Erath 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 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 ...

. According to the United States Census bureau its population was 42,545 in 2020. The

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 Stephenville. The county is named for

George Bernard Erath George Bernard Erath (January 1, 1813 – May 13, 1891) served in both the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate. Biography Born in Vienna, Austria, he was a Texas pioneer and soldier who fought in the Texas Revolution, subsequently ...

, an early surveyor and a soldier at the

Battle of San Jacinto The Battle of San Jacinto (), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Deer Park, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged and defeated General A ...

. Erath County is included in the Stephenville, Texas, Micropolitan Statistical Area. Erath County is the location of two of North America's largest

renewable natural gas Renewable natural gas (RNG), also known as biomethane, is a renewable fuel made from biogas that has been upgraded to a quality similar to fossil natural gas and has a methane concentration of 90% or greater. By removing carbon dioxide and other ...

plants. The largest is at Huckabay Ridge, near Stephenville. The second largest is located outside

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

at Rio Leche Estates.

History

Native Americans

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...

tribe Anadarko villages were scattered along the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

and

Brazos The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

Rivers.

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

explorer

Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe (4 February 1683 in Saint-Malo – 26 September 1765) was a French explorer who is credited with using the name "Little Rock" in 1722 for a stone outcropping on the bank of the Arkansas River used by early travele ...

developed camaraderie among the Anadarko in 1719 when he established Fort Saint Louis de los Cadodaquious. The Anadarko became entangled with the French battles with the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and later the Anglos and suffered the consequences, including diseases from which they had no immunity. By 1860, these tribes moved to

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. Erath County falls into

Comancheria The Comancheria (Comanche: Nʉmʉnʉʉ Sookobitʉ, 'Comanche land'; Spanish: ''Comanchería''), also known as the Comancherian Empire, was a historic region covering modern New Mexico, West Texas, and nearby areas that was occupied by the Comanch ...

and found itself raided by Comanches until their removal to Oklahoma after 1875.

County established and growth

Erath County was formed from

Bosque A bosque ( ) is a type of gallery forest habitat found along the riparian flood plains of streams, river banks, and lakes. It derives its name from the Spanish word for "forest", pronounced . Setting In the predominantly arid or semiari ...

and Coryell counties in 1856 and named for George Bernard Erath, one of the original surveyors of the area. In 1856, John M. Stephen offered to donate land for a townsite. It was named Stephenville after him and became the county seat. Jones Barbee founded the community of

in 1854. His children were the first citizens to be buried in Erath County in the community of Edna Hill, which is located in Southern Erath. Barbee Cemetery is named after him. Jones traveled with his wife and children across the country coming from North Carolina. He is the grandson of Christopher "Old Kit" Barbee who was the largest wealthiest landowner in North Carolina. He was the largest land donor for the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. Barbee served as board president; a bronze statue of him is in the university. Jones had many children who went on to populate the county with names still enduring today such as Barbee, White, Durham, and Brambeletts. Some of his great-grandchildren still reside in the community. His great-great-great-granddaughter, Carolina, lives on his land today in Edna Hill and is the 6th generation to continually live on his old homestead. Her children are the 7th generation to do so. The families of other early settlers still endure there today. Dublin later became famous as the early boyhood home of the PGA, U.S. Open and Masters golf champion

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory, hi ...

. In 1857, thirty pioneers settled in the county led by surveyors George Erath (1813–1891). The group included brothers William F. and John M. Stephen and a black family whose name and destiny is unknown. Erath, an immigrant from

Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, was a Texas Ranger and member of Billingsley's Company C, 1st Regiment of Texas Volunteers, under the command of Col. Charles Burleson at the

, and a member of the

Confederate Home Guard The Home Guard of the several states of the Confederacy during the American Civil War included all able-bodied white males between the ages of 18 and 50 who were exempt from Confederate service, excepting only the governor and other officials. ...

