Chico Square
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Settlement of the area began in the mid-1870s, when J. T. Brown, from Chico, California, moved to the area and opened a general store near Dry Creek. The settlement became a church and school community for area farmers. A post office was established in 1882. A decade later the tracks of the Rock Island Railroad reached the community. Soon thereafter Chico became a retail center for cotton farmers.
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 Chico Square |
 Old Brown Motel |
The town remained economically dependent on agriculture until the early 1940s, when oil was discovered nearby. The population reached 1,000 in 1942. Although Chico billed itself as the oil capital of Wise County, it also was one of the leading producers of crushed stone for road construction. At one time the town had four large stone processing plants. |
