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Texas Counties
Texas is divided into two hundred and fifty-four counties, more than any other state. Texas was originally divided into municipalities, a unit of local government under Spanish and Mexican rule. When the Republic of Texas gained its independence in 1836, there were 23 municipalities, which became the original Texas counties. Many of these would later be divided into new counties. The most recent county to be created was Kenedy County in 1921. The most recent county to be organized was Loving County in 1931Knox County, Texas
Knox County Education, Geography, and History
Knox County is a county located in the state of Texas. Based on the 2010 census, its population was 3,719. Its county seat is Benjamin. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1886. It is named for Henry Knox, an American Revolutionary War general.
Etymology - Origin of Knox County Name
Henry Knox, the first secretary of war of the United States
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Knox County History
Knox County is a county located in the US state of Texas. Its county seat is Benjamin. The county is named for Henry Knox, an American Revolutionary War general.
Handbook of Texas Online
In February 1858 the Texas legislature formed Knox County from lands formerly assigned to Young and Bexar
counties; because the area remained unsettled, it was again decreed a county in 1876 and attached to Baylor County
in 1879 for administrative purposes. In 1880 only three farms or ranches were in operation in the county, and the
census counted seventy-seven residents. Settlers came in larger numbers between 1880 and 1900. Robert D. Goree, who
came as a cattleman to Northwest Texas in 1882, opened up the land to agriculture by encouraging people from older
states and other Texas counties to move into Knox County. The county was organized in 1886, with the town of
Benjamin, founded by Hillary Bedford in 1884 and named for his oldest son, as county seat. The first courthouse, a
small box-and-strip building, was replaced by a native stone structure in 1888.
By 1887 Goree had established a small settlement that he named after himself at Riley Springs, in the southeastern
part of the county, and in 1895 a colony of German Catholics established the town of Rhineland a few miles away.
Several ranchers, including Robert B. Masterson, Tom (William Thomas) Waggoner,
W. R. McFadden, and J. C. Teague, had all or part of their ranges in the county. By 1890 there were seventy-six
farms and ranches in the county, and by 1900 there were 366, encompassing about 449,000 acres. Though almost 39,400
cattle were reported in the county in 1900, farming was becoming more firmly established. The number of acres
devoted to corn production, for example, rose from about 1,500 in 1890 to more than 7,300 by 1900; during that same
period, wheat acres in the county grew from 603 to 13,188, and cotton acres from 336 to 2,135. Meanwhile, the
population of the county had increased to 1,134 by 1890 and to 2,322 by 1900. More at
H. Allen Anderson and John Leffler, "KNOX COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hck11),
accessed January 24, 2016. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Modified on September 30, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Geography: Land and Water
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 855 square miles (2,216 km2), of which, 849
square miles (2,199 km2) of it is land and 6 square miles (17 km2) of it (0.75%) is water.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- Foard County (north)
- Baylor County (east)
- Haskell County (south)
- King County (west)
- Stonewall County (southwest)
Education
The following school districts serve Knox County:
Benjamin ISD
Crowell ISD (mostly in Foard County; small portion in King County)
Knox City-O'Brien Consolidated ISD (partly in Haskell County)
Munday Consolidated ISD (small portions in Haskell and Throckmorton counties)
Seymour ISD (mostly in Baylor County)
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