Real County, Texas

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

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Julius Real, a rancher and legislator who was the only Republican in the state senate when the county was formed

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Real County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat is Leakey.

In 1883 Edwards County, which included part of the area of present-day Real County, was organized. Bullhead served as the Edwards county seat from September of that year until 1884, when voters moved the seat to Leakey. The government of Edwards County remained at Leakey until April of 1891, when it was moved to Rocksprings after a disputed election. After Rocksprings was declared winner of the election, the results were contested by residents of Leakey (who themselves were accused of ballot-box stuffing). Judge Hunter, a local magistrate, organized a group of men, crossed the divide, and moved the county records from Leakey to Rocksprings during the night. Social activities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century included house parties, picnics and barbecues, baseball games, and religious services. Though ranching has always dominated the local economy, crop farming was of some importance until the early twentieth century. In the late nineteenth century cotton, corn, oats, tobacco, and wheat were grown in the Frio Canyon. Also in Frio Canyon lumber was produced from indigenous cypress trees, which were cut and processed at water-powered mills. Freighting products and materials in and out of the canyons was another important early economic activity. After 1910, however, crop farming declined in the area, partly because of a boll weevil^qv infestation, and ranching emerged as the predominant enterprise. The raising and breeding of angora goats for mohair became particularly important to the local economy; by the early 1910s, when Real County was established, there were more angora goats in the area than in any other county in Texas. In the spring of 1913 the Texas state legislature established Real County from parts of Edwards, Bandera, and Kerr counties. The action was prompted by the isolation of the area and the difficulties residents experienced traveling long distances over bad roads to Rocksprings or Bandera (the seats of Edwards and Bandera counties, respectively) to conduct business. Leakey was elected county seat. In 1920 the United States Census counted 1,461 people living in Real County; 260 farms and ranches, encompassing 360,000 acres, had been established in the area by that time. The economy of the county centered on ranching. Over 103,000 goats, 18,300 sheep, and 6,000 cattle were reported in Real County that year, while only 2,800 acres were devoted to corn and 1,200 acres to sorghum, the county's most important crops; another 174 acres were planted in cotton

More at Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/RR/hcr4.html (accessed November 8, 2008).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 700 square miles (1,813 km²), of which, 700 square miles (1,813 km²) of it is land and 0 square miles (0 km²) of it (0.02%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

• Edwards County (north & west)
• Kerr County (northeast)
• Bandera County (east)
• Uvalde County (south)

Cities and Towns:

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here