Erath County

Erath County, Texas

Erath County, Texas

Erath County Courthouse in Stephenville, Texas, the county seat. Photograph by Billy Hathorn.
Erath County, Texas

Erath County, Texas

Map of Erath County, Texas. Map Credit: Robert Plocheck.

Erath County (EE-rath) was marked off from Bosque and Coryell counties in 1856 and named for George B. Erath, one of the original surveyors of the area. The center of the county is near Stephenville, eighty miles southwest of Dallas (at 32°10' N, 98°15' W). The county comprises 1,983 square miles and is divided into two distinct regions. The Western Cross Timbers, dominated by such hardwoods as post oak and a soil surface of sandy and red clay, crosses the northwestern two-thirds of the county, while the Grand Prairie, with dark limy soils originally covered with little bluestem but now dotted with live oak groves, crosses the southeastern one-third. The northern part of the county, where Cretaceous sediment has eroded, is noted for deposits of bituminous coal, fireclay, oil, and natural gas. The sand of the southern part is of glass-making quality. The animal life of Erath County includes badgers, civet cats, grey foxes, minks, wolves, mockingbirds, woodpeckers, and quail. The county's altitude ranges from 900 to 1,750 feet; the rainfall averages twenty-nine inches a year; the average temperature ranges from a low of 34° F during January to 96° in July, and the growing season lasts 238 days. The two major streams, the Paluxy and Bosque rivers, are tributaries of the Brazos. Transportation in Erath County is provided by Interstate Highway 20, which crosses the northwest corner, and U.S. highways 67, 281 and 377. The Fort Worth and Western Railroad crosses the central and southwestern parts of the county.

The first attempts at settlement were made in 1854 by A. H. Dobkins and Will and Tom Holland near the site of present-day Dublin. In the following year a party of thirty pioneers was brought into the area by surveyors George Erath and Neil McLennan. Included in the group were John M. Stephen, his brother William F., and eighteen slaves. The Stephens moved to the 4,409 acres of the John Blair survey, and the slaves may have been left alone in the post oak grove on the Bosque River, now the site of Stephenville, to establish relations with Caddo and Anadarko Indians, who still visited the area from their new reservation in what is now Young County. In 1856 John M. Stephen offered to donate land for a courthouse and townsite if the town was named Stephenville and made the county seat. The state of Texas agreed and formed Erath County that year.

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Dan M. Young | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

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

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Erath County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

820 ft – 1670 ft

Size

Land area does not include water surface area, whereas total area does

  • Land Area: 1,083.1 mi²
  • Total Area: 1,089.8 mi²

Temperature

January mean minimum: 31.0°F
July mean maximum: 94.2°F

Rainfall, 2019

31.5 inches

Population Count, 2019

42,698

Civilian Labor Count, 2019

19,968

Unemployment, 2019

6.7%

Property Values, 2019

$5,778,781,040 USD

Per-Capita Income, 2019

$39,572 USD

Retail Sales, 2019

$593,225,575 USD

Wages, 2019

$172,494,052 USD

Erath County

Highlighted:
  • Erath County
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Place Type Population (Year/Source) Currently Exists
Town
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Town 40 (2009) Yes
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Town 82 (2021) Yes
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Town 20 (2009) Yes
Town
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Town 25 (2009) Yes
Town 55 (2009) Yes
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Town 3,433 (2021) Yes
Town 76 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 32 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
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Town 75 (2009) Yes
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Town 25 (2009) Yes
Town 21 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 60 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town 319 (2021) Yes
Town
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Town 45 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 269 (2021) Yes
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Town 206 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town
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Town 10 (2009) Yes
Town
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Town 50 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town 55 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
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Town 21,199 (2021) Yes
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Town 48 (2009) Yes
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Town
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