Erath County, Texas

History

Native Americans

Caddo tribe Anadarko villages were scattered along the Trinity and Brazos Rivers. French explorer Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe 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 and later the Anglos and suffered the consequences, including diseases to which they had no immunity. By 1860, these tribes moved to Oklahoma. Erath County falls into Comancheria and found itself raided by Comanches until their removal to Oklahoma after 1875.

County established and growth

Erath County was formed from Bosque and Coryell counties in 1856 and named for George Bernard Erath, one of the area's original surveyors. 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 Dublin in 1854. His children were the first citizens to be buried in Erath County in the community of Edna Hill, in Southern Erath. Barbee Cemetery is named after him. Jones traveled with his wife and children across the country from North Carolina. He is the grandson of Christopher "Old Kit" Barbee, North Carolina's wealthiest landowner and the largest land donor for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 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 such as Barbee, White, Durham, and Brambeletts. Some of his great-grandchildren still live in the community. His great-great-great-granddaughter, Carolina, lives on his land today in Edna Hill and is the sixth generation to continually live on his old homestead. Her children are the seventh. The families of other early settlers also remain there. Dublin later became famous as the early boyhood home of the PGA, U.S. Open and Masters golf champion Ben Hogan.

In 1857, thirty pioneers settled in the county, led by George Erath. The group included brothers William F. and John M. Stephen and a black family whose name and fate is unknown.

Erath, an immigrant from Vienna, Austria, was a Texas Ranger and member of Billingsley's Company C, 1st Regiment of Texas Volunteers, under the command of Colonel Charles Burleson at the Battle of San Jacinto, and a member of the Confederate Home Guard. As a Freemason, he was a charter member and secretary of Bosque Lodge #92, from 1852 to 1855. The lodge's name changed to Waco #92 in 1857. It is the oldest continuous organization in Waco, Texas.

Cotton became the major crop between 1875 and 1915, with the largest harvest 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 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 ancestry, creating the "Italian Hill" community just outside Thurber. In 1903, the United Mine Workers sent Joe Fenoglio to organize the Italian workers, beginning the Thurber Coal Miners Strike. In the 1970s, the area began bituminous coal production for fuel in the cement industry.

Tarleton State University was founded in 1893 as Stephenville College. It was renamed in 1899 after 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 and D. E. Laub designed the three-story showcase Victorian structure. Gordon also designed the Arizona State Capitol and courthouses in Aransas, Bexar, Brazoria, Comal, Ellis, Fayette, Gonzales, Harrison, Hopkins, Lee, McLennan, Victoria and Wise Counties. The building was completed in 1893 with limestone from the Leon River and red sandstone from Pecos County. Its central 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 imported marble floors. It was renovated in 1988.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1090 sqmi, of which 1083 sqmi is land and 6.7 sqmi (0.6%) is water.

Major highways

• [[Image:I-20 (TX).svg|20px]] Interstate 20
• [[Image:US 67.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 67
• [[Image:US 281.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 281
• [[Image:US 377.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 377
• [[Image:Texas 6.svg|20px]] State Highway 6
• [[Image:Texas 108.svg|20px]] State Highway 108

Adjacent counties

• Palo Pinto County (north)
• Hood County (northeast)
• Somervell County (east)
• Bosque County (southeast)
• Hamilton County (south)
• Comanche County (southwest)
• Eastland County (west)

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1850–2010 2010 2020

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 42,545. The median age was 31.5 years. 20.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.3 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 76.8% White, 2.9% Black or African American, 1.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian,

49.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 51.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 15,858 households in the county, of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.6% were married-couple households, 20.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 18,325 housing units, of which 13.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 58.8% were owner-occupied and 41.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 14.2%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2010 census

At the 2010 census, 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, 1.2% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.0003% Pacific Islander, 10% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. 19.2% of the population were Hispanic 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 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

• Dublin
• Stephenville (county seat)

Census-designated places

• Bluff Dale
• Huckabay
• Lingleville

Unincorporated communities

• Alexander
• Chalk Mountain
• Clairette
• Edna Hill
• Harbin
• Morgan Mill
• Oak Dale
• Purves
• Selden
• Three Way
• Thurber
• Johnsville

Ghost town

• Duffau

Politics

At the presidential level, Erath County is predominantly Republican. In 2012, Mitt Romney won the county in the presidential election with over 80% of the vote. The last Democrat to win the county was Jimmy Carter, in 1976 and 1980.

Media

Two newspapers have offices 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/Fort Worth and Waco/Temple/Killeen metropolitan areas.

Five radio stations have their main studios and offices in Erath County: KEQX 89.5, KTRL 90.5, KSTV-FM 93.1, KXTR-LP 100.7 and KSTV (AM) 1510. KTRL and KXTR-LP are operated by Tarleton State University.

In popular culture

Several scenes in the Paul Greengrass Western movie *News of the World *take place in a fictionalized Erath County shortly after the end of the Civil War.

In 2023 television and film producer Taylor Sheridan's company used several Erath County locations, 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 Fort 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) and 5-time Emmy Award nominee Ruth Buzzi; and activist Taya Kyle, widow of Navy Seal Cris Kyle, who was murdered in Erath County. It is the birthplace of country singer-songwriter Johnny Duncan. Stephenville is also home to NFL player Cody Davis and 3-time college football national "coach of the year" Arthur "Art" Briles, who now coaches an Italian professional football team and formerly coached the Houston Cougars and Baylor Bears.

References

References

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