Articles
Hood County in Retrospect
Hood County was
created in 1866. Prior to that, it had been part of Old Mexico and
part of four other Texas counties, before becoming its own entity.
Many of the early settlers moved here to improve their lot in life.
During the 1850’s and early 1860’s, many came to avoid the upcoming
war. During and after the Civil War, people came to escape the
ravages of the war.
Hood County was named for John Bell Hood. He was a West Point
graduate who resigned his commission in the U.S. Army to become a
general in the Confederate army. After the Civil War, Hood returned
to New Orleans where he ran a business and wrote several books about
his service.
Granbury was named for Hiram Brinson Granbury, a lawyer from Waco,
TX until the war broke out. He organized the Waco Guards, the third
Waco company. Major Granbury was taken prisoner in 1862, but was
later released in a prisoner exchange and returned to service. He
was mortally wounded at the Battle of Franklin in 1864. General
Granbury is buried in the Granbury Cemetery.
There is a pride in Hood County that can be traced back through many
of the descendants of the original families. Names like Crockett and
Nutt are deeply rooted in early history. At age 67, Elizabeth
Crockett claimed the land awarded to Davy for his service at the
Alamo. It took her several years to find a surveyor brave enough to
face the known Comanche and Caddo Indians, and the unknown
difficulties in order to settle land in the Republic of Texas. Her
grave and monument are found in the smallest Texas State Park in
Acton, near Granbury.
Jesse and Jake Nutt, two blind brothers, were very successful
businessmen in Granbury and gave the original forty acres to set up
the county seat. Descendents of these and many other families still
reside in Hood County.
Even Jesse James and John Wilkes Booth were reported to have lived
in Granbury. There are legends and lore throughout the
history of Hood County.