Tom Green County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located on the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region at the crossroads of Central Texas, Central, South Texas, South, and West Texas. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the ...

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 sove ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 120,003. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

San Angelo San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...

. The county was created in 1874 and organized the following year. It is named for Thomas Green, who was a Confederate soldier and lawyer. Tom Green County is included in the

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

; the county is home to Goodfellow Air Force Base, as well as

Angelo State University Angelo State University is a public university in San Angelo, Texas. It was founded in 1928 as San Angelo College. It gained university status and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1967 and graduate degrees in 1969, the same year it too ...

, part of the

Texas Tech University System The Texas Tech University System is a state university system in Texas consisting of five universities in the state of Texas, of which three are general-academic universities, Texas Tech University, Angelo State University and Midwestern State U ...

History

The county was established by the state legislature on March 13, 1874, and named after Thomas Green, a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. It originally comprised an area over . The original county seat was the town of Ben Ficklin. In 1882, flood waters of the

Concho River The Concho River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. ''Concho'' is Spanish for "shell"; the river was so named due to its abundance of freshwater mussels, such as the Tampico pearly mussel ('' Cyrtonaias tampicoensis''). Geography The Con ...

destroyed the town and drowned 65 people. The county seat was moved to Santa Angela. In 1883, the town's name was officially changed to

by the

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

. Following completion of the

Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

in September 1888, the county has increase its cattle production to an estimated export of 3,500 to 5,000

railroad cars A railroad car, railcar ( American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is ...

. In 1889, San Angelo became incorporated to a city, and the Fort Concho shut down after 22 years of operation. Tom Green County has a long, narrow strip of land extending to the west. This unusual feature is because Reagan County to the west used to be part of Tom Green County, and the state of Texas required that all counties have a contiguous land route to their county seat. Therefore, the small strip of land served to connect the two main regions. In 1903, the residents of the western section voted to form the Reagan County, while in the same vote the connecting strip was decided to remain as part of Tom Green County. During the

Winter Storm Uri Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

, San Angelo City endured 152 hours at or below freezing temperatures. Some of the hurricanes and tropical storms that have hit Tom Green includes: * * Hurricane Matagorda (1942) * Tropical Storm Delia (1973) *

Hurricane Gilbert Hurricane Gilbert was the second most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Atlantic basin in terms of barometric pressure, only behind Hurricane Wilma in 2005. An extremely powerful tropical cyclone that formed during the 1988 Atlantic hurr ...

(1988) * Tropical Storm Erin (2007) * Tropical Storm Hermine (2010)

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), 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 Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (1.2%) are covered by water. The county's protect areas are

Lake Nasworthy Lake Nasworthy is a small municipal lake located in San Angelo, Texas. The lake is named for John R. Nasworthy, who sold the land where the lake is located to the city. The lake was built by West Texas Utilities Company in 1930 to provide municipal ...

, O.C. Fisher Reservoir,

Twin Buttes Reservoir Twin Buttes Reservoir is an artificial lake located about southwest of the city of San Angelo, Texas, and immediately upstream from Lake Nasworthy. Construction on Twin Buttes Dam to form the reservoir was completed in 1963. The dam is an unus ...

, San Angelo State Park and Heart of Texas Wildlife Trail. Tom Green County also have the Concho Rivers,

North Concho River The North Concho River is a river in west-central Texas and one of three tributaries of the Concho River. The river is long. The other two tributaries are the Middle Concho and South Concho Rivers. The Concho River flows into the Colorado River ( ...

South Concho River The South Concho River is one of the few rivers in Texas to run south to north for its entire length. Rising from Anson Springs some south of Christoval, Texas, in Tom Green County, it flows north through the town of Christoval, then continues no ...

; and a small creek named Kickapoo Creek as well.

Adjacent counties

* Coke County (north) *

Runnels County Runnels County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 9,900. Its county seat is Ballinger. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1880. It is named for Hiram G. Runnels, a Texa ...

(northeast) * Concho County (east) * Menard County (southeast) * Schleicher County (south) *

Irion County Irion County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,513. Its county seat is Mertzon. The county is named for Robert Anderson Irion, a secretary of state of the R ...

(west) * Reagan County (west) * Sterling County (northwest)

Demographics

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, 104,010 people, 39,503 households, and 26,783 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 68 people/sq mi (26/km²). The 43,916 housing units averaged 29/ sq mi (11/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 50.76% White, 5.13% African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 12.82% from other races, and 2.39% from two or more races. About 30.71% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race, 13.2% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 10.7%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, 8.2%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and 7.2%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

ancestry according to

Census 2000 The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

. Of the 39,503 households, 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.10% were married couples living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.20% were not families. About 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.52, and the average family size was 3.09. In the county, the age distribution was 26.10% under 18, 12.80% from 18 to 24, 27.10% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,148, and for a family was $39,482. Males had a median income of $27,949 versus $20,683 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $17,325. About 11.20% of families and 15.20% 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 t ...

, including 20.20% of those under age 18 and 11.80% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Colleges

Howard College Howard College is a community college in the U.S. state of Texas with its main campus in Big Spring and branch campuses in San Angelo and Lamesa. History Howard County Junior College was established in Big Spring in 1945. 148 students be ...

Public school districts

* Christoval Independent School District * Grape Creek Independent School District * Miles Independent School District *

San Angelo Independent School District San Angelo Independent School District is a public school district based in San Angelo, Texas, United States. As of 2015, San Angelo ISD has received a rating of " Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) ...

* Veribest Independent School District * Wall Independent School District * Water Valley Independent School District

Transportation

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 67 *

U.S. Highway 87 U.S. Highway 87 (US 87) is a north–south United States highway (though it is signed east–west in New Mexico) that runs for 1,998 miles (3,215 km) from northern Montana to southern Texas, making it the longest north-south roa ...

* U.S. Highway 277 * * Texas Loop 306

SH Loop 306

Communities

San Angelo September 2019 13 (Texas Theatre)

City

(county seat)

Census-designated places

* Carlsbad * Christoval * Grape Creek

Unincorporated communities

* Harriett *

Knickerbocker A Knickerbocker is a person from Manhattan (New York City, before 1898). A modern synonym is “New Yorker”. Knickerbocker or Knickerbockers may also refer to: People * Knickerbocker (surname), including a list of people with the surname, and ...

* Mereta * Tankersley * Vancourt * Veribest *

Wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

* Water Valley

Ghost town

* Ben Ficklin

Military base

* Goodfellow Air Force Base

Politics

Notable resident

August Pfluger August Lee Pfluger II ( ; born December 28, 1978) is an American politician and retired military officer from the state of Texas. He is the U.S. representative for . Pfluger succeeded fellow Republican Mike Conaway in 2021. Early life and educ ...

is an American politician and retired military officer, and he is the U.S. representative for

Texas's 11th congressional district Texas's 11th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives is in the midwestern portion of the state of Texas, stretching from the Permian Basin through the Hill Country to the outer fringes of the Dallas–Fort Worth me ...

References

External links

Tom Green County government's website

Tom Green 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. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

County genealogy links
at Rootsweb
Entry for Tom Green
from th
''Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas''
published 1880, hosted by th
Portal to Texas History.

San Angelo LIVE!
News, live events and music in San Angelo, the county seat of Tom Green County {{coord, 31.41, -100.46, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1875 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1875