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Brown County, Texas

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Brown County is a county in west-central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,095.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Brownwood.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was founded in 1856 and organized in 1858.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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

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Indigenous peoples lived here for thousands of years before Europeans entered the area. The historic inhabitants were the Penteka (also known to the Europeans as Comanche), who occupied this area at the time of European colonization.<ref name="Brown County, Texas">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1721, the Marqués de San Miguel de Aguayo expedition is said to have passed through the county.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1838, land surveys were made of the area.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/> In 1856, Welcome W. Chandler from Mississippi became the first settler, arriving with his family, John H. Fowler, and seven slaves. They built a log cabin on Pecan Bayou. The county was formed from Comanche and Travis Counties. It is named after Henry Stevenson Brown, an American pioneer from Kentucky.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/><ref name="Along the Texas Forts Trail ">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1858, the county was formally organized.<ref name="Along the Texas Forts Trail "/> Brownwood was designated as the county seat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1874, John Wesley Hardin and gang celebrated his 21st birthday in Brown and Comanche Counties. Deputy Charles Webb drew his gun, provoking a gunfight that ended Webb's life. A lynch mob was formed, but Hardin and his family were put into protective custody. The mob broke into the jail and hanged his brother Joe and two cousins. Hardin fled.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Fort Worth-Brownwood stage was robbed five times in two months of 1875.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/> Oil was discovered on the H. M. Barnes farm near Grosvenor in 1879.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/> Texas Rangers killed two fence cutters in 1886, in the ongoing battle between farmers and ranchers over fencing open range.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/> By the next year, cotton had become the county's most important crop.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/> Pulitzer-Prize winner Katherine Ann Porter was born in 1890 at Indian Creek.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway was built to the county in 1892.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway was built into Brownwood in 1895.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/> In 1903, the GC&SF extended the line to Menard.

Also in 1903, the county voted itself a dry county. Alcohol did not become legal again until the 1950s.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/>

In 1909, the boll weevil moved into the county, destroying the cotton economy.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/> The first commercial production of oil came from the efforts of Jack Pippen at Brownwood in 1917.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/> The first large field began producing from a depth of Template:Convert in 1919 near Cross Cut.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/> In 1926, an oil boom followed the success of the White well on Jim Ned Creek; some 600 wells were drilled in several fields in the county during this time.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/> By 1991, more than Template:Convert of oil had been taken from Brown County lands since 1917.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/>

In 1940, work began on Camp Bowie.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The first German prisoners of war arrived in 1943; many had been members of Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1889, Howard Payne College<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Daniel Baker College<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> were established in Brownwood. They combined under the name Howard Payne College in 1953.<ref name="Brown County, Texas"/>

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (1.3%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

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Demographics

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Template:US Census population

Brown County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
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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) 29,772 28,478 26,672 79.03% 74.73% 70.01%
Black or African American alone (NH) 1,473 1,303 1,353 3.91% 3.42% 3.55%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 141 170 134 0.37% 0.45% 0.35%
Asian alone (NH) 129 160 269 0.34% 0.42% 0.71%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 2 14 27 0.01% 0.04% 0.07%
Other Race alone (NH) 13 36 96 0.03% 0.09% 0.25%
Mixed Race or Multiracial (NH) 351 492 1,333 0.93% 1.29% 3.50%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 5,793 7,453 8,211 15.38% 15.95% 21.55%
Total 37,674 38,106 38,095 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, 37,674 people, 14,306 households, and 10,014 families resided in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 17,889 housing units averaged Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 87.35% White, 4.01% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 6.08% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races. About 15.38% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 14,306 households in the county, 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.90% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.00% were not families. About 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was distributed as 25.80% under the age of 18, 10.10% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100, there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,974, and for a family was $37,725. Males had a median income of $30,169 versus $19,647 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,624. About 14.00% of families and 17.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.70% of those under age 18 and 12.10% of those age 65 or over.

Media

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The Brownwood Bulletin is the local daily newspaper, an American Consolidated Media company that also serves media online through its website. Brown County is part of the Abilene/Sweetwater/Brownwood television media market. Area television stations include KRBC-TV, KTXS-TV, KXVA, KTAB-TV, and KIDU-LD.

Communities

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Cities

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Town

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Census-designated places

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Unincorporated communities

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Ghost towns

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Politics

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Brown County is a strongly Republican county. The last time it voted Democratic was Jimmy Carter in 1976. Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot Template:U.S. SenHead Template:U.S. SenRow Template:U.S. SenFoot

Education

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School districts include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

The community college for the county is Ranger Junior College District, according to the Texas Education Code.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

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References

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Template:Geographic location Template:Brown County, Texas Template:Texas counties Template:Texas Template:Authority control Template:Coord