Washington County, Texas Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Washington County
U.S. county
The Washington County Courthouse in Brenham
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1837
Named for	George Washington
Seat	Brenham
Largest city	Brenham
Area
• Total	622 sq mi (1,610 km²)
• Land	604 sq mi (1,560 km²)
• Water	18 sq mi (50 km²) 2.9%
Population (2020)
• Total	35,805
• Density	58/sq mi (22/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	10th

Brenham Heritage Museum

Washington County is a county in Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 35,805. Its county seat is Brenham, which is located along U.S. Highway 290, 72 miles northwest of Houston. The county was created in 1835 as a municipality of Mexico and organized as a county in 1837. It is named for George Washington, the first president of the United States.

Washington County comprises the Brenham, TX micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Houston-The Woodlands, TX combined statistical area.

Washington-on-the-Brazos in the county is notable as the site of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence during the Convention of 1836. Reflecting the county's history as a destination of mid-19th-century German immigrants who came after the 1848 German revolutions, in the 2000 US Census, more than one-third of residents identified as being of German ancestry.

Geography
- Major highways
- Adjacent counties
Demographics
Communities
Education
See also

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 622 square miles (1,610 km²), of which 18 square miles (47 km²) (2.9%) are covered by water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 290
State Highway 36
State Highway 105

Adjacent counties

Brazos County (north)
Grimes County (northeast)
Waller County (east)
Austin County (south)
Fayette County (southwest)
Lee County (west)
Burleson County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	5,983	—
1860	15,215	154.3%
1870	23,104	51.9%
1880	27,565	19.3%
1890	29,161	5.8%
1900	32,931	12.9%
1910	25,561	−22.4%
1920	26,624	4.2%
1930	25,394	−4.6%
1940	25,387	0.0%
1950	20,542	−19.1%
1960	19,145	−6.8%
1970	18,842	−1.6%
1980	21,998	16.7%
1990	26,154	18.9%
2000	30,373	16.1%
2010	33,718	11.0%
2020	35,805	6.2%
U.S. Decennial Census 1850–2010 2010 2020

**Washington 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 2010	Pop 2020	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	22,394	22,023	66.42%	61.51%
Black or African American alone (NH)	5,861	5,555	17.38%	15.51%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	61	75	0.18%	0.21%
Asian alone (NH)	432	547	1.28%	1.53%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	7	14	0.02%	0.04%
Other race alone (NH)	34	140	0.10%	0.39%
Mixed race or multiracial (NH)	288	1,026	0.85%	2.87%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	4,641	6,425	13.76%	17.94%
Total	33,718	35,805	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census of 2000, 30,373 people, 11,322 households, and 7,936 families were residing in the county. The population density was 50 people per square mile (19 people/km²). There were 13,241 housing units at an average density of 22 units per square mile (8.5 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 74.68% White, 18.66% African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.21% Asian, 4.02% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. About 8.71% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino of any race; 33.6% identified as of German, 6.1% American, 5.7% English, 5.3% Irish, and 5.0% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000. Around 88.1% spoke English, 8.6% Spanish, and 1.2% German as their first language.

Of the 11,322 households, 31.6% had children under 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.90% were not families. About 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the county, the age distribution was 24.7% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,760, and for a family was $43,982. Males had a median income of $31,698 versus $21,346 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,384. About 9.8% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under 18 and 14.5% of those 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Brenham (county seat)
Burton

Unincorporated communities

Berlin
Chappell Hill
Greenvine
Independence
Latium
Longpoint
Mill Creek
Phillipsburg‡
Prairie Hill
Quarry
Sandy Hill
Washington-on-the-Brazos
Wesley
Whitman
Wiedeville
William Penn

Historic communities

As part of a San Jacinto Day speech in 1900, Hon. Harry Haynes said, "This grand old county, the birthplace and cradle of Texas liberty, is in a sense a vast town cemetery. Tiger Point, Union Hill, Long Point, Sandtown, Old Gay Hill, Mt. Vernon, Turkey Creek, Mt. Gilead, Rock Island, Jacksonville, Mustang, all by the inexorable decrees of new conditions and changes wrought in the course of human events have been blotted from the face of this beautiful earth."

Ayres
Cedar Creek – a mile north of Chappell Hill
Coles Settlement
Gay Hill
Goodwill
Graball
Mt. Vernon – 2nd county seat, 1841-1843
Muellersville
Rock Island
Tigertown
Winklemann – single owner tourist town
Yegua
Zionville

Education

School districts:

Brenham Independent School District
Burton Independent School District
Giddings Independent School District
Hallettsville Independent School District

Blinn College is the designated community college for all of the county. Additionally, Washington County is the sole taxation zone for Blinn College, meaning it is the only place with in-district tuition.

Washington County, Texas facts for kids

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