores, doctors' offices, a drugstore, barbershops, two hotels, two blacksmith shops, a photographer's studio, a newspaper, and a bank. The town had three churches.

Abbott suffered disastrous fires in 1897, 1903, and 1904 and was rebuilt after each. Electricity came in 1913 with the building of an interurban railway by the Southern Traction Company (see ELECTRIC INTERURBAN RAILWAYS). The Katy and the interurban transported passengers as well as goods and products. The community was incorporated in 1916 with C. W. Thompson as mayor and A. R. Crocker and W. R. Hammonds as commissioners. In 1920 the highway was built through the middle of town parallel to the Katy and the interurban. Abbott declined as a result of the Great Depression, however, and by 1932 the train stopped only when flagged. Czech farmers came and bought much of the rich black farmland of the area. The first Czechs had come as early as 1870 and have maintained a Catholic parish in the town.