Groesbeck

Groesbeck, the county seat of Limestone County, is at the intersection of State highways 14 and 164, six miles south of Fort Parker State Recreation Area and eight miles north of Thornton, in the central part of the county. The area was first settled by Elisha Anglin in 1835, when he received part of the old Spanish land grant of the A. Varela survey. In 1870 the Houston and Texas Central Railway extended its line from Kosse to Groesbeck, and in 1874 Groesbeck replaced Springfield as the county seat. The community was named for Abram Groesbeeck, a director of the railroad company. The railroad station retained the original spelling of the name. The town was an early trade center for area farms and ranches. Groesbeck was incorporated in 1871 and experienced a brief boom as a railroad stop, but its population had decreased by 1880, and for a time the city incorporation was dropped. By 1872 Groesbeck had two churches and a Masonic lodge. The first building in the new county seat in 1874 was a jail. The Groesbeck Journal began publication in 1892, and the town's chamber of commerce was established in the 1920s. In 1942 Groesbeck reported a population of 2,272 and 110 businesses. In 1990 Groesbeck reported a population of 3,185 and 138 businesses, including a bank. By 2000 the population reached 4,291 with 198 businesses. Six miles north of the town are Lake Springfield and Fort Parker.