Nix community marker dedication set
By JEFF JACKSON Special Correspondent
Editor's note: This story is based on an Oct. 7, 1969 interview with Zula Etta Ringer Wright, who was 89 at the time. She was the daughter of Levi and Laura Ringer who settled at Nix in 1881.

The late Joe Faught used this interview to prepare a brief history of the Nix Community that was published in "Lampasas County Texas: Its History and Its People." That account was adapted for a Texas Historical Marker narrative which was approved by the Texas Historical Commission in 2007.

On Jan. 19 at 2 p.m., the Nix community and Lampasas County Historical Commission plan to dedicate that marker to be located near the old Nix School House, now the Nix Community Center on FM 580 West. The public is invited to attend.

Nix is a rural farm and ranch community at the headwaters of Lynch Creek, about 11.5 miles west of Lampasas and just south of Twin Sisters Peak. It is midway between Lampasas and McAnelly Bend on the oldest known road in the county, but the Fort Phantom Hill Road no longer exists. This military road went from Austin to Phantom Hill, near present-day Abilene. Today, the major lanes of traffic have found different paths.

The community was settled in the late 1860s. Some early settlers were Alex Brown, John Doyle, J.D. Baker, Harvey Wallace, Gustavus Waters, F.H. Edwards, H.A. Baugh, John Ringer, Levi Ringer, John Blaylock, W.O. McCarley and W.A. Bates.

The first business in Nix was a general store, a one-room building with a shed in back for constructing coffins. The original store was just across the Lometa road from "the old mesquite," facing west. Harvey Wallace and his wife, Elizabeth, opened the store around 1875 and operated it until 1893.

Nix was a post office address from 1883 until 1906. Postmasters were Elizabeth Wallace, 1883; George W. Edwards, 1893; Lewis P. Huddleston, 1895; and Burgess G. Parks, 1904. The stagecoach brought mail from Lampasas while en route to Senterfitt and San Saba.

According to the 1890-91 "Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory," Nix had a population of eight and received mail tri-weekly. Mrs. Wallace was postmistress and operated the general store, Harvey Wallace was justice of the peace, and David Coterell was a blacksmith.

In later years, the store was moved across the Lometa road to its present location, facing first east and then south. The Nix store remained open until 1957. Other owners and operators included George W. Edwards, Lewis P. Huddleston, Burgess Parks, W.G. Carlile, O.T. Lively, H.J. Carothers, J.S. Lindsey, W.R. Lauders, W.D. McCutchen, J.H. Fox, and Jewell and Eunice O'Neal.

Another grocery store was established in the 1920s by A.H. McCrea, just across the Bend road from the original store. It operated for eight to 10 years.

Coterell, a blacksmith by trade, served Nix for several years during the late 1880s and early '90s. His shop was near the "old mesquite" by the store, and it is said he had a fence of horseshoes in front of his shop.

A 1903 newspaper column called "Nix Dots" stated: "Mr. William Teel is our blacksmith and picture man at Nix now, and says he is prepared to take your picture or shoe your horse on short notice; all work guaranteed satisfactory."

In the winter of 1878, some men of the community were sitting around the wood heater in the Wallace store talking about what to name their small community. Suggestions were made to call it Wallace, Lynch, Waters and other names. The "old German" in the group, who usually had little to say in his broken English, commented that it should be called "nichts," which means "nothing" in German, "because there is nothing here." After a round of laughs, Nix became the unanimous choice.

By the mid-1880s, many farms were established around Nix, with a wide variety of crops grown. Cotton was the most abundant crop, so the need arose for a cotton gin. George Clem and Jim Baker built a gin just northwest of Nix and south of the Lometa road. The gin operated for eight to 12 years.

Early schools at Nix were conducted in different homes around the area. About 1885, a one-room school was situated on the hill above Dripping Springs and above the Nix Cemetery on the Levi Ringer place.

In 1939, Bend and Lynch Creek Common Schools were consolidated with Nix, and in 1942, Ogles consolidated with Nix. The first schoolmaster was a Mr. Hall, who lived in the Yates house near the creek. He taught all ages at Nix and also went to other nearby schools to teach.

