Schleicher County

Schleicher County (SHLI-ker) is in west central Texas 290 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico and ninety miles northeast of the Texas-Mexico boundary. It is bordered by Tom Green, Concho, Menard, Kimble, Sutton, Crockett, and Irion counties. Eldorado, the county seat, is at the intersection of U.S. highways 190 and 277, forty-five miles south of San Angelo. The county's center lies five miles northeast of Eldorado at 30°54' north latitude and 100°31' west longitude. Situated in the Edwards Plateau, the county comprises roughly 1,309 square miles of rolling to hilly terrain at elevations ranging from 2,100 to 2,400 feet above sea level. The dark, loamy soils support a variety of tall grasses, as well as some oak, cedar, and mesquite. Between 11 and 20 percent of the land is considered prime farmland. The southwestern part of the county is in the Rio Grande basin, with the uppermost tributaries of the Devil's River draining the runoff south; the rest of the county lies within the Colorado basin and is drained by the upper reaches of the San Saba River to the east and by the South Concho River to the north. Wildlife in the area includes deer, turkey, javelina, bobcat, coyote, badger, fox, raccoon, squirrel, and skunk, as well as a variety of birds, fish, and reptiles. Among the county's mineral resources are dolomite, limestone, industrial sand, oil, and gas. The climate is subtropical, with an average minimum temperature of 32° F in January and an average high temperature of 96° in July. The growing season averages 229 days annually, and the rainfall averages twenty inches.

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.