Only a year before, however, the area surrounding their settlement had been set aside to the Cherokee under a treaty negotiated and signed by Sam Houston and John Forbes.

[2] When the Senate of the Republic of Texas refused to ratify the treaty and then in fact nullified it, the Cherokee, who already thought they had conceded enough, became extremely agitated.

[3] The immediate and increasing influx of Anglo settlers into lands thought to have been theirs did nothing to calm resentments among the Indians[4] and there being also residual bitterness among some Tejanos still loyal to Mexico, the atmosphere in the region became tense in early 1838.

Hoping to avoid the decadent lifestyle of nearby Talladega, known for its saloon and gambling dens,[9] the McKee party moved north of that location to settle near the older Killough compound.

In 1855, he secured financial support from the Brazos Synod of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and they assumed responsibility for the school, which was renamed Larissa College.

Chartered by the State of Texas in 1856, it eventually boasted a three-story college building, two dormitories and a curriculum that included Latin, French, Spanish, chemistry, physics, rhetoric, logic and mathematics.

The Civil War sapped much of the vitality of the community and decimated enrollment at Larissa College, forcing it to close for the duration.

[18] That same year, a meningitis epidemic took a number of the remaining residents, and finally, in 1882, tracks for the Kansas and Gulf Short Line Railroad, which might otherwise have saved the town, was laid three miles east of Larissa.

Those who had remained, including prominent founders of Larissa, moved on to the newly established community of Mount Selman, on the railroad.