The village of Quinan was established about 1872 on the Wharton-Richmond road and was named for Judge George E. Quinan (1819-1893), an Ireland native who lived south of here on Peach Creek, served in the Texas Senate and on the state Court of Civil Appeals, and was one of the founders of the State Bar of Texas. The community had a school, Methodist church, and a post office located in John C. Habermacher's store. It declined after the founding of Hungerford in 1882, and the post office and businesses were later relocated here.