History of Chico

Originally part of a survey of 1,920 acres of land belonging to the heirs of William Heresee, the land became a settlement for several families including Cal Mount, Benjamin Booth, Sim Odom, T. Merriman, H.F. Hawkins, Sr. Dave Manning, Allen Gore, Tom Traister and Adam Johnson, among others.  R.C. Mount bought this survey of 1,920 acres for 13 cents per acre before the Civil War.

      The area we now call Chico grew primarily as a trade center for surrounding farms.  It originated with a deed for 44 acres filed by RC Mount on October 27, 1876.  Mount reserved two acres for a school and a church.

      Around 1875  Colonel Brown arrived and became a merchant and first postmaster of the village serving the needs of the pioneer families.  He paid $1.26 per acre for the townsite and plotted the area designing a public square, a business section and residential lots.  Brown  wanted to call this new town after his hometown of Chico in California.  Other name suggestions were Brownstone and Mountville.  Four of the seven men voting in the election officially named the town Chico. There are still descendants of the original pioneers living in and around the city of Chico and there are streets bearing their names throughout the city.

      The first school began three years before the town was organized and was replaced in just two years by a larger log building which served also as a church and courthouse.  The first frame building, built in 1888 was the Brown Hotel which still stands.  The Rock Island Railroad was built through town in 1893 and the depot was built in 1902. 

      More information on the history of Chico may be obtained at the Chico Public Library, Inc. and the Wise County Historical Society.  

An original log cabin has been saved, has an historical marker, and may be seen by contacting the Chico Public Library, Inc.