Brown County, Texas facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Brown County
U.S. county
The Brown County Courthouse in Brownwood
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1858
Named for	Henry Stevenson Brown
Seat	Brownwood
Largest city	Brownwood
Area
• Total	957 sq mi (2,480 km²)
• Land	944 sq mi (2,440 km²)
• Water	13 sq mi (30 km²) 1.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	38,095
• Density	40/sq mi (20/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	11th

Brown County is a county located in central Texas. As of the 2020 census, about 38,095 people lived there. The main city and government center is Brownwood. The county was started in 1856 and officially organized in 1858. It is named after Henry Stevenson Brown, who was a leader in an early conflict between Texans and Mexicans. Brown County is also part of the Brownwood, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area, which means it's a small city area with strong economic ties.

History of Brown County

For thousands of years before Europeans arrived, Indigenous peoples lived in this area. The Penteka people, also known as Comanche, were living here when European settlers first came.

In 1721, a Spanish journey led by the Marqués de San Miguel de Aguayo is believed to have traveled through what is now Brown County.

Early Settlers and County Formation

In 1838, people began surveying the land to map it out. In 1856, Welcome W. Chandler from Mississippi became the first settler. He arrived with his family and built a log cabin near Pecan Bayou. Brown County was created from parts of Comanche and Travis Counties. It was named after Henry Stevenson Brown, an American pioneer from Kentucky. In 1858, the county was officially set up, and Brownwood was chosen as its main city.

Challenges and Growth

In 1875, the stagecoach route between Fort Worth and Brownwood was robbed five times in just two months. Oil was found on a farm near Grosvenor in 1879. In 1886, Texas Rangers stopped two people who were cutting fences. This was part of a bigger disagreement between farmers and ranchers about fencing off open land. By the next year, cotton became the most important crop in the county. The Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway reached the county in 1892. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway arrived in Brownwood in 1895 and later extended its line to Menard in 1903.

Also in 1903, the county voted to become a "dry county," meaning alcohol sales were not allowed. This rule lasted until the 1950s.

Economic Changes and World War II

In 1909, the boll weevil, a small beetle, damaged the cotton crops, which hurt the county's economy. The first commercial oil production started in Brownwood in 1917. A large oil field began producing oil in 1919 near Cross Cut. In 1926, there was a big oil boom, and many new wells were drilled. By 1991, over 50 million barrels of oil had been taken from Brown County lands since 1917.

In 1940, work began on Camp Bowie, a military training camp. During World War II, German prisoners of war arrived in 1943. Many of them had been part of Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps.

Education Milestones

In 1889, two colleges, Howard Payne College and Daniel Baker College, were started in Brownwood. They later joined together in 1953 under the name Howard Payne College.

Geography of Brown County

The U.S. Census Bureau states that Brown County covers a total area of 957 square miles. About 13 square miles (1.3%) of this area is covered by water.

Major Highways in Brown County

U.S. Highway 67
U.S. Highway 84
U.S. Highway 183
U.S. Highway 377
State Highway 279
Farm to Market Road 45

Neighboring Counties

Brown County shares borders with these other counties:

Eastland County (north)
Comanche County (northeast)
Mills County (southeast)
San Saba County (south)
McCulloch County (southwest)
Coleman County (west)
Callahan County (northwest)

Population and People

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	244	—
1870	544	123.0%
1880	8,414	1,446.7%
1890	11,421	35.7%
1900	16,019	40.3%
1910	22,935	43.2%
1920	21,682	−5.5%
1930	26,382	21.7%
1940	25,924	−1.7%
1950	28,607	10.3%
1960	24,728	−13.6%
1970	25,877	4.6%
1980	33,057	27.7%
1990	34,371	4.0%
2000	37,674	9.6%
2010	38,106	1.1%
2020	38,095	0.0%
2024 (est.)	38,631	1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1850–2010 2010 2020

**Brown County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition**
*Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.*
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	29,772	28,478	26,672	79.03%	74.73%	70.01%
Black or African American alone (NH)	1,473	1,303	1,353	3.91%	3.42%	3.55%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	141	170	134	0.37%	0.45%	0.35%
Asian alone (NH)	129	160	269	0.34%	0.42%	0.71%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	2	14	27	0.01%	0.04%	0.07%
Other Race alone (NH)	13	36	96	0.03%	0.09%	0.25%
Mixed Race or Multiracial (NH)	351	492	1,333	0.93%	1.29%	3.50%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	5,793	7,453	8,211	15.38%	15.95%	21.55%
Total	37,674	38,106	38,095	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

In 2000, there were 37,674 people living in Brown County. The population density was about 40 people per square mile. Most people (87.35%) were White, 4.01% were Black or African American, and 15.38% were Hispanic or Latino.

