Nockenut began in 1857 when German and Polish immigrants settled in the area. Originally in Guadalupe County, it became part of Wilson County after a boundary change in 1869. A post office opened in 1858, and by 1890 Nockenut was a thriving village with a population of 80. At its height, the town had homes, stores, a school, a church, a wagon yard, a cotton gin, and a cemetery. Several oral history accounts explain the town's name, most referring to variations on names of local trees. Nockenut declined after the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad bypassed it in 1906, and by the end of the 20th century the cemetery was the last physical reminder of the community.