Some years later the school building was moved across the creek, apparently because most of the children lived on the north side of the creek, and this would reduce problems when the creek flooded. The building was used until 1920, when it was torn down, and the lumber became part of the present school building, which is now the community center.

Carpenters on the last school building were Banks Holly and Bud Parmer, who also built the Baptist Church at Nix. In 1922, Mr. Pickett and Mrs. Carothers were teachers at the Nix School. Alma Goodwin taught there in 1926.

The new, larger school building was used from the 1922-23 school term until Nix was consolidated with Lampasas in 1953. By April 1953, the school had been dormant for two years, and students were contracted to other schools. The scholastic census showed Nix had approximately 65 pupils.

In the 1880s, the Nix Community was fortunate to have a number of good-flowing springs nearby. One was on the old Ringer place. During the drought of 1887-88, people would come from all around to take water from the spring.

Land for a permanent cemetery was set aside by L.E. Ringer in the mid-1880s. Nix Cemetery is a vital link to the history of the community. The first recorded burial is that of Maggie Hooten, who died Oct. 10, 1878. Other early burials include Mrs. F.E. Franklin, Dec. 18, 1879; James Johnson, Aug. 2, 1882; Martha Doyle, Oct. 28, 1886; and W.A. Bates, April 30, 1895.

Many early communities were marked by tragedy, and Nix was no exception. Henry Baugh and his wife, Lizzie, planned to build a new house at Nix. On Dec. 16, 1882, Baugh, his wife and two children were returning to Nix from Lampasas with a load of lumber for their home. As they started down the grade just past the Waters place, the lumber shifted and spooked the horses. Baugh lost control of the horses, and eventually the wagon overturned, killing him. Mrs. Baugh and the two children were unhurt.

The community suffered a great loss on Dec. 31, 1886, when Alex Brown was murdered at his home west of Nix. He was beaten and hanged to his corn crib. No one was ever convicted of his murder.

Brown never married and reportedly was killed for his gold. It was common knowledge at the time that all his purchases were made with gold coin. His monument in Nix Cemetery is the towering oblisk in the northwest corner. He was a Confederate veteran and a signer of the application to establish Lampasas as a county.

The J.E. Knight family lived on the Parker place near Nix in 1891. The Knights had just returned home on Nov. 19, 1894, after having gone to purchase goods. Knight built a fire in the fireplace and went out to put the team of horses in the barn, while Mrs. Knight was busy storing their goods.

Little Annie Knight, who had just turned 4, was playing with her doll near the hearth. Somehow her clothes caught on fire. She went running into the yard calling "Daddy! Daddy!" but by the time anyone got to her, it was too late. Annie is buried near the east-center of the cemetery.

The mysterious death of Aunt Polly Watson also is a part of Nix history. Aunt Polly was loved by everyone in the community. She served as a midwife and also worked as a seamstress. She traveled the area by foot and took shortcuts through pastures, even though at times it was difficult to cross the fences.

Aunt Polly disappeared in the spring of 1921. Her remains were found in September on the Jackson ranch at a place where she would have had to cross four or five tall ranch fences. It has always been a mystery as to how she was able to travel to the place where her remains were discovered. She is buried in the Nix Cemetery.

At least until the 1960s, the men of Nix were called upon to sit with a body the night before burial for anyone in the community who died. It is believed this custom started in rural communities because it was not always possible, during frontier times, to be positive a person was dead. The body was placed in the home of the deceased or in the home of a relative, and since there were no screens on the windows it was necessary to ensure that animals were kept out of the room. This custom continued even after funeral homes were established.

Two important enterprises that provided employment in the 1940s and 1950s were a rock quarry two miles west of Nix and cedar yards. Bill Clark, Dee Smith and Jewell O'Neal ran the cedar yards. Many families lived in tents in the cedar brakes while the men cut trees. The rock was sold to be used in buildings, and cedar posts were used for fences.

There have been many rural communities whose names are all but forgotten in Lampasas County. And many were the names of common county school districts that no longer exist. Only a few small communities like Nix have continued to survive. Residents of Nix recently asked the Lampasas Independent School District for permission to have the old schoolhouse converted to a community center. Without this community spirit, Nix surely would be on its way to becoming another forgotten place, and the old school might have gone into private ownership.