Real 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 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 2,758. 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 Leakey. The county is named for Julius Real (1860–1944), a former member of the Texas State Senate. The Alto Frio

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Encampment is located in an isolated area of Real County southeast of Leakey.

History

* 1762–1771: Looking for protection from Comanches, Lipan Apache chief El Gran Cabezón persuades

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

s and the Spanish military to establish San Lorenzo de la Santa Cruz Mission on the Nueces River. The mission was abandoned in 1771 * 1856: John and Nancy Leakey settle in Frio Canyon. * 1857: The original Camp Wood is established on the

Nueces River The Nueces River ( ; , ) is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, about long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande. ''Nu ...

near the site of the former San Lorenzo mission. * 1864: Lipan Apaches attack the family of George Schwander in the abandoned ruins of the San Lorenzo mission. * 1868: Theophilus Watkins, F. Smith and Newman Patterson construct a gravity flow irrigation canal from the Frio River that operates for a century. * 1879: Indians attack and kill Jennie Coalson, wife of Nic Coalson, and two children at Half Moon Prairie. * 1881: Lipan Apaches strike the McLauren home at Buzzard's Roost in the Frio Canyon. Last Indian raid in southwest Texas. * 1910: Crop farming declines in the county, livestock ranching gains prominence, in particular angora goats. * 1913: On April 3, the Texas state legislature establishes Real County from parts of Edwards, Bandera, and

Kerr Kerr may refer to: People *Kerr (surname) *Kerr (given name) Places ;United States *Kerr Township, Champaign County, Illinois *Kerr, Montana, A US census-designated place *Kerr, Ohio, an unincorporated community *Kerr County, Texas Kerr Co ...

counties. Leakey is the county seat. * 1920: Camp Wood township is founded and becomes a railroad terminus to transport heart cedar. * 1924: Charles A. Lindbergh lands in Real County. * 1948: Farm to Market Road 337 is completed.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 83 * State Highway 41 * State Highway 55 * Ranch to Market Road 337

Adjacent counties

* Edwards County (west) * Kerr County (northeast) * Bandera County (east) * Uvalde County (south)

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 2000, 3,047 people, 1,245 households, and 869 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 2,007 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 91.40% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 6.01% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were about 22.58% of the population. Of the 1,245 households, 26.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% 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, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were not families. About 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.88. In the county, the population was distributed as 23.40% under the age of 18, 5.40% from 18 to 24, 21.50% from 25 to 44, 28.80% from 45 to 64, and 20.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $25,118, and for a family was $29,839. Males had a median income of $21,076 versus $18,352 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 $14,321. About 17.40% of families and 21.20% 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 30.60% of those under age 18 and 15.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Camp Wood * Leakey (county seat)

Unincorporated community

* Rio Frio

Politics

Education

School districts include: * Leakey Independent School District * Nueces Canyon Consolidated Independent School District * Utopia Independent School District * Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District The designated community college is Southwest Texas Junior College.Texas Education Code: Sec. 130.200. SOUTHWEST TEXAS JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
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References

External links

Frio River Canyon

Real County Official Site

Real County, Texas-Handbook of Texas
{{Coord, 29.84, -99.81, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1913 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1913 Texas Hill Country