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Texas Counties

Texas is divided into 254 counties, more than any other U.S. state Texas was originally divided into municipalities, a unit of local government under Spanish and Mexican rule. When the Republic of Texas gained its independence in 1836, there were 23 municipalities, which became the original Texas counties. Many of these would later be divided into new counties. The most recent county to be created was Kenedy County in 1921. The most recent county to be organized was Loving County in 1931

Austin County, Texas

Austin County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Bellville
Year Organized: 1836
Square Miles: 653

Court House:

One East Main Street
County Courthouse
Bellville, TX 77418

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Stephen F. Austin, the person who facilitated the Anglo American colonization of Texas and is known as the Father of Texas

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Austin County is a county located iwithin the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. Its county seat is Bellville. Austin County is named for Stephen F. Austin, who facilitated the Anglo American colonization of Texas and is known as the "Father of Texas." Austin County is not to be confused with the city of Austin, the state capital city that lies in Travis County approximately 110 miles to the northwest.

Although the state of Coahuila and Texas^qv designated San Felipe the capital of its Department of the Brazos in 1834, the first machinery of democratic government in Austin's colony appeared in 1828 with the establishment of the ayuntamiento^qv of San Felipe; the municipality over which it exercised authority extended from the Lavaca to the San Jacinto rivers and from the Old San Antonio Road^qv to the coast. The jurisdiction was progressively narrowed by the formation from it of fifteen additional municipalities; by 1836 the Municipality of San Felipe had acquired boundaries approximating those of modern Austin County, with the addition of a large region in the south that was broken off to form Fort Bend County in 1837, and a wide strip of territory on the east bank of the Brazos, which remained in the county until the end of Reconstruction.^qv The Constitution of the Republic of Texas^qv (1836) made counties of the former Mexican municipalities, and by 1837 Austin County, named in honor of Stephen Austin, had been officially organized. Although the burning of San Felipe left the town unavailable to serve as the capital of the republic, the partially rebuilt town became the county seat of Austin County. After a referendum of December 1846, however, Bellville became the county seat; this new community was near the geographical center of the county. The transfer of administrative functions was completed in January 1848.

More at Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/AA/hca8.html (accessed November 4, 2008).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 656 square miles (1,700 km²), of which, 653 square miles (1,690 km²) of it is land and 4 square miles (10 km²) of it (0.58%) is water

Neighboring Counties:

Washington County (north)
Waller County (east)
Fort Bend County (southeast)
Wharton County (south)
Colorado County (west)
Fayette County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Bellville (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Brazos Country	city	Incorporated Area
- Industry	city	Incorporated Area
- San Felipe	town	Incorporated Area
- Sealy	city	Incorporated Area
- Wallis	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

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