Crime Scene and Trauma Cleanup in Aquilla, TX

Settlers began moving into the Aquilla area in the 1840s because it was the nearest point to Hillsboro where timber could be found, and the original settlement near the present town was called Mudtown.

Aquilla and nearby Aquilla Creek were probably named for early settler Aquilla Jones, though a state historical marker instead traces the name to the Spanish word for 'eagle.'

Aquilla received a post office in 1859, two decades before the railroad arrived.

The townsite was surveyed in 1879 when the Texas Central Railroad was built through Hill County, and Aquilla grew into a main shipping point for the surrounding farms and ranches.

At its peak around 1914, Aquilla had more than 500 people and boasted thirteen retail stores, three hotels, four churches, a school, a newspaper, a bank and a thriving lumber company.

One of the earliest chartered state banks in Texas opened in Aquilla in 1905.

After a series of illnesses was blamed on drinking creek water, Aquilla residents dug a well in 1897 to give the town a fresh water supply.

Aquilla covers just 0.28 square miles on Farm to Market Road 933, about sixteen miles southwest of Hillsboro, the Hill County seat.

The 2020 census counted 101 residents in Aquilla, down from 136 in both 1990 and 2000.

Aquilla Lake, a reservoir on Aquilla Creek, sits a few miles north of town and bears the community's name.