About 31.40% of households had children under 18. The average household had 2.48 people. The median age in the county was 37 years old. The median income for a household was $30,974. About 17.20% of the population lived below the poverty line.

Local Media

The Brownwood Bulletin is the daily newspaper for the area. It also has an online website. Brown County is part of the Abilene, Sweetwater, and Brownwood television market. Local TV stations include KRBC-TV, KTXS-TV, KXVA, KTAB-TV, and KIDU-LD.

Communities in Brown County

Cities

Bangs
Brownwood (the county seat)
Early

Town

Blanket

Census-Designated Places

These are areas that are like towns but not officially incorporated as cities:

Unincorporated Communities

These are smaller communities that are not officially part of a city or town:

Brookesmith
Cross Cut
Grosvenor
Indian Creek
Owens
Winchell

Ghost Towns

These are places where people used to live, but now they are mostly empty:

Byrds
Dulin
Fry
Thrifty

Politics and Voting

Brown County is a strong supporter of the Republican Party. The last time the county voted for a Democratic president was in 1976 for Jimmy Carter.

United States presidential election results for Brown County, Texas
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	14,593	86.59%	2,132	12.65%	128	0.76%
2020	13,698	85.78%	2,107	13.19%	164	1.03%
2016	12,017	85.68%	1,621	11.56%	388	2.77%
2012	11,895	85.29%	1,904	13.65%	148	1.06%
2008	12,052	79.95%	2,822	18.72%	200	1.33%
2004	11,640	81.67%	2,523	17.70%	90	0.63%
2000	9,609	74.37%	3,138	24.29%	173	1.34%
1996	6,524	55.35%	4,138	35.11%	1,125	9.54%
1992	5,313	42.07%	4,264	33.76%	3,053	24.17%
1988	6,810	58.68%	4,763	41.04%	33	0.28%
1984	8,468	67.29%	4,070	32.34%	47	0.37%
1980	6,515	56.41%	4,867	42.14%	167	1.45%
1976	4,483	44.41%	5,577	55.25%	35	0.35%
1972	5,990	72.76%	2,171	26.37%	72	0.87%
1968	2,997	34.84%	3,999	46.49%	1,606	18.67%
1964	2,070	28.38%	5,214	71.49%	9	0.12%
1960	3,512	48.26%	3,720	51.11%	46	0.63%
1956	3,664	53.26%	3,195	46.44%	21	0.31%
1952	4,635	55.02%	3,778	44.85%	11	0.13%
1948	1,071	16.53%	5,059	78.06%	351	5.42%
1944	430	12.13%	2,426	68.45%	688	19.41%
1940	663	12.76%	4,523	87.06%	9	0.17%
1936	448	10.05%	3,971	89.08%	39	0.87%
1932	330	7.54%	4,024	91.98%	21	0.48%
1928	2,033	50.46%	1,992	49.44%	4	0.10%
1924	396	9.99%	3,467	87.48%	100	2.52%
1920	397	16.30%	1,708	70.11%	331	13.59%
1916	181	7.95%	1,986	87.22%	110	4.83%
1912	115	6.81%	1,433	84.84%	141	8.35%

United States Senate election results for Brown County, Texas1
Year	Republican	Democratic	Third party(ies)
No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	14,108	84.08%	2,359	14.06%	313	1.87%

Education in Brown County

The county has several school districts:

Bangs Independent School District
Blanket Independent School District
Brookesmith Independent School District
Brownwood Independent School District
Cross Plains Independent School District
Early Independent School District
May Independent School District
Mullin Independent School District
Rising Star Independent School District
Zephyr Independent School District

For college-level education, the community college serving Brown County is Ranger Junior College District.

Images for kids

The Brown County Courthouse in Brownwood