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Texas Counties
Texas is divided into two hundred and fifty-four counties, more than any other 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 1931Hays County, Texas
Hays County Education, Geography, and History
Hays County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the state of Texas. Based on the 2010 census, its official population had reached
157,107. The county seat is San Marcos. The county is named for John Coffee Hays, a Texas Ranger and Mexican-American War officer.
Hays County is part of the Austin-Round Rock, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Etymology - Origin of Hays County Name
John Coffee Hays, a leading Texas Ranger and Mexican-American War officer
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Hays County History
Hays County is a county located in the US state of Texas. It is named for John Coffee Hays, a Texas Ranger and Mexican-American War officer. The seat of the county is San Marcos
Handbook of Texas Online
On March 1, 1848, the state legislature formed Hays County from territory formerly part of Travis County. William
W. Moon, Eli T. Merriman,q and Mike Sessom, original settlers and members of
John Coffee Hays's company of Texas Rangers,
worked with Gen. Edward Burleson, a member of the Texas Senate, to have the new
county named for Hays. County organization and the designation of San Marcos as county seat gave impetus to
settlement; the population grew from 387 in 1850 to 2,126 in 1860. The county shrank slightly on February 12, 1858,
when it lost acreage to the new Blanco County and gained a portion of Comal County. On January 10, 1862, the
legislature again transferred another small area to Blanco County. Boundaries remained stable for nearly a century,
until resurvey of the Hays-Travis More at
Paul F. Cecil and Daniel P. Greene, "HAYS COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hch11),
accessed January 24, 2016. Uploaded on August 7, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Geography: Land and Water
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 680 square miles (1,761 km2), of which, 678
square miles (1,756 km2) of it is land and 2 square miles (5 km2) of it (0.28%) is water.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- Travis County (northeast)
- Caldwell County (southeast)
- Guadalupe County (south)
- Comal County (southwest)
- Blanco County (northwest)
Education
School districts in Hays county include the San Marcos Consolidated, Dripping Springs Independent, Wimberley Independent, and Hays
Consolidated schools. As of 2009, three high schools, five middle schools, and 11 elementary schools are in the county.
Higher education in Hays County includes one four-year institution, Texas State University, in San Marcos. Three Distance Learning Centers are
operated by Austin Community College. These centers offer basic and Early College Start classes, along with testing centers for online
classes.
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