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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 1931Stephens County, Texas
Stephens County Education, Geography, and History
Stephens County is a county located in the state of Texas. Based on the 2010 census, its population was 9,630. Its county seat is Breckenridge. The county was created in 1858 and organized in 1876. It was originally named Buchanan County, after US President James Buchanan, but was renamed in 1861 for Alexander H. Stephens, the vice president of the Confederate States of America.
Etymology - Origin of Stephens County Name
Alexander Hamilton Stephens, the only vice-president of the Confederate States of America
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Stephens County History
Stephens County is a county located in the US state of Texas. Its county seat is Breckenridge. The county was originally named Buchanan County, after US President James Buchanan, but was renamed in 1861 for Alexander H. Stephens, the vice president of the Confederate States of America.
Handbook of Texas Online
Comanches and Tonkawas occupied what is now Stephens County before Anglo settlement began in the late 1850s. John R.
Baylor, probably the first white settler in the area, built a cabin on the Clear
Fork in 1857, and others soon followed. The Texas legislature established Stephens County in 1858 from lands
formerly assigned to Bosque County. By 1860 there were 198 people living in the area; the United States census did
not report any slaves living in the county at that time. In 1861, after Texas had left the Union, the small town of
Picketville was designated the temporary county seat, and the county was renamed to honor the vice president of the
Confederacy. During the Civil War about 100 local residents lived together for
protection at Fort Davis, a "citizens' fort" in the area; a school was established at the place. A salt works was
operated on Big Caddo Creek at this time. County tax rolls reveal that there were thirty-three slaves in the county
in 1864, near the end of the war, possibly brought there by slaveholders who moved to the area during the conflict.
Though the Tonkawa Indians were friendly, early settlers were in constant danger of attacks by the Comanches and
Kiowas who roamed the area. Samuel P. Newcomb, a pioneer schoolteacher, wrote
sadly in 1865, "My pen is incapable of doing justice in recording the horrible depredations committed on this
frontier by the barbaric, uncivilized savages." The last large Comanche and Kiowa raids on the Clear Fork took place
in 1871, although a few settlers lost their lives to raiders as late as 1873. After Indian removal settlers were
free to deal with what Newcomb called the county's "disagreeable peculiarities," which included "sand storms in
spring, northers in winter, traveling grasshoppers in the fall, and long, severe, and parching droughts in the
summer and all other seasons of the year." The agricultural census for 1870 reported twenty-four farms and ranches
in Stephens County. Though settlers grew some corn and vegetables for their own consumption, the economy of the area
at that time revolved almost entirely around ranching; while only about 600
bushels of corn were produced in the county that year, more than 43,000 cattle were reported. There were only 300
people living in the county in 1870, and as late as 1875 ranchers were still traveling 200 miles to Tarrant County
for flour and other necessities. The county was organized in 1876, and Breckenridge became the seat of government More at
John Leffler, "STEPHENS COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcs14),
accessed January 24, 2016. Uploaded on June 15, 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 921 square miles (2,387 km2), of which, 895
square miles (2,317 km2) of it is land and 26 square miles (70 km2) of it (2.91%) is water.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- Young County (north)
- Palo Pinto County (east)
- Eastland County (south)
- Shackelford County (west)
- Throckmorton County (northwest)
Education
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