. As a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, he was a charter member and secretary of Bosque Lodge #92, from 1852 to 1855which changed its name to Waco #92 in 1857 and remains the oldest continuous organization in Waco, Texas. Cotton became the major crop between 1875 and 1915, with the largest crop being in 1906. The industry was helped in 1879 when the Texas Central Railroad reached Dublin, and in 1889 when the Fort Worth and Rio Grande railroad was completed through Stephenville. This opened eastern markets for the county's cotton crops. By 1910, soil erosion and the

boll weevil The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') is a species of beetle in the family Curculionidae. The boll weevil feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19 ...

caused diversity planning that led to dairy farms, fruit orchards, nurseries, peanuts, feed crops and poultry. The community of Thurber was created by the Johnson Coal Company. From 1888 to 1921, the Texas Pacific Coal Company mined coal near Thurber, making it a leading coal producer in the state. Fifty-two percent of the miners were of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

ancestry, creating the "Italian Hill" community just outside Thurber. The

United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American Labor history of the United States, labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing work ...

in 1903 sent Joe Fenoglio to organize the Italian workers, thus beginning the Thurber Coal Miners Strike. In the 1970s, the area began

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the coal seam, ...

production for fuel in the cement industry.

Tarleton State University Tarleton State University is a Public university, public research university in Stephenville, Texas, United States. It is a founding member of the Texas A&M University System and enrolled over 15,000 students in the fall of 2022. It is Carnegie C ...

was founded in 1893 as Stephenville College but was renamed in 1899 after the local rancher John Tarleton rescued the institution from financial difficulties. On November 4, 2008, Erath County voters elected to allow the sale of beer and wine in the county for off-premises consumption.

Courthouse

Erath's original 1866 wooden courthouse burned to the ground, destroying county documents along with it. A second stone courthouse was built in 1877 but eventually razed. The cornerstone for the current courthouse was laid in 1891. The architects

James Riely Gordon James Riely Gordon (August 2, 1863 – March 16, 1937) was an architect who practiced in San Antonio until 1902 and then in New York City, where he gained national recognition. He is best known for his landmark county courthouses, in particular t ...

and D. E. Laub designed the present three-story showcase Victorian structure. In addition to Erath, Gordon designed the

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

State Capitol, and courthouses in Aransas, Bexar, Brazoria,

Comal Comal may refer to: * COMAL, a computer programming language * Comal (cookware), a type of griddle Places * Comal River (Indonesia) * Comal County, Texas, U.S. * Comal River, Texas, U.S. * Comal Springs (Texas), U.S. See also

* {{disa ...

Ellis Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. It has also been noted to be a Jewish surname. People with the surname include ...

, Fayette,

Gonzales Gonzales may refer to: Places * Gonzales, California, U.S. * Gonzales, Louisiana, U.S. * Gonzales, Texas, U.S. * Gonzales County, Texas Other uses * Battle of Gonzales, 1835 * Gonzales (horse) (1977 – after 1996), an American-bred Thoroughbr ...

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places Australia * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin Canada * Inukjuak, Quebec, or "Port H ...

Hopkins Hopkins is an English and Welsh patronymic surname derived from the personal name Hopkin and the genitive ending -''s''. Hopkin is itself a pet form of the name Hobb, a shortening of Robert (with alteration of the initial consonant). Notable peop ...

Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

, McLennan,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and Wise counties. The building was completed in 1893, with limestone from the

Leon River The Leon River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. It has three primary forks - the North, Middle, and South Leon Rivers, which meet near Eastland and then run for around until it meets with the Lampasas River and the Salado Creek to f ...

and red sandstone from

Pecos County Pecos County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 15,193. The county seat is Fort Stockton. The county was created in 1871 and organized in 1875.. By Glenn Justice and John Leffler. Re ...

. The building's centralized 95-foot tower has a bell tower and creates a chandeliered atrium from the first floor to the third. The interior is east Texas pine, with cast and wrought-iron stairways, and

tessellated A tessellation or tiling is the covering of a surface, often a plane, using one or more geometric shapes, called ''tiles'', with no overlaps and no gaps. In mathematics, tessellation can be generalized to higher dimensions and a variety of g ...

imported marble floors. It was renovated in 1988.

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 is land and (0.6%) is water.

Major highways

Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Reeves County, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. B ...

* U.S. Highway 67 * U.S. Highway 281 * U.S. Highway 377 * State Highway 6 * State Highway 108

Adjacent counties

Palo Pinto County Palo Pinto County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 28,409. The county seat is Palo Pinto, Texas, Palo Pinto. The county was created in 1 ...

