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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

Bastrop County, Texas

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

County Seat: Bastrop
Year Organized: 1836
Square Miles: 888

Court House:

804 Pecan Street
County Courthouse
Bastrop, TX 78602-3848

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop (he was actually a commoner named Philip Hendrik Nering Bogel wanted for embezzlement in his native country of the Netherlands), an early Dutch settler who assisted Stephen F. Austin in obtaining land grants.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Bastrop County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas.Its county seat is Bastrop. Bastrop County is named for Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop (he was actually a commoner named Philip Hendrik Nering Bogel wanted for embezzlement in his native country of the Netherlands), an early Dutch settler who assisted Stephen F. Austin in obtaining land grants in Texas.

In 1831 Austin received a second land grant; the two grants, Mina Municipality,^qv took in almost all of what is now Bastrop County. The district was presumably named in honor of Spanish general Francisco Xavier Mina.^qv In 1834 the vast municipality, comprising all or part of sixteen present-day counties, was established by the government of Coahuila and Texas,^qv and the town of Bastrop also took the name Mina. When Texas became a republic, Mina Municipality assumed its place as one of twenty-three original counties. In 1837 the Congress of the Republic of Texas^qv changed the county name to Bastrop in honor of the baron and allowed the town to revert to the name as well. Congress also began whittling away at the boundaries of the huge county; in 1840, when Travis County was formed, Bastrop County shrank almost to its present dimensions.

More at Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/BB/hcb3.html (accessed November 4, 2008).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 896 square miles (2,320 km²), of which, 888 square miles (2,301 km²) of it is land and 8 square miles (20 km²) of it (0.84%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Williamson County (north)
Lee County (northeast)
Fayette County (southeast)
Caldwell County (southwest)
Travis County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Bastrop (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Elgin	city	Incorporated Area
- Smithville	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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