Founded by Reece Hughes (1811-1893), who settled in Texas, 1839. In 1841 he married Elizabeth Rose, daughter of patriot Wm. Pinckney Rose. Her dowry enabled him to start a great plantation. After her death in 1853, he wed her sister, Mrs. J. w. Scott. In 1847 Reece Hughes founded the town of Hughes Springs at a famous chalybeate (iron salt-bearing) spring. It prospered for some years, becoming the site of a large boarding school and a favored place for church camp meetings, but later it declined. In 1878, Hughes' descendants founded present Hughes Springs.