Palo Pinto County

Palo Pinto County is in north central Texas, bounded on the east by Parker County, on the south by Erath County, on the west by Stephens County, and on the north by Young and Jack counties. The center of the county lies at 32°45' north latitude and 98°18' west longitude, eighty miles west of Fort Worth. The area is named for one of its principal streams. The county covers 948 square miles of broken, hilly land with sandy, gray, and black soils; elevations range between 800 to 1,450 feet above sea level. The county has an average annual rainfall of 30.13 inches and is drained by the Brazos River. Timber in the area includes cedar, oak, and pecan. Temperatures range from an average low of 33° F in January to an average high of 96° F in July; the growing season lasts 221 days. During the 1980s the county's annual agricultural yield was $12.5 million, 90 percent of which was from livestock, including cattle, sheep, angora goats, and hogs. Pecans, peaches, vegetables, grains, and hay accounted for the rest. Clay pipes, aircraft systems, plastics, electronic products, brick, feeds, clothes, and other products manufactured in the county earned an average annual income of $43.4 million. In 1982 oil sales of 364,350 barrels yielded $8.4 million. Major highways include U.S. Highway 180, which runs west to east across the county; Interstate Highway 20, which crosses the southeast corner; and State highways 16 and 108, which run north to south.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.