San Saba 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 western

Central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,730. 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 San Saba. The county is named after the San Saba River, which flows through the county.

History

Early history

Early Native American inhabitants of the area included

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. In 1732, Governor of

Spanish Texas Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1519 until 1821. Spain claimed ownership of the region in 1519. Slave raids by Spaniards into what became Texas began in the 16th century and created ...

, Juan Antonio Bustillo y Ceballos, arrived on the feast day of sixth-century monk St. Sabbas, and named the river ''Río de San Sabá de las Nueces''. Santa Cruz de San Sabá Mission was established in 1757. In 1788, José Mares led an expedition from San Antonio to Santa Fe. In 1828, 28 people from Stephen F. Austin's group passed through. A portion of the county was included in Austin's grants from the Mexican government. The Fisher–Miller Land Grant in 1842 contained most of later land deeds. Five years later, the

Meusebach–Comanche Treaty The Meusebach–Comanche Treaty was a treaty made on May 9, 1847 between the private citizens of the Fisher–Miller Land Grant in Texas (United States), who were predominantly German in nationality, and the Penateka Comanche Tribe. The treaty ...

was signed in San Saba County. In 1854, the Harkey family settled at Wallace and Richland Creeks. The David Matsler family moved from Burnet County to Cherokee Creek. San Saba County was organized from Bexar County and named for the San Saba River in 1856. San Saba was selected as the county seat. The Seventh Texas Legislature confirmed the boundaries of the county in 1858. in 1860, the population was 913, which included 98 slaves. The county was divided into 10 school districts in 1867. In 1874, Edmund E. Risen devoted his work to improving local nuts, in particular the

pecan The pecan ( , , ; ''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the Southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed primarily in the U.S. states of Georgia ( ...

. San Saba eventually billed itself as the Pecan Capital of the World.

Post-Civil War history

In the 1880s-'90s, mob rule not only whipped and forced out numerous people in towns throughout Texas, but also took 140 lives in Texas following the Civil War. San Saba County had the worst of the violence, with 25 lives taken by lynching from 1880 to 1896. Mob killings in Texas in the years after the war were often racially motivated crimes committed by members of the Ku Klux Klan against suspected slave rebels and white abolitionists. An investigation led to the Texas Rangers restoring order. Many of the mob executions committed throughout Texas in the time following the Civil War were racially motivated and often committed by members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which formed in Shelby County, Texas. Most of the people killed by vigilante mobs in the five years after the war were "suspected slave rebels and white abolitionists". Although the KKK in Texas was less active by the 1870s, lives continued to be taken each year. In 1885, for the state of Texas, "...an estimated 22 mobs lynched 43 people, including 19 blacks and 24 whites, one of whom was female". "The San Saba County lynchers, the deadliest of the lot, claimed some 25 victims between 1880 and 1896. Vigilante lynching died out in the 1890s, but other varieties of mobs continued." The San Saba Male and Female Academy was founded in 1882. In 1889, the United Confederate Veterans William P. Rogers Camp No. 322 was established, named for Col. William P. Rogers. West Texas Normal and Business College was organized by Francis Marion Behrns in 1885.

Late 19th and 20th centuries

The parallel-wire suspension Beveridge Bridge was built across the San Saba River in 1896 by Flinn, Moyer Bridge Co. In 1911, the Lometa-Eden branch of the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railway was built through San Saba County. San Saba County brick and sandstone courthouse is erected. Architect Chamberlin & Co. In 1930, half of the county farms were tenant farmed. In 1931, pioneer rancher W.H. "Uncle Billy" Gibbons gave the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

a 99-year lease to campgrounds along Brady Creek on the historic Gibbons Ranch. Relocated several miles upstream in 1946, the Boy Scouts continue to use Camp Billy Gibbons to this day. The 1938 San Saba River floods caused county-wide devastation. One-third of the town of San Saba was under water. The Town of San Saba was incorporated in 1940. Prolonged drought in the mid-1950s brought hardship to the county agricultural economy. The ''San Saba County News'' merged with the ''San Saba Star'' in 1960. In 1965, a historical marker was erected to honor pioneer doctor Edward D. Doss.

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 are land and (0.3%) are covered by water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 190 * Texas 16

State Highway 16 * Texas FM 45

Farm to Market Road 45

Adjacent counties

* Mills County (north) * Lampasas County (east) * Burnet County (southeast) * Llano County (south) * Mason County (southwest) * McCulloch County (west) * Brown County (northwest)

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 2010, 6,131 people, 2,289 households, and 1,616 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 2,951 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 84.50% White, 2.73% Black or African American, 1.07% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 10.52% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. About 21.6% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 2,289 households, 29.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.90% were married couples living together, 8.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.40% were not families. About 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the county, the population was distributed as 27.90% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 20.80% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 20.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,104, and for a family was $35,255. Males had a median income of $25,334 versus $20,111 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 $15,309. About 13.30% of families and 16.60% 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 24.50% of those under age 18 and 11.60% of those age 65 or over.

Attractions

San Saba County is home to the only suspension bridge open to traffic in the state; the Regency Bridge spanning 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 ...

, located off FM 500 in the northern part of the county, was built in 1939. The Beveridge Bridge, built in 1896 spanning the San Saba River, was the only other suspension bridge in Texas open to traffic until 2004, when it was replaced by a concrete bridge. The Beveridge Bridge, since restored and open as a pedestrian bridge, is located on the northwest edge of the city of San Saba, on China Creek Road, just north of the Wedding Oak. San Saba County has produced more Texas six-man football state championships than any other county in Texas. The towns of Richland Springs (Richland Springs Coyotes) and Cherokee (Cherokee Indians) have won a total of 11 state championships. Richland Springs has appeared in a total of 9 state championship games and has won eight of them (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016). Cherokee has appeared in a total of four state championship games and has won three of them (1973, 1975, 1978).

Communities

Towns

* Richland Springs * San Saba (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Algerita * Bend (partly in Lampasas County) *

Bowser , also known as King Bowser or King Koopa, is a Character (arts), fictional character and the Antagonist, main antagonist of Nintendo's ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise."The Top 100 Videogame Villains". IGN. Retrieved October 8, 2010. ...

* Chappel *

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

* Elm Grove *

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...

* Harkeyville * Locker * McMillan * Skeeterville * Sloan *

Spring Creek A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground Spring (hydrology), spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring cree ...

Notable people

Actor

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Tommy Lee Jones, various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Scre ...

was born in San Saba and owns a ranch outside of town. Aaron Behrens, front man for Austin-based music group Ghostland Observatory.

Politics

References

External links

*
San Saba County government’s website
*