Expiration of the contract on July 1, 1848, did not end the company's difficulties. Land within the colony was now legally open for the free laying of certificates that permitted new settlers to obtain grants of 640 acres from the state. Many of the old settlers thought that the company's claim to up to half of what they considered their land was intolerable. The settlers demanded that the legislature rectify an unjust situation. Their protest took the form of mass meetings, petitions, and a colony convention, held in Dallas on May 21, 1849. During the controversy John H. Reagan and James W. Throckmorton, neither of whom were colonists, emerged as leaders in the protest movement. In January 1850 the legislature attempted to end the controversy by passing a law to secure the colonists' claims. The legislation, which was detrimental to the empresario company's interests, angered the stockholders of the Texas Emigration and Land Company and led to litigation. A compromise was reached on February 10, 1852, when the legislature passed an act granting 1,700 sections of land in floating certificates to the company. The colonists would have until July 1, 1852, to establish their claims, and the company would have 2½ years from that date to lay its certificates. The colonists immediately opposed the compromise law and resolved to continue their fight. On July 12, 1852, a citizens' committee forced its way into Hedgcoxe's office in Collin County to investigate the Englishman's records. At a mass meeting in Dallas on July 15, 1852, the committee issued an unfavorable report on Hedgcoxe. On July 16, 1852, a contingent of armed men from the Dallas meeting attacked Hedgcoxe's office and drove him from the county in an incident that became known as the Hedgcoxe War.   A settlement was eventually reached, and the compromise law was amended to extend the deadline for colonists to file their claims to May 7, 1853. But it took nearly ten legislative enactments over nearly twenty years to bring final settlement of the land titles. The colony that helped settle North Texas brought little if any profit to the investors and much disgruntlement among the settlers.[1]

 BIG MINERAL CREEK

Big Mineral Creek rises at the junction of its northern and southern branches two miles north of Whitesboro in western Grayson County (at 33°41' N, 96°54' W) and runs east for ten miles to its mouth on the Big Mineral arm of Lake Texoma, seven miles northwest of Southmayd (at 33°43' N, 96°46' W). The surrounding terrain is generally flat with occasional shallow depressions, surfaced by clay and sandy loams that support water-tolerant hardwoods, conifers, and various grasses. The region has served as range and cropland.

From The Handbook Of Texas Online. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/BB/rbbcm.html

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