Koockville

Koockville is on Koocks Branch two miles northwest of Mason in central Mason County. Early German settlers from Fredericksburg began locating there around 1851, including Peter Birk and Henry Hick. By 1855 a group of Irish settlers had also moved into the area. In 1867 William and Minna Koock built a log house there, and Koock started a mercantile business in the same building. His store was a center of trade for the Mason area, and it became a headquarters for the cattle buyers from the West who traveled through the area. In 1883 the store was replaced by a rock building. The second story of the new building was used for club meetings, entertainments, and other community activities. Business in the town thrived after the Civil War due to the boom in the cattle hide business ( see ??HIDE AND TALLOW TRADE ), and the town's prosperity continued with the advent of the cattle drives. Koock's store was not only a trading post but also a bank for cattle drovers. Some time later the sheep industry also added to the town's growth. Koock owned much of the land in the area, and he later built a large flour and corn mill and cotton gin. This had been torn down as of 1939, and stones from the old building were used to build the volunteer fire station in Mason. At one time Koockville had its own school, one of the earliest private schools in the county, taught by Mrs. Lizzie McGuire and attended by children from all over the surrounding area. The town never had a post office.