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Texas Counties

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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

Taylor County, Texas

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

County Seat: Abilene
Year Organized: 1858
Square Miles: 916

Court House:

300 Oak Street
County Courthouse
Abilene, TX 79602-1581

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Edward Taylor, George Taylor, and James Taylor, three brothers who died at the Alamo

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Taylor County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Is county seat is Abilene, Texas. Taylor is named for Edward Taylor, George Taylor, and James Taylor, three brothers who died at the Battle of the Alamo.

Comanches of the Penateka band led the advance into the region in the eighteenth century. In 1858 the Texas legislature established Taylor County, named for Alamo defenders Edward, James, and George Taylor,^qv from lands formerly assigned to Bexar and Travis counties. Taylor County was attached to Travis and Bexar counties for judicial and administrative purposes until 1873, when these responsibilities were assigned to Eastland County. Partly due to the presence of Indians, the area remained largely unsettled. The Penatekas maintained their independence until the 1870s, when, after much bloodshed, they were defeated by the United States Army. The earliest group of European settlers in Taylor County were buffalo^qv hunters and bone gatherers, who arrived during the 1870s. Sam Gholson, William C. Dunn, and William E. Cureton were among the early settlers. As more people moved into the area, the county was organized in 1878, and Buffalo Gap, a small settlement near the center of the county, became the seat of government. By 1880 there were 917 people living in the area, and ranching completely dominated the local economy. The agricultural census for that year counted 107 farms and ranches, encompassing 30,213 acres, but only 3,099 acres were described as "improved." Over 30,000 cattle and almost 6,000 sheep were reported, but only 157 acres were planted in wheat, the county's most important crop at that time; another 73 acres were planted in corn. Settlement accelerated when the Texas and Pacific Railway built through the area in the early 1880s. Buffalo Gap was bypassed by the railroad, which was routed instead to pass through the northern part of the county to the site of a new town, to be called Abilene. In 1881 the railroad connected the area to national markets and encouraged immigration. While Abilene began to develop into a shipping center, Buffalo Gap declined in population, and, after an election held in 1883, Abilene became the county seat. Attempts by the people of Buffalo Gap to challenge the election results by force of arms were quickly suppressed.

More at Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/hct2.html (accessed November 9, 2008).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 919 square miles (2,381 km²), of which, 916 square miles (2,371 km²) of it is land and 4 square miles (9 km²) of it (0.39%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Jones County (north)
Callahan County (east)
Coleman County (southeast)
Runnels County (south)
Nolan County (west)

Cities and Towns:

- Abilene (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Buffalo Gap	town	Incorporated Area
- Impact	town	Incorporated Area
- Lawn	town	Incorporated Area
- Merkel	town	Incorporated Area
- Trent	town	Incorporated Area
- Tuscola	city	Incorporated Area
- Tye	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this 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."