ONCE A THRIVING AGRICULTURAL AREA AND REGIONAL TRADE CENTER,
THE COMMUNITY OF THRIFTY WAS ESTABLISHED AFTER THE U. S. ARMY
RELOCATED CAMP COLORADO, A FRONTIER DEFENSE POST, ALONG NEARBY
JIM NED CREEK IN 1857. THE FIRST FAMILY TO SETTLE PERMANENTLY
IN THE AREA WAS THAT OF CHARLES MULLINS, WHOSE THREE SONS
AND ONE DAUGHTER AND THEIR FAMILIES ESTABLISHED RANCHES AND
HOMES IN THE JIM NED CREEK VALLEY. ONCE FEDERAL TROOPS WERE
WITHDRAWN FROM THE AREA AFTER TEXAS VOTERS ELECTED TO SECEDE
FROM THE UNION IN FEBRUARY 1861, SETTLERS WERE ON THEIR OWN TO
PROVIDE FOR THEIR DEFENSE, ENCOUNTERING MANY OF THE DANGERS
OF FRONTIER LIFE.
   THRIFTY SAW ITS GREATEST DEVELOPMENT IN THE PERIOD FOLLOWING
THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION, WHEN A POST OFFICE WAS
ESTABLISHED (FIRSTUNDER THE NAME JIM NED, LATER NAMED THRIFTY).
JOHN CHARLES MULLINS DONATED FOUR ACRES OF LAND FOR SCHOOL
AND CHURCH PURPOSES IN 1881. AT ONE TIME, THRIFTY HAD A HOTEL,
SALOON, SAWMILL, SORGHUM PRESS, COTTON GIN, BLACKSMITH SHOP
AND PHYSICIANS' OFFICES. THE MERCANTILE STORE, OPERATED BY DR.
G. W. ALLEN AND JOHN CHARLES MULLINS, SERVED AS A REGIONAL
TRADING CENTER FOR FARMERS AND RANCHERS IN THE AREA.
   IN 1886, THE RAILROAD BYPASSED THRIFTY, AND ITS LIFE AS A VITAL
TRADE CENTER DIMINISHED. THIS EVENT, COUPLED WITH A SEVERE
DROUGHT BETWEEN 1885 AND 1888, TRIGGERED AN EXODUS FROM THE
COMMUNITY, AS RESIDENTS SOUGHT VIABLE EMPLOYMENT ELSEWHERE.
THE STORY OF THRIFTY REMAINS AS A LESSON IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE TEXAS FRONTIER AND A PART OF BROWN COUNTY'S HISTORY.
(2001)