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McCulloch 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 in the U.S. state of
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 ...
. At the 2020 census, its population was 7,630. 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 Brady. The county was created in 1856 and later organized in 1876. It is named for Benjamin McCulloch, a famous Texas Ranger and Confederate general. The geographical center of Texas lies within McCulloch County, near Brady.


History

From 5000 BC to 1500 AD, the early Native American inhabitants included 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 ...
, Comanche, and Tawakoni. The 1788 José Mares expedition passed through the area while travelling from
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
to Santa Fe. On November 21, 1831, in the Brady vicinity,
James Bowie James Bowie ( ) (April 10, 1796 – March 6, 1836) was an American military officer, landowner and slave trader who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of him ...
, Rezin P. Bowie, David Buchanan, Cephas D. Hamm, Matthew Doyle, Jesse Wallace, Thomas McCaslin, Robert Armstrong, and James Coryell with two servants, Charles and Gonzales, held at bay for a day and a night 164 Caddo and Lipans. After 80 warriors had been killed, the Indians withdrew. Camp San Saba was established in 1852 to protect settlers from Indians. The Sixth Texas Legislature in 1856 formed McCulloch County from Bexar County, and named it for Benjamin McCulloch. The Voca waterwheel mill was built in 1876. The ''Brady Sentinel'' was established by D.F. Hayes in 1880 as the county's first newspaper. Later, it was absorbed by the ''Heart o’ Texas News'' run by R.B. Boyle. During 1886–1912, the Swedish colonies of East Sweden, West Sweden and Melvin were established. From 1897 to 1910, the ''Brady Enterprise'' or ''McCulloch County Enterprise'' was published. In 1899, the McCulloch County sandstone courthouse built in the Romanesque Revival style by architects Martin and Moodie. In the last year of the 19th century, the ''Milburn Messenger'' was edited by T.F. Harwell.
Cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
became a major county crop. Three years later, the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway came to McCulloch County. W.D. Currie published the ''Mercury Mascot'' from 1904 to 1907. In 1906–1910, the ''McCulloch County Star'' was published. In 1909, the ''Brady Standard'', edited by F.W. Schwenker, began publication, and absorbed the ''McCulloch County Star'' and the ''Brady Enterprise'' in 1910. The ''Rochelle Record'' was started by W.D. Cowan in 1909. The ''Melvin Rustler'' began publication in 1915. in 1917, J. Marvin Hunter founded the ''Melvin Enterprise''. During the 1920s, McCulloch County billed itself as "the Turkey Center of the Universe", and held an annual Turkey Trot.
Tenant farming A tenant farmer is a farmer or farmworker who resides and works on land owned by a landlord, while tenant farming is an Agrarian system, agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating Ca ...
in the county peaked at 60% in the 1930s. The
Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
flooded in 1932, cresting at . In 1938, Brady Creek flooded, cresting at . The San Saba River flooded, cresting at . Curtis Field, named for Brady Mayor Harry L. Curtis, opened as a flying school in 1941, with 80 students. A county prisoner-of-war camp was set up in 1943; it housed members of Rommel's Afrika Corps, the S.S., and the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
. Crockett State School took over the former POW camp in 1946, and used it as a training school for delinquent black girls. From 1954 to 1960, 48 restraining structures were installed in the county to control flooding. Brady Creek Reservoir was constructed to partially control flooding on Brady Creek in 1963. A tourist information marker placed in the county, declaring the geographical center of Texas.


Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.7%) are covered by water.


Major highways

* U.S. Highway 87 * U.S. Highway 190 * U.S. Highway 283 * U.S. Highway 377 * State Highway 71


Adjacent counties

* Coleman County (north) * Brown County (northeast) * San Saba County (east) * Mason County (south) * Menard County (southwest) * Concho County (west)


Demographics

At the 2000
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 ...
, 8,205 people, 3,277 households and 2,267 families resided in the county. 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 4,184 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 84.64% White, 1.57% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 11.71% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. About 27% of the population were Hispanic or Latinos of any race. Of the 3,277 households, 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.30% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were not families. About 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.01. About 26.60% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 22.90% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 19.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.00 males. The
median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...
was $25,705 and family income was $30,783. Males had a median income of $25,844 versus $18,337 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 $14,579. About 17.30% of families and 22.50% 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 28.40% of those under age 18 and 21.50% of those age 65 or over.


Government and infrastructure

In 1947, the State of Texas opened the Brady State School for Negro Girls in McCulloch County, near Brady on a former
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
camp leased from the
federal government of the United States The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
. In 1950, the state replaced the Brady facility with the Crockett State School.


Politics


Education

The following school districts serve McCulloch County: * Brady ISD (small portion in Concho County) * Lohn ISD * Mason ISD (mostly in Mason County; small portions in Kimble, Menard, and San Saba Counties) * Rochelle ISD


Communities


City

* Brady (county seat)


Town

* Melvin


Census-designated place

* Rochelle


Unincorporated communities

* Doole *
Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
* Lohn * Mercury * Milburn * Pear Valley * Placid * Salt Gap * Voca


See also

* List of museums in West Texas * National Register of Historic Places listings in McCulloch County, Texas * Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in McCulloch County * Old McCulloch County Jail


References


External links

* {{coord, 31.20, -99.35, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1876 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1876 Texas Hill Country