Burnet County ( ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located on the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region forming the crossroads of Central, South and West Texas, United States. It is named in honor of Haden Edwards. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east; the Llano Uplift and the Lla ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 49,130. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Burnet. The 2024 county population estimate was 55,722. The county was founded in 1852 and later organized in 1854. It is named for David Gouverneur Burnet, the first (provisional) president of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

. The name of the county is pronounced with the emphasis or accent on the first syllable, just as is the case with its namesake.

History

Indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

inhabited the area as early as 4500 BC. Later known tribes in the area include

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct language, extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Tonkawa ...

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan languages, Southern Athabaskan Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people, who have lived in the Oasisamerica, Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European ...

, and

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

. During the 1820s-1830s, Stephen F. Austin and Green DeWitt conducted surveying and Indian-fighting explorations. In 1849, the United States established Fort Croghan, and in 1848, the first settlers arrived in the county, Samuel Eli Holland, Logan Vandeveer, Peter Kerr, William Harrison Magill, Noah Smithwick, Captain Jesse B. Burnham, R. H. Hall, Adam Rankin "Stovepipe" Johnson, and Captain Christian Dorbandt. In 1851, 20

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

families under the leadership of

Lyman Wight Lyman Wight (May 9, 1796 – March 31, 1858) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the leader of the Latter Day Saints in Daviess County, Missouri, in 1838. In 1841, he was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apo ...

establish a colony at Hamilton Creek, later to be known as Morman Mill. In 1852, the Fourth Texas Legislature created Burnet County from

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

, Travis, and Williamson Counties. The first post office was established at Hamilton in 1853. In 1860, 235 slaves were in Burnet County. After the war, some former slaves left the county, but many stayed. A group of them settled on land in the eastern part of Oatmeal. In 1870, the black population of the county had increased to 358, keeping pace with the growth of the total number of residents; the number of blacks had fallen to 248 by 1880, however, and the number of new white residents was such that after 1890, blacks represented less than 3% of the total population. Some found work on farms and ranches, but by the turn of the century, many had moved into the Marble Falls area to work in town. During 1882–1903, railroad tracks connected Burnet, Granite Mountain, Marble Falls, and

Lampasas Lampasas ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lampasas County, Texas, United States. Its population was 7,291 at the 2020 census. Lampasas is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan statistical area. History For his ...

. Lake Victor and Bertram became shipping-point communities. Other communities lost population as the railroad offered employment. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, county farmers suffered financially, but found work with government-sponsored public-works projects. The Lower Colorado River Authority employed hundreds of people for the construction of the Hamilton (Buchanan) Dam and Roy B. Inks Dam.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which (2.6%) are covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 183 * U.S. Highway 281 * State Highway 29

Adjacent counties

* Lampasas County (north) * Bell County (northeast) * Williamson County (east) * Travis County (southeast) * Blanco County (south) * Llano County (west) * San Saba County (northwest)

National protected area

Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge Balcones Canyonlands is a national wildlife refuge located in the Texas Hill Country to the northwest of Lago Vista, Texas. The refuge was formed in 1992 to conserve habitat for two endangered songbirds, the golden-cheeked warbler (''Setoph ...

(part)

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, 49,130 people and 16,743 households resided in the county. (The remaining data that follow in this section are outdated. The Census 2020 data for the following demographics have not yet been released.) The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . The 15,933 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 89.64% White, 1.52% African American, 0.68% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 6.30% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. About 14.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 16,743 households, 30.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.50% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were not families. About 22.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53, and the average family size was 2.94. In the county, the age distribution was 24.50% under 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,921, and for a family was $43,871. Males had a median income of $30,255 versus $20,908 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $18,850. About 7.90% of families and 10.90% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 14.50% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Bertram * Burnet (county seat) * Cottonwood Shores * Double Horn * Granite Shoals * Highland Haven * Horseshoe Bay (mostly in Llano County) * Marble Falls * Meadowlakes

Unincorporated communities

* Fairland * Joppa * Lake Victor * Mahomet * Naruna * Oakalla *

Oatmeal Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been dehusked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains ( groats) that have either been milled (ground), rolled, or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel- ...

* Sherwood Shores * Shovel Mountain * Silver Creek Village * Smithwick *

Spicewood Spicewood is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Travis County, Texas, Travis County and partially in Burnet County, Texas, Burnet County, Texas, United States. According to the Texas Almanac, the community had an est ...

* Watson

Notable people

* Adam R. "Stovepipe" Johnson, Confederate general; the 1887 founder of Marble Falls, despite being blinded during the war * Gerald Lyda (1923–2005), general contractor and cattle rancher, born and raised in Burnet County * Stephen McGee (born September 27, 1985), former American football quarterback, played college football for Texas A&M drafted and played NFL football for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

* James Oakley, former County Commissioner (1998–2005) and County Judge (2015–present) * Logan Vandeveer, early Texas soldier, ranger, cattleman and civic leader; a leader in presenting the petition to the legislature in 1852 to establish Burnet County and was instrumental in having the town of Burnet named the county seat * Al Witcher (born 1936), American football player

Politics

References

External links

Burnet County government’s website

Burnet County tourism office
*
Burnet County TXGenWeb Project

Burnet Bulletin newspaper

The Highlander newspaper
{{coord, 30.78, -98.18, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1854 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1854 Texas Hill Country