Limestone County, Texas

History

Native Americans

Natives friendly to the settlers resided in East Texas before the Kiowa, Apache and Comanche intruded upon their territory. These tribes hunted, farmed the land, and were adept traders. The Tawakoni branch of Wichita Indians originated north of Texas, but migrated south into east Texas. From 1843 onward, the Tawakoni were part of treaties made by both the Republic of Texas and the United States. Tawakoni were also sometimes known as Tehuacana. The Limestone County town of Tehuacana was settled on the former site of a Tehuacana village. The Waco people were also a branch of the Wichita Indians.

Settlers

Limestone County was part of the Haden Harrison Edwards (800 families) and Robertson's Colony (800 families) *empresario *grants made by the Coahuila y Texas legislature in 1825. By contracting how many families each grantee could settle, the government sought to have some control over colonization.

Baptist spiritual leader Daniel Parker and eight other men organized the Pilgrim Predestinarian Regular Baptist Church in Lamotte, Illinois. The fellowship in its entirety migrated in 1833 to the new frontier of Texas. Among this group of settlers were Silas M. Parker, Moses Herrin, Elisha Anglin, Luther T. M. Plummer, David Faulkenberry, Joshua Hadley, and Samuel Frost. Fort Parker, near the Navasota River in what is now central Limestone County, was the earliest actual settlement in the vicinity. Following on the heels of the original settlers, other communities were established.

Fort Parker massacre

Arguably the most infamous Indian depredation in Texas took place in Limestone County on May 19, 1836, when an odd alliance of Comanche, Kiowa, Caddo, and Wichita approached Fort Parker surreptitiously under a flag of peace. The Indians subsequently attacked the fort, killing or kidnapping all but about 18 settlers who escaped to Fort Houston. Texas State Historical Association Captured in the Fort Parker massacre were Elizabeth Kellogg, Rachel Plummer and her son James Pratt Plummer, John Richard Parker and his sister Cynthia Ann Parker, who later became mother of Comanche Chief Quanah Parker.

County established

On April 11, 1846, Limestone County was formed from Robertson County. On August 18, 1846, the county was organized. Springfield became the county seat. The county seat was moved to Groesbeck in 1873 after boundary changes, and the Springfield courthouse had burned down.

Homesteaders became self-sustaining farmers and ranchers, who also hunted wild game. Support businesses were connected to the repair and maintenance of farm equipment and livestock. The population of 1860 was 4,537. Of these, 3,464 were White, 1,072 were slaves, and one was a free Black female.

Civil War and Reconstruction

Limestone County voted 525–9 in favor of secession from the Union, and sent its men to fight for the Confederate States of America. Lochlin Johnson Farrar raised the first Confederate company from the county. Reconstruction in the county was so contentious, with racial violence and threats against the government, that on October 9, 1871, Texas Governor Edmund J. Davis declared the county under martial law.

Post-Civil War development

The Houston and Texas Central Railway laid tracks in 1869, terminating near Kosse which was named after the railway's chief engineer Theodore Kosse. The Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway, laid track in 1903 from Cleburne to Mexia. Several towns were established on these routes.

The Thornton Institute was founded in 1877 by Edward Coke Chambers, and was chartered in 1881 as the Thornton Male and Female Institute. The school provided a type of dormitory for the students, and sent many graduates out to teach in rural Texas. Henry P. Davis acquired the school in 1889, and in 1891 the school was given to the Thornton Independent School District.

Oil and gas were discovered in Mexia between 1913 and 1920, creating jobs and a population boom - from just 3,482 people to 35,000 in 1922. Martial law had to be briefly declared in Mexia. The population began to decline during the Great Depression. Camp Mexia, a German prisoner of war camp was built during World War II.

The Work Projects Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps helped ease the county economy during the Great Depression. The Civilian Conservation Corps built Fort Parker State Recreation Area. The WPA erected a number of buildings in the county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 933 sqmi, of which 905 sqmi are land and 28 sqmi (3.0%) are covered by water.

Major highways

• [[Image:US 84.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 84
• [[Image:Texas 7.svg|20px]] State Highway 7
• [[Image:Texas 14.svg|20px]] State Highway 14
• [[Image:Texas 164.svg|20px]] State Highway 164
• [[Image:Texas 171.svg|20px]] State Highway 171

Adjacent counties

• Navarro County (north)
• Freestone County (northeast)
• Leon County (southeast)
• Robertson County (south)
• Falls County (southwest)
• McLennan County (west)
• Hill County (northwest)

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1850–2010 2010 2020

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 22,146, and the median age was 41.7 years; 22.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.5% were 65 years of age or older, and for every 100 females there were 101.8 males with 99.8 males per 100 females age 18 and over.

