Bell County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in Central Texas and its county seat is Belton. As of the 2020 census, its population was 370,647. Bell County is part of the Killeen–Temple, Texas, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county was founded in 1850 and is named for Peter Hansborough Bell, the third governor of Texas. In 2010, the center of population of Texas was located in Bell County, near the town of Holland.
History
In 1834–1835, Little River became part of Robertson's Colony, made up of settlers from Nashville, Tennessee, led by Sterling C. Robertson; they were the families of Captain Goldsby Childers, Robert Davison, John Fulcher, Moses Griffin, John Needham, Michael Reed and his son William Whitaker Reed, William Taylor, and Judge Orville T. Tyler. This area became known as the Tennessee Valley. Soon after (1836) the settlements were deserted during the Runaway Scrape, reoccupied, deserted again after the Elmwood Creek Blood Scrape, and reoccupied. Texas Ranger George Erath established a fort on Little River.
During 1843–44, settlers began returning.
In 1850, Bell County was organized and named for Texas Governor Peter Hansborough Bell. The population then was 600 whites and 60 black slaves. was designated as the county seat in 1851.
The last serious Indian raid in the area occurred in 1859. As another improvement, in 1905, the Belton and Temple Interurban electric railway was completed, providing service between the cities. She won re-election in 1932 for a nonconsecutive second term.
The state founded Central Texas College in 1965 in Killeen. By 1980, Killeen became the most populous city in Bell County. In another type of development, the Bell County Expo Center opened in 1987.
Since the late 20th century, the county has been the site of several notable violent incidents. On October 16, 1991, in the Luby's shooting, George Hennard murdered 23 people and wounded 27 others before killing himself. It was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States at the time. On June 21st, 1999, Brandon Bernard and four accomplices kidnapped and murdered youth pastors Todd and Stacie Bagley near Killeen, Texas. The ringleader, Christopher Vialva, shot the couple before Bernard set their car on fire. Their bodies were found in Belton Lake. Vialva was sentenced to death, and Bernard, also sentenced to death, was executed in 2020. In the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, Army major Nidal Hasan murdered 13 people and wounded 30 others before being paralyzed in return fire. In the 2014 Fort Hood shootings, Army Specialist Ivan Lopez murdered three people and wounded 16 others. On May 3, 2022, a stabbing at Belton High School by a fellow student left 18-year-old Jose Luis "Joe" Ramirez Jr. critically injured. He later died from complications in a local hospital. The suspect, Caysen Tyler Allison, was arrested and charged. On December 21, 2024, John Darrel Schultz, 53, drove a pickup truck through the outside entrance of the JCPenney store at the Killeen Mall during a police chase, striking five people inside before being fatally shot by officers.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (3.4%) are covered by water.
Adjacent counties
- McLennan County (north)
- Falls County (northeast)
- Milam County (southeast)
- Williamson County (south)
- Burnet County (southwest)
- Lampasas County (west)
- Coryell County (northwest)