In 1876 the John Henry Himmels, a family of German descent, settled in this area of Hill County. Seven years later, Miss Emma B. Himmel became the first teacher of the Himmel Branch School, which marked the beginning of a town that, through a misspelling, came to be called Hammel's Branch. Other prominent early settlers included the Clinkscales, Elkins, Giles, Hall, Haskins, Jennings, Kuykendall, Lynch, McClure, Snow, Thompson, Watson, Wells, White, and Williams families. The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad laid a line through the settlement in 1893-94, and the community began to flourish as eight business establishments, including a general store, gin, and blacksmith shop, opened along the rail line. In 1903 a post office was established in the depot, and the town legally became known as Hammel's Branch. After World War I, the town began to decline; in 1920 the last store closed, and the school held its last classes in 1925. Evidence of the community can still be found upon close examination.