About

Sometime in 1875, J.T. Brown and his family moved to Wise County from Chico, Calif.., and bought land from R.C. Mount. He opened a general store.

Brown donated some of his land to organize the town square and petitioned to call the new settlement Chico, presumably after his former California home.

Others suggested Brownstown and Mountville. A vote was held, and of the seven votes cast, Chico won by one vote. Chico, Texas, came into existence in 1876.

In 1888, J. T. Brown built the Brown Hotel, which still stands near downtown.

The Rock Island Railroad arrived in town in 1893, causing a boom in population.

Chico was a retail center for cotton farmers and remained economically dependent on agriculture until the 1940s, when oil was discovered. Chico was also one of the leading producers of crushed stone. At one time the town had four large stone processing plants.

In the 1950s, peanuts and cantaloupes replaced cotton as the primary crop.

Chico was incorporated in 1950.

List of Mayors Beginning in 1950