Early settlers to this area, who began arriving about 1849, included James and Sarah Hoggard. Their daughter, Nancy Jane, married John J. "Coho" Smith, a cabinet maker and teacher. The Smiths bought property at this site soon after their marriage in 1861. Their original one-room cabin was enlarged as the family grew, and according to local history it also served as a school. Archeological investigations at the site have revealed many aspects of a 19th-century farmstead, including a hand-dug well, root cellar, spring house, and rock walls which may have been part of a fortified structure. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995.