Sweetwater, Texas
The first land surveys in Nolan County were made along Sweetwater creek in 1853, and did not cross the creek now known as Sweetwater creek. It was then known as Elm fork of the Clear Fork of the Brazos river.
Between 1871 and 1875 the United States was especially active on the frontiers of northwest Texas, and in 1875 engineers made a map of the region on which the streams were located and named on the trails made by the various army commanders in their warfare with the Indians. That map clearly lists Sweetwater creek as we know it, but under the name of South Elbow creek. During this time the Texas Rangers were on the frontier of this region stationed in the south of Nolan County.
About 1874, Indians made a raid down into Coleman and other counties and a posse of Rangers got on their trail and followed them through Nolan County and up on the plains. As the Rangers passed, the streams being unnamed, they proceeded to name them Bittercreek, Sweetwater creek and gave names to the other streams.
When Nolan County got enough people to justify a post office, it was naturally located on Sweetwater Creek, located up in the Panhandle which in the buffalo hunting days became the site for the location of another Sweetwater which was named county seat of Wheeler county before a post office was established. When the town applied for a post office and it was discovered there was already another Sweetwater, the name of the place was changed to Mobeetie (said to be the Kiowa name for Sweetwater).
There is also a third Sweetwater in Texas, known as Auga Dulce and located in Nuecus County, which is the Spanish version of Sweetwater.
Sweet Water (the name was in two words until 1918) was originally established on the banks of Sweetwater Creek in a dugout, for the benefit of the few ranchmen and the buffalo hunters then in the country.
When the town of Sweetwater on April 12, 1881 was declared the permanent county seat of Nolan County there was not a building on the site constructed of wood, brick or stone, and N. I. Dulaney had opened a store in a tent along with several other 'tent stores'.
The railway donated to Nolan County two black for a courthouse and jail on August 22, 1881.
Sweetwater's first water supply system consisted of 'a small muddy pond out near the stock pens and a drilled water well and windmill at the north west corner of the public square with a capacity (when the wind blew) of about 100 barrels of gyp water per day.
Joseph Boone was the first mayor in 1884. T. D. Farris was elected first city secretary and W. A. Corbett, first marshal.
C. E. Gilbert of Abilene established the Abilene Reporter in 1881, about the same time put in the first paper in Sweetwater and called it the Sweetwater Advance. In less than a year, R.A. Musgrove purchased the paper and changed the name to the Nolan County Review. Both were weekly newspapers.
Musgrove sold the paper to Professor Grogan. On May 1, 1909, John W. Millsapps bought the paper for $900. In 1907, W. A. Perry bought a half interest in the paper and joined the staff as editor.
During 1919 State Senator Terrell purchased the Reporter, adding it to a chain of weeklies and daily papers over the state. Houston Harte of San Angelo was the next owner of the Reporter, 1924, selling to George and Russell Bennitt in 1937. After a few years they sold to McBeth Publishing Co., who published the Reporter until March, 1973, selling to Donrey Media Group.