Custom Search

Texas State...

Texas Landscape

Texas

Texas Counties

Click Image to Enlarge

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

Caldwell County, Texas

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

County Seat: Lockhart
Year Organized: 1848
Square Miles: 546

Court House:

110 South Main Street
County Courthouse
Lockhart, TX 78644-2701

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Mathew Caldwell, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and soldier during the Texas Revolution

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Caldwell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Its county seat is Lockhart. Caldwell County was named in 1848, after Matthew Caldwell, a ranger captain who fought in the Battle of Plum Creek against the Comanches and later against Santa Anna's armies during the Texas Revolution and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.

By 1847 the population in the northern part of Gonzales County had increased so much that residents petitioned the Texas legislature to establish a new county, Plum Creek County, with Lockhart Springs as county seat. In March 1848 the legislature approved the formation of the county from Bastrop and Gonzales counties but named it Caldwell instead of Plum Creek; the county seat was called Lockhart. Although the legislature did not say why the name Caldwell was chosen, it was probably in honor of Mathew Caldwell,^qv a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.^qv The county seat was located on a tract of land that had been part of Byrd Lockhart's^qv Plum Creek grant.
More at Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/hcc1.html (accessed November 4, 2008).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 547 square miles (1,418 km²), of which, 545 square miles (1,413 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (5 km²) of it (0.31%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Travis County (north)
Bastrop County (northeast)
Fayette County (southeast)
Gonzales County (south)
Guadalupe County (southwest)
Hays County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Lockhart (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Luling	city	Incorporated Area
- Martindale	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."

Custom Search