(north) * Hood County (northeast) * Somervell County (east) *

Bosque County Bosque County ( ) is a county located in the greater Waco area. The county sits just northwest of Waco in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,235. Its county seat is Meridian, while Clifton is the largest c ...

(southeast) * Hamilton County (south) *

Comanche County Comanche County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Comanche County, Kansas * Comanche County, Oklahoma * Comanche County, Texas Comanche County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. As of the 2020 ...

(southwest) * Eastland County (west)

Demographics

At the 2010

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 ...

, there were 37,890 people, 14,569 households and 9,003 families residing in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 85.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.2%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.8% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.0003%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 10% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. 19.2% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 14,569 households, of which 29.59% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.03% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present and 38.2% were non-families. 27% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.06. 22.29% of the population were under the age of 18, 19.40% from 18 to 24, 23.10% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.5 years. For every 100 females there were 96.50 males.

Communities

Cities

* Stephenville (county seat)

Census-designated places

* Bluff Dale * Huckaby * Lingleville

Unincorporated communities

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

* Chalk Mountain * Clairette * Edna Hill *

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

* Morgan Mill * Oak Dale * Purves * Selden *

Three Way ''Three Way'' is a 2004 neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Scott Ziehl and starring Dominic Purcell, Joy Bryant, Ali Larter, Desmond Harrington, Dwight Yoakam and Gina Gershon. The plot, based on Gil Brewer's pulp novel ''Wild To Possess'', ...

* Thurber * Johnsville

Ghost town

* Duffau

Politics

At the presidential level, Erath County is predominantly Republican. In 2012,

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

won the county in the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

, taking over 80% of the vote. The last Democrat to win the county was

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, in 1976 and 1980.

Media

Two newspapers have offices located in Erath County: ''The Stephenville Empire-Tribune'' and ''The Dublin Citizen''. Local television stations that provide coverage for Erath County and surrounding areas come from the

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

and

Waco Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 population of 146,608, making i ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

/ Killeen metropolitan areas. Five radio stations have their main studios and offices in Erath County: KEQX 89.5, KTRL 90.5,

KSTV-FM KSTV-FM (93.1 FM, ''The Mighty 93'') is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Dublin, Texas, United States, the station serves the Stephenville and Cross Timbers area. The station is currently owned by Robert Elliot ...

93.1,

KXTR-LP KXTR-LP (100.7 FM) is a noncommercial college radio station licensed to Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. KXTR-LP broadcasts to the city of Stephenville and the surrounding area, covering more than half of Erath County. Rock mus ...

100.7 and KSTV (AM) 1510. KTRL and KXTR-LP are operated by

In popular culture

Several scenes in the

Paul Greengrass Paul Greengrass (born 13 August 1955) is an English film director, film producer, screenwriter and former journalist. One of his early films, '' Bloody Sunday'' (2002), won the Golden Bear at 52nd Berlin International Film Festival. Other f ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

movie ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national "Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top" Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling ...

''starring

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

take place in a fictionalized Erath County shortly after the end of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. In 2023 television and film producer Taylor Sheridan's company used several locations in Erath County including the Court House Square to film The Bass Reeves Story for Netflix as the Yellowstone franchise evolved to include additional places, times and events. Downtown Stephenville was transformed for several weeks into a 19th-century facsimile of Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Erath County is home to several nationally famous people including 7-time American Rodeo Association World Champion and co-founder of Professional Bull Riders (PBR Rodeo) Tye Murray; comedic actress and winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress (1972- Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) and 5-time Emmy Award nominee Ruth Buzzi; activist Taya Kyle, widow of Navy Seal Cris Kyle who was murdered in Erath County; and it is the birth home of the late country singer-songwriter Johnny Duncan. Stephenville in Erath County is also home to pro football star Cody Davis who plays Safety for the New England Patriots. It is also home to 3-time national "coach of the year in college football, Arthur "Art" Briles, who is currently coaching an Italian professional football team and was formerly the coach of Houston Cougars and the Baylor Bears football teams.

References

External links

Erath County

Erath County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

Entry for George B. Erath
from th
''Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas''
published 1880, hosted by th
Portal to Texas History.
{{coord, 32.23, -98.22, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1856 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1856