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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

Fayette County, Texas

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

County Seat: La Grange
Year Organized: 1837
Square Miles: 950

Court House:

151 North Washington Steet
County Courthouse
La Grange, TX 78945-2657

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Marie-Joseph-Paul-Roch-Yves-Gilbert Du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, the French hero of the American Revolutionary War

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Its county seat is La Grange. Fayette is named for the Marquis de la Fayette, a French nobleman who became an American Revolutionary War hero

Prior to European settlement Lipan Apaches and Tonkawa Indians inhabited parts of what is now Fayette County. Many Indian artifacts have been found, especially along the Colorado River and near Round Top. A few miles north of the Colorado River, above Little Pin Oak Creek, a stratified multicomponent campsite was found, with Clovis, Plainview, and other later artifacts. In the early eighteenth century Spanish explorers passed through the area. La Bahía Road,^qv which ran southwest to northeast and crossed the river at the site of present La Grange, was the major route for travel during the Mexican period. The area was part of Stephen F. Austin's^qv first colony, but the earliest known white settlers, Aylett C. Buckner and Peter Powell,^qqv arrived earlier and lived on La Bahía Road west of La Grange, where they ran a trading post. Formal settlement began in 1822 with the arrival of the Austin colonists. From 1824 to 1828 ten members of the Old Three Hundred^qv received title to their land grants in the fertile Colorado River valley; William Rabb^qv received four leagues in order to build a mill. A total of ninety-two Mexican land grants were granted in the area that is now Fayette County. The earliest settlers gathered at Wood's Fort, Moore's Fort (La Grange), the James Ross home, and Jesse Burnam's^qv blockhouse, twelve miles below La Grange. Burnam's Ferry^qv on the Colorado River provided a cutoff route from La Bahía Road to San Felipe. Prior to Texas independence, the area above La Bahía Road was in the Mina Municipality^qv and the area below in the Municipality of Colorado. Gotier's Trace,^qv the Wilbarger Trace, and the La Grange-San Felipe road intersected La Bahía Road. Ferries were used to cross the Colorado River until the first bridge was built at La Grange by private subscription in 1883. On December 14, 1837, upon petition of the citizens, the Congress of the Republic of Texas^qv established the county of Fayette, named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette. La Grange, the name of the chateau to which Lafayette retired, was designated the county seat. The citizens organized the county government on January 18, 1838, and the southwestern boundary of the county was extended westward on May 3, 1838. The county lost territory in the south to Lavaca County in 1854 and in the north to Lee County in 1874.

More at Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/FF/hcf3.html (accessed November 5, 2008).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 960 square miles (2,486 km²), of which, 950 square miles (2,461 km²) of it is land and 10 square miles (25 km²) of it (1.02%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Lee County (north)
Washington County (northeast)
Austin County (east)
Colorado County (southeast)
Lavaca County (south)
Gonzales County (southwest)
Caldwell County (west)
Bastrop County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Carmine	city	Incorporated Area
- Fayetteville	city	Incorporated Area
- Flatonia	town	Incorporated Area
- La Grange (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Round Top	town	Incorporated Area
- Schulenburg	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

Online High Schools

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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