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A few buffaloqv hunters passed through the area in the early 1870s, but not until 1876, when the legislature separated the county from Bexar County, did the first permanent settlers arrive. The new county, named for Samuel Rhoads Fisher,qv a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence,qv however, remained sparsely populated and was not organized until 1886. Most of the early residents were cattle ranchers, who were attracted to the area by its abundant grasslands and available water. The census of 1880 reported 136 inhabitants. Only four of those who responded listed their occupation as farmer; the remainder were connected with the livestock industry. Cattle, in fact, greatly outnumbered people in the county's early years; by 1880, 24,164 cattle were reported. Among the early residents was a colony of Swedesqv from Travis and Williamson counties, who settled in the northeastern portion of Fisher County near the site of present-day McCaulley. Other early settlers came from East and North Texas. The first post office, Newman, was established in 1881. The first townsites registered were Fisher, now North Roby, on November 11, 1885, and Roby on April 16, 1886. There was a bitter county-seat struggle between Roby and Fisher. Roby eventually won the election, but many questioned its legality, and it was later discovered that one of the voters, a Mr. Bill Purp, was actually a dog whose owner lived near Roby.
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