Nemo is an unincorporated community in eastern Somervell County.

In the book “Of a People and a Creek,” by Raymond Elliott and Mildred Paden we find the following about Nemo:

“According to E. T. ‘Bull’ Adams, Nemo is Latin for NO ONE. In a news article Mr. Adams explains that shortly before the Civil War a stage post drop was near Buck Creek between Cleburne and Brownwood, being known as Johnson Stop after Uncle Jimmie Johnson. Letters were addressed Cleburne, Johnson Stop, which seemed too long.

“As the population increased, the demand grew for the establishment of a regular post office and a shorter name. There was much heated discussion and no little of plain ‘cussin’’ concerning the latter. Finally, one of the hot heads remarked that if Johnson was not good enough for a name then no man’s name should be used. The local ‘professor,’ A. R. Kinker, agreed and proposed the name Nemo, NO ONE, and so it was.”

Over the years the store and post office has been operated by several different people. The following is a short history of the post office as told to me by Sam White who lives just east of Nemo:

“The post office at one time was located in a house across from the present-day church [New Prospect Baptist], later being moved into a house west of County Road 200 [west of the church.]

“Bill Porter and his wife owned the general store where they had the post office from 1909-19, at which time the property was purchased by the Armstrongs. In the early ’30s their house burned, and they moved the house where the general store and post office were located to their home place just south of Nemo.

“Mark and Zora Sandlin built a rock store, where they also had the post office. In later years the post office was moved into the house just west of the store, and Willie Stewart was the postmistress.”

In 1980 the present post office was built next to the Stewart’s home and was put in use December first of that year.

Kellie Baxter was working at the post office the day I was there. She normally works at the Alvarado post office but has been working as a substitute here since Nov. 19 last year. Paula Mikkelson is the regular postmistress, with two years’ service at Nemo. Paula was subbing at yet another post office.

There are 130 post office boxes where local residents get their mail, and the mail is delivered to 85 residential boxes.

Of the three, early day settlements in the area — Fort Spunky, Georges Creek and Nemo — all had post offices at one time. But Nemo is the only one that still has a post office in operation.

Frances Russell had a barber shop and store where he sold beer and such across the road from where Mark and Zora had their store and post office.

Considering from the time before the Civil War when it was known as Johnson Stop, Nemo has been in three counties, Johnson, Hood and Somervell.

The two store buildings were built of native stone with a lot of petrified wood in them. Reece White said that in the early days a lot of people traveling down U.S. 67 would stop just to take a look at the houses with the petrified wood in them.

When the new U.S. 67 opened Raymond Stewart moved his store and service station over to the new highway at its intersection with County Road 199 and left the post office at his house in Nemo. Where he moved his station and store soon became known as New Nemo by some of the locals.

They were very strict on their tobacco sales in the early days. I remember Dad telling about when they moved from down on the Brazos River to a place just east of Nemo about 1910, the house was about a mile from the store, and granddad wanted Dad to go to the store and get tobacco for him. Before the storekeeper would sell the tobacco to Dad (who was just a teenager at the time) he had to have a signed paper on file from granddad stating that it was OK with him for Dad to buy the tobacco. This was about the time the Porters had the store.

From the mid-1940s until his death in the late 1950s Linnie Lane operated an airport at Nemo. Some of the old aircraft hangers are still here on the south side of the road.

About two miles east on County Road 407 (the old U.S. 67) sits a little building that was once known as Woody’s Place. This was a dance hall and beer joint operated by a Mr. Woodard before and shortly after Prohibition — and maybe during it. From what Dad told me, this place did a booming business at one time.

One of the newer additions to Nemo is the Brazos River Charter School. Next week I will tell how it came into existence.



John Watson is a Cleburne

resident who can be reached at

texastraveler@sbcglobal.net.