There were 8,237 households in the county, of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them; 48.2% were married-couple households, 18.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 10,368 housing units, of which 20.6% were vacant; among occupied units 74.2% were owner-occupied and 25.8% renter-occupied, with a homeowner vacancy rate of 2.0% and a rental vacancy rate of 11.1%.

The racial makeup of the county was 63.3% White, 16.8% Black or African American, 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 10.6% from some other race, and 7.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 22.6% of the population.

30.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 69.9% lived in rural areas.

Racial and ethnic composition

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, 22,051 people, 7,906 households, and 5,652 families resided in the county. The population density was 24 /mi2. The 9,725 housing units averaged 11 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 70.75% White 19.07% African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 8.11% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races. About 12.97% of the population was Latino of any race.

Of the 7,906 households, 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.00% were married couples living together, 13.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were not families. About 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county, the population was distributed as 25.40% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,366, and for a family was $36,924. Males had a median income of $28,069 versus $18,893 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,352. About 14.40% of families and 17.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.90% of those under age 18 and 15.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Groesbeck (county seat)
• Mart (mostly in McLennan County)
• Mexia

Towns

• Coolidge
• Kosse
• Tehuacana
• Thornton

Unincorporated communities

• Ben Hur
• Big Hill
• Box Church
• Buffalo Mop
• Forest Glade
• Kirk
• Old Union
• Oletha
• Prairie Hill
• Victoria

Ghost town

• Springfield

Notable people

• Sheppard Mullins (19th-century), African American state legislator
• Alfonso Steele (1817–1911) was born in 1817 in Hardin County, Kentucky, and is buried in Mexia.
• Anna Nicole Smith (1967–2007) lived briefly in Mexia.
• Don the Beachcomber (1907–1989) was born Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt in Limestone County.
• Bob Wills (1905-1975) was born on a farm in Kosse, in the southern portion of Limestone County.
• Rachel Plummer (1819-1839) captured by Comanches at the age of seventeen, wrote of her twenty-one month ordeal before her death.

Government and politics

Government

Limestone County, like all counties in Texas, is governed by a commissioners' court. This court consists of the county judge (the chairperson of the court), who is elected county-wide, and four commissioners who are elected by the voters in each of four precincts.

The Commissioners' Court is the policy-making body for the county; in addition, the county judge is the senior executive and administrative position in the county. The Commissioners' Court sets the county tax rate, adopts the budget, appoints boards and commissions, approves grants and personnel actions, and oversees the administration of county government. Each commissioner supervises a Road and Bridge District. The Commissioners' Court approves the budget and sets the tax rate for the hospital district, which is charged with the responsibility for providing acute medical care for citizens who otherwise would not receive adequate medical services.

Limestone County is represented in the United States Congress as part of Texas's 17th congressional district, represented by Republican Pete Sessions of Waco. Its two senators are Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, both Republicans. At the state level, Limestone County is represented in the Texas State Legislature as part of Texas's 13th House of Representatives district, represented by Republican Angelia Orr of Itasca, and Texas Senate, District 5, represented by Republican Charles Schwertner of Georgetown.

County Commissioners

Justices of the Peace

Constables

County Officials

Courts

County Criminal Court

District Courts

Politics

Like the majority of Southern counties, Limestone was traditionally dominated by the Democratic Party, consistently voting for it by wide majorities upon statehood. Limestone's Democratic dominance was shown by its Civil War history, in which it voted for secession by 98% and raised multiple companies to fight for the Confederacy. This Democratic dominance continued well into the 20th century, where Limestone County only voted for five Republicans at any level, all during national and statewide landslides. Since the turn of the 21st century, Limestone County has followed the rest of rural Texas in becoming strongly Republican, with Republicans gaining in vote percentage in every single election so far (aside from a less than 1% decrease in 2020). In 2024, Limestone County gave Republicans their highest share of the vote in county history.

Limestone County's Republican bent is fairly consistent across the county, with almost every precinct voting heavily for Republicans. The only major Democratic stronghold in the county is in Mexia, whose large percentage of African-Americans and Hispanic Americans has led Western Mexia to be the only Democratic-voting precinct in the county. As of 2024, Republicans control every local office in the county.

Education

School districts include:

• Axtell Independent School District
• Coolidge Independent School District
• Groesbeck Independent School District
• Hubbard Independent School District
• Mart Independent School District
• Mexia Independent School District
• Mount Calm Independent School District
• Wortham Independent School District

The entire county is in the service area of Navarro College, according to the Texas Education Code.

References

References

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