Baylor County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,465. Its county seat is Seymour.
History
In 1858, the Texas Legislature established Baylor County, naming it for Henry Weidner Baylor, a surgeon in the Texas Rangers during the Mexican–American War. It organized in 1879.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (3.7%) are covered by water.
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Highway 82
- 25px U.S. Highway 183
- 25px U.S. Highway 277
- 25px U.S. Highway 283
- 20px State Highway 114
Adjacent counties
- Wilbarger County (north)
- Wichita County (northeast)
- Archer County (east)
- Young County (southeast)
- Throckmorton County (south)
- Haskell County (southwest)
- Knox County (west)
- Foard County (northwest)
Geology
Baylor County is part of the Texas Red Beds, which are strata of red-colored sedimentary rock from the Early Permian. The fossils of Permian period vertebrates in the Texas Red Beds were first discovered by Edward Drinker Cope in 1877. Subsequent research has revealed rare fossils of Permian amphibians like Trimerorhachis, as well as rich deposits of other Permian tetrapods such as Dimetrodon and Diadectes. Seymouria baylorensis, a species of Seymouria, was first discovered and named after Baylor County and the city of Seymour.