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Brown County, Texas facts for kids

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Brown County
U.S. county
The Brown County Courthouse in Brownwood
The Brown County Courthouse in Brownwood
Map of Texas highlighting Brown County
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Map of the United States highlighting Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  Texas
Founded 1858
Named for Henry Stevenson Brown
Seat Brownwood
Largest city Brownwood
Area
 • Total 957 sq mi (2,480 km2)
 • Land 944 sq mi (2,440 km2)
 • Water 13 sq mi (30 km2)  1.3%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 38,095
 • Density 39.807/sq mi (15.369/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district 11th

Brown County is a county in west-central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,095. Its county seat is Brownwood. The county was founded in 1856 and organized in 1858. It is named for Henry Stevenson Brown, a commander at the Battle of Velasco, an early conflict between Texians and Mexicans.

The Brownwood, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Brown County.

History

  • Among first inhabitants were the Penteka.
  • 1721 The Marqués de San Miguel de Aguayo expedition is said to have passed through the county.
  • 1838 Land surveys are made of the area.
  • 1856 Mississippi transplant Welcome W. Chandler becomes the first settler, arriving with his family, John H. Fowler, and seven slaves. They built a log cabin on Pecan Bayou. The county is formed from Comanche and Travis. It is named after pioneer from Kentucky, Henry Stevenson Brown.
  • 1858 The county is organized. Brownwood is the county seat.
  • 1874 John Wesley Hardin and gang celebrate his 21st birthday in Brown and Comanche Counties. Deputy Charles Webb draws his gun, provoking a gunfight that ends Webb’s life. A lynch mob is formed, but Hardin and his family are put into protective custody. The mob breaks into the jail and hangs his brother Joe and two cousins. Hardin flees.
  • 1875 The Fort Worth-Brownwood stage is robbed five times in two months.
  • 1879 Oil is discovered on the H. M. Barnes farm near Grosvenor.
  • 1886 Texas Rangers kill two fence cutters in the ongoing battle between farmers and ranchers over fencing open range.
  • 1890 Cotton becomes the county’s important crop.Pulitzer Prize author Katherine Ann Porter is born at Indian Creek.
  • 1889 Howard Payne College and Daniel Baker College are established in Brownwood.
  • 1892 The Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway is built to the county.
  • 1895 The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway built into Brownwood.
  • 1903 The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe line extends the line to Menard. The county votes itself a dry county. Alcohol would not become legal again until the 1950s.
  • 1909 The boll weevil moves into the county, destroying the cotton economy.
  • 1917 First commercial production of oil comes from the efforts of Jack Pippen at Brownwood.
  • 1919 The first large field begins producing from a depth of 1,100 feet (340 m) in 1919 near Cross Cut.
  • 1926 An oil boom follows the success of the White well on Jim Ned Creek; some 600 wells are drilled in several fields in the county during this time.
  • 1938 Lake Brownwood State Park opens to the public.
  • 1940 Work begins on Camp Bowie .
  • 1943 The first German prisoners of war arrive; many are members of Erwin Rommel's Afrika Corps.
  • 1953 Howard Payne College and Daniel Baker College combine under the name Howard Payne College.
  • 1991 More than 50,561,000 barrels (8,038,600 m3) of oil had been taken from Brown County lands since 1917.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 957 square miles (2,480 km2), of which 944 square miles (2,440 km2) is land and 13 square miles (34 km2) (1.3%) is water.

Major highways

  • US 67.svg U.S. Highway 67
  • US 84.svg U.S. Highway 84
  • US 183.svg U.S. Highway 183
  • US 377.svg U.S. Highway 377
  • Texas 279.svg State Highway 279
  • Texas FM 45.svg Farm to Market Road 45

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1860 244 —
1870 544 123.0%
1880 8,414 1,446.7%
1890 11,421 35.7%
1900 16,019 40.3%
1910 22,935 43.2%
1920 21,682 −5.5%
1930 26,382 21.7%
1940 25,924 −1.7%
1950 28,607 10.3%
1960 24,728 −13.6%
1970 25,877 4.6%
1980 33,057 27.7%
1990 34,371 4.0%
2000 37,674 9.6%
2010 38,106 1.1%
2020 38,095 0.0%
U.S. Decennial Census
1850–2010 2010 2020

2020 census

Brown County, Texas - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Race / Ethnicity Pop 2010 Pop 2020 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 28,478 26,672 74.73% 70.01%
Black or African American alone (NH) 1,303 1,353 3.42% 3.55%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 170 134 0.45% 0.35%
Asian alone (NH) 160 269 0.42% 0.71%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 14 27 0.04% 0.07%
Some Other Race alone (NH) 36 96 0.09% 0.25%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH) 492 1,333 1.29% 3.50%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 7,453 8,211 15.95% 21.55%
Total 38,106 38,095 100.00% 100.00%

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

Communities

Cities

Town

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Brown (Texas) para niños

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