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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 1931Tom Green County, Texas
Tom Green County Education, Geography, and History
Tom Green County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the state of Texas. Based on the 2010 census, its population was 110,224. Its
county seat is San Angelo. The county was created in 1874 and organized the following year.
Tom Green County is included in the San Angelo, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Etymology - Origin of Tom Green County Name
Thomas Green, a Confederate brigadier general
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Tom Green County History
The county was established by the state legislature on March 13, 1874, and named after Thomas Green, a Confederate
brigadier general. It originally comprised an area over 60,000 square miles (160,000 km2).
The original county seat was the town of Ben Ficklin. In 1882, flood waters of the Concho River destroyed the town and drowned 65 people. The
county seat was moved to San(ta) Angela. In 1883, the town's name was officially changed to San Angelo by the United States Post Office.
Tom Green County has an unusual shape, with a long, narrow strip of land extending to the west. This feature is because Reagan County to the
west used to be part of Tom Green County, and the state of Texas required that all counties have a contiguous land route to their county seat.
Therefore, the small strip of land served to connect the two main regions. In 1903, the residents of the western section voted to form their
own county (Reagan County), while in the same vote it was decided that the connecting strip would remain as part of Tom Green County
Handbook of Texas Online
The county was officially established by an act of the state legislature on March 13, 1874, from Bexar land, and was
named in honor of Confederate Brig. Gen. Thomas Green. Because of the omission
of a northern boundary the county was a huge area of more than 60,000 square miles that included the land of
sixty-six modern Texas counties. On August 21, 1876, the northern boundary was drawn from the northwest corner of
Runnels County west to the New Mexico line. This cut off the area of fifty-four counties to the north. The remaining
Tom Green County was still larger than Massachusetts and Connecticut combined and included the area of the modern
counties of Coke, Crane, Ector, Glasscock, Irion, Loving, Midland, Reagan, Sterling, Upton, and Ward. The county
organization election was held on January 5, 1875, when the voters elected officials and chose Ben Ficklin, instead
of the larger San Angelo, as the location for the county seat. Other settlements were Bismarck Farm, Lipan Springs,
and Kickapoo Springs. The 1880s was a period of dramatic change for the county. The institutions of American
civilization were established- businesses, churches, newspapers, schools, and agriculture. By 1880 the population of
3,615 included 3,020 whites, 1,132 Mexicans, and 142 blacks. There were four post offices- Ben Ficklin, Fort Concho,
Knickerbocker, and San Angelo. Ben Ficklin was completely destroyed by flood in August of 1882. Sixty-five people
were killed, and the county seat was moved to safer San Angelo, where a courthouse was built in 1884. The first
sheep were brought from California by John Arden, and later from New England. The controversy between the new
sheepmen and the established cattlemen never escalated to a crisis; in fact, many cattlemen eventually purchased
sheep. A far greater problem, affecting both sheepmen and cattlemen, was barbed wire.
During the 1870s the Goodnight-Loving Trail passed through Fort Concho, then
west along the Middle Concho toward the Pecos River. Tom Green County was open range. But in 1881 L. B. Harris
fenced 20,000 acres, and other ranchers, including John R. Nasworthy and Charles B. Metcalfe,
followed suit. As a result fence-cutting became a major problem. In 1884, after
several years of frustration, some violence, and economic loss, the state legislature made fence-cutting a felony.
By 1885 the open range and longhorn cattle were being replaced by fenced ranches
and improved breeds, such as Durham and later Hereford cattle. In 1886 the
biggest roundup in the history of West Texas occurred near Knickerbocker, when fifteen "outfits" assembled 25,000
cattle. The Concho Times published the first county newspaper in April of 1880, and the San Angelo
Standard was established on May 3, 1884, by W. A. Guthrie and J. G. Murphy. In 1885 San Angelo organized the
first fire department. The 1880s was also marked by the establishment of religious denominations. Although the
Spanish conducted religious services in the county in the seventeenth century, regular service was not held until
Father Mathurin J. Pairier began visiting in 1874 and built the first Catholic
church in 1884. In the 1870s Methodist circuit riders held services and organized the first church in 1882. The
Greater St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1883. Baptist missionaries arrived in 1881 and
two years later organized the Baptist Church of Christ of San Angelo. The First Christian Church began services in
May of 1882 and built their first sanctuary in 1885. The first Presbyterian church was organized in 1886, and the
first Episcopal church was built in 1888. The first subscription school was established in 1876 with twelve
students. The school moved to four more locations before the first public school was established in 1884. Enrollment
grew from 244 students in 1881 to 464 students in 1891. San Angelo Independent School District was formed in 1903 More at
John C. Henderson, "TOM GREEN COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hct07),
accessed January 24, 2016. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Geography: Land and Water
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,541 square miles (3,990 km2), of which,
1,522 square miles (3,942 km2) of it is land and 18 square miles (48 km2) of it (1.20%) is water.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- Coke County (north)
- Runnels County (northeast)
- Concho County (east)
- Schleicher County (south)
- Irion County (west)
- Reagan County (far west)
- Sterling County (northwest)
Education
The following school districts serve Tom Green County:
Christoval ISD
Grape Creek ISD
Miles ISD (mostly in Runnels County)
San Angelo ISD
Veribest ISD
Wall ISD
Water Valley ISD
Colleges
Howard College
Angelo State University
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