Falls County, Texas

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county

Falls County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 16,968.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Marlin.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> It is named for the original 10-foot-tall waterfall on the Brazos River, which existed until the river changed course during a storm in 1866. The present falls is two miles northeast of the original falls, at the Falls on the Brazos Park, a camping site only a few miles out of Marlin on Farm to Market Road 712.

Falls County is part of the Waco, Texas, metropolitan statistical area.

With a large portion of its economy based on agriculture,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Falls County is sixth among 254 Texas counties in corn production.<ref>Texas Farm Facts</ref>

History

Native Americans

The Brazos River valley served as hunting grounds for several tribes, including Wacos, Tawakonis, and Anadarkos. The Comanches were often a more aggressive band who forced other tribes off the land. The Tawakoni<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> branch of Wichita Indians originated north of Texas, but migrated south into East Texas. From 1843 onward, the Tawakoni were part of treaties made by both the Republic of Texas and the United States.

The Cherokees arrived in the early 1830s. Sam Houston, adopted son of Chief Oolooteka (John Jolly) of the Cherokee, negotiated the February 1836 treaty between Chief Bowl<ref name="Houston, Sam">Template:Cite webT he Sam Houston Memorial Museum</ref> of the Cherokees and the Republic of Texas.<ref name="Houston, Sam"/><ref>Template:Cite web R. Edward Moore and Texarch Associates</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

January 1839, Falls County had two brutal massacres by the Anadarkos, under chief José María,<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> at the homes of George Morgan and John Marlin.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A retaliatory offensive by settlers was ineffective, and forced the group into a retreat.

In 1846, several tribes negotiated a treaty<ref>Template:Cite web publisher=Oklahoma State University</ref><ref>Template:Cite web publisher=First People of America</ref> with the United States government.

Settlers

Empresarios Sterling C. Robertson and Robert Leftwich received a grant from the Coahuila y Tejas legislature to settle 800 families.<ref>Template:Cite web Wallace L. McKeehan</ref> By contracting how many families each grantee could settle, the government sought to have some control over colonization. Robertson began bringing American settlers to his Nashville colony (later called Robertson's Colony).<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> Most of the settlers came from Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi. He named the capital of the Nashville colony Sarahville de Viesca.<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> Fort Viesca was built in 1834, with a name change to Fort Milam in 1835.<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> The settlement was deserted during the Runaway Scrape<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> of 1836, and reoccupied after the Battle of San Jacinto.<ref>Template:Cite web Texas State Library and Archives Commission</ref>

County established and growth

The state legislature formed Falls County from Limestone and Milam Counties in 1850, and named it after the falls of the Brazos River.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Marlin became the county seat.

By the census of 1860<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the county had 1,716 slaves. Falls County voted in favor of secession from the Union. The county fared better during Reconstruction than most, perhaps due to its distance from areas subject to Union military occupation.

Marlin<ref>Template:Cite web Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC.</ref> began to be known for the healing powers of its hot mineral waters by the 1890s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Conrad Hilton built the Falls Hotel, with a tunnel to a mineral bath, to accommodate the business generated by the hot spring.

The Houston and Texas Central Railway<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> became the first railroad through the county around 1870. The Waco Division of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in 1886–1925, had multiple stops in Falls County. In 1902, the Missouri Pacific Railroad<ref>Template:Cite web Missouri Pacific Historical Society, Inc</ref> passed through the county.

A log cabin served as the county's first courthouse in the 1850s,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> until the second courthouse was built of white cedar. The second courthouse burned in 1870. A third courthouse was built in 1876, but was damaged by a storm in 1886.

A fourth courthouse was built in 1888, which by the 1930s had greatly deteriorated. The concrete, brick, and stone fifth and present-day courthouse, designed by architect Arthur E. Thomas,<ref>Template:Cite web Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC.</ref> was completed in 1939.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert are land and Template:Convert (1.1%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Limestone County (northeast)
Robertson County (southeast)
Milam County (south)
Bell County (southwest)
McLennan County (northwest)

Demographics

Template:US Census population

**Falls County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	10,364	9,381	8,707	55.79%	52.51%	51.31%
Black or African American alone (NH)	5,064	4,463	3,708	27.26%	24.98%	21.85%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	40	60	55	0.22%	0.34%	0.32%
Asian alone (NH)	20	46	51	0.11%	0.26%	0.30%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	4	10	8	0.02%	0.06%	0.05%
Other Race alone (NH)	17	24	42	0.09%	0.13%	0.25%
Mixed Race or Multiracial (NH)	126	166	432	0.68%	0.93%	2.55%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	2,941	3,716	3,965	15.83%	20.80%	23.37%
Total	18,576	17,866	16,968	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, 18,576 people, 6,496 households, and 4,410 families resided in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 7,658 housing units averaged Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 61.50% White, 27.45% Black or African American, 0.50% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 8.81% from other races, and 1.59% from two or more races. About 15.83% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 6,496 households, 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.20% were married couples living together, 15.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were not families. About 29.40% of all households was made up of individuals, and 15.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county, the population was distributed as 27.60% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 16.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,589, and for a family was $32,666. Males had a median income of $27,042 versus $20,128 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,311. About 18.80% of families and 22.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.70% of those under age 18 and 18.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the Marlin Unit, a transfer facility for men, in the city of Marlin. The unit opened in June 1992 and was transferred to the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) in May 1995.<ref name="TDCJMarlin">"Marlin Unit Template:Webarchive." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on September 22, 2010.</ref> When it was a part of TYC, the facility, then called the Marlin Orientation and Assessment Unit,<ref>"Facility Address List." Texas Youth Commission. November 10, 2001. Retrieved on June 24, 2010.</ref> served as the place of orientation for minors of both sexes being committed into the TYC's care, from the facility's opening in 1995 to its transfer out of TYC in 2007.<ref>"How Offenders Move Through TYC." Texas Youth Commission. November 10, 2001. Retrieved on June 24, 2010.</ref>

In September 2007, the facility was transferred back to the TDCJ.<ref name="TDCJMarlin"/> The TDCJ also operates the William P. Hobby Unit, a prison for women located southwest of Marlin in unincorporated Falls County.<ref>"Hobby Unit Template:Webarchive." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on September 22, 2010.</ref>

Politics

Communities

Cities and towns

Bruceville-Eddy (mostly in McLennan County)
Golinda (small part in McLennan County)
Lott
Marlin (county seat)
Rosebud

Census-designated place

Chilton

Unincorporated communities

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In popular culture

Marlin has been a filming location for two movies: Leadbelly (1976) and Infamous (2006).

In 2013, a ranch in northeast Falls County near Mart, Texas, was the site of the series premiere of Treehouse Masters, in which a couple had a $200,000 treehouse built on their property.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>