Brown County is a county in central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,095. Its county seat is Brownwood. The county was founded in 1856 and organized in 1858. It is named for Henry Stevenson Brown, a commander at the Battle of Velasco, an early conflict between Texans and Mexicans. The Brownwood, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Brown County.

History

Native Americans lived here for thousands of years before Europeans entered the area. The historic inhabitants were the Penteka (also known to the Europeans as Comanche), who occupied this area at the time of European colonization.

In 1721, the Marqués de San Miguel de Aguayo expedition is said to have passed through the county. <!-- Add Spanish rule for more than a century, Catholic Church, and Mexican independence in 1821 -->

In 1838, land surveys were made of the area. In 1858, the county was formally organized.

In 1874, John Wesley Hardin and gang celebrated his 21st birthday in Brown and Comanche Counties. Deputy Charles Webb drew his gun, provoking a gunfight that ended Webb's life. A lynch mob was formed, but Hardin and his family were put into protective custody. The mob broke into the jail and hanged his brother Joe and two cousins. Hardin fled.

The Fort Worth-Brownwood stage was robbed five times in two months of 1875.

The Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway was built to the county in 1892. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway was built into Brownwood in 1895. The first German prisoners of war arrived in 1943; many had been members of Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps.

In 1889, Howard Payne College and Daniel Baker College were established in Brownwood.

They combined under the name Howard Payne College in 1953.

Major highways

  • 20px U.S. Highway 67
  • 20px U.S. Highway 84
  • 25px U.S. Highway 183
  • 25px U.S. Highway 377
  • 20px State Highway 279
  • 20px Farm to Market Road 45

Adjacent counties

  • Eastland County (north)
  • Comanche County (northeast)
  • Mills County (southeast)
  • San Saba County (south)
  • McCulloch County (southwest)
  • Coleman County (west)
  • Callahan County (northwest)

Demographics