Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
John H. Long, Editor; Peggy Tuck Sinko, Associate Editor and Historical Compiler; Douglas Knox, Book Digitizing Director; Emily Kelley, Research Associate and Digital Compiler; Laura Rico-Beck, GIS Specialist and Digital Compiler; Peter Siczewicz, ArcIMS Interactive Map Designer; Robert Will, Cartographic Assistant
Copyright The Newberry Library 2008
1689-1693
Governor of the Spanish province of Coahuila (part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain) extended his authority to include Texas. His authority ended with the withdrawal of the Spanish missions from east Texas in 1693. (Beers, 97; "Coahuila and Texas," New Handbook of Texas, 2:171)
1716
Coahuila Province again extended its authority over Texas. (Beers, 97-98; "Coahuila and Texas," New Handbook of Texas, 2:171)
24 October 1731
SAN FERNANDO DE BEXAR (now BEXAR, original county) established as a municipality under the authority of New Spain. Precise boundaries not described [not mapped]. (Austin, 298; Cruz, 64-76)
3 September 1746
Nuevo Santander created as a province in New Spain; included that part of present Texas between the Nueces and Rio Grande Rivers. ("Nuevo Santander," New Handbook of Texas, 4:1074-1075 and "Spanish Texas," New Handbook of Texas, 6:14)
22 February 1819
Adams-Onis Treaty between the United States and Spain established the boundary between the two countries from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. Ratifications exchanged 22 February 1821. (Parry, 70:1-30; Van Zandt, 120-121)
1 June 1819
HEMPSTEAD (Ark.) created by Missouri Territory from ARKANSAS (Ark.) and non-county area. HEMPSTEAD included territory in present Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Inclusion of Texas territory was primarily due to uncertainty about the location on the ground of the boundary between the United States and Spanish Texas. Act passed 14 December 1818; took effect 1 June 1819. (Mo. Terr. Laws 1818, ch. 232a, secs. 1-3/pp. 589-591)
Starting in 1726 the area in present Texas became a separate province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. (Beers, 98)
1 April 1820
MILLER (Ark. Terr., extinct) created by Arkansas Territory from HEMPSTEAD (Ark.); included parts of present Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. (Ark. Terr. Acts 1820, 1st sess./pp. 83-86; Reynolds, 230-231)
August 1820
LA BAHIA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO (now GOLIAD, original county) established as a municipality under the authority of New Spain. Precise boundaries not known; general area of municipality mapped. (Cunniff, 82)
18 October 1820
Treaty of Doak's Stand, between the United States and the Choctaw Indians, granted possession of the territory north of Red River and west of a point three miles below the mouth of Little River in present Arkansas to the Choctaws; included all of MILLER (Ark. Terr., extinct) north of Red River. White settlers protested, but the War Department did attempt to remove settlers living west of the Kiamichi River in present Oklahoma [not mapped]. (Royce, 700-703; Strickland, 162-165)
24 August 1821
Republic of Mexico gained its independence from Spain; present Texas became part of Mexico. Transfer of authority over Texas took place 24 August 1822. (Beers, 100; "Mexican War of Independence," New Handbook of Texas, 4:698)
18 August 1823
Province of Texas became a separate political entity in Mexico. (Bacarisse, 342; Beers, 100)
7 May 1824
Under the 1824 Constitution for the Republic of Mexico, the state of Coahuila and the former Spanish province of Texas were united and organized as the state of Coahuila and Texas; included part of present east Texas and the northern part of Mexico. (Bacarisse, 345; "Coahuila and Texas," New Handbook of Texas, 2:171)
26 May 1824
MILLER (Ark. Terr., extinct) lost to Choctaw Indian territory when the western extent of Arkansas Territory was moved to a line running forty miles west of the southern corner of Missouri. No change to the portion of MILLER that overlapped present Texas. (U.S. Stat., vol. 4, ch. 155 [1824]/pp. 40-41; Morris, Goins, McReynolds, 21; Van Zandt, 119)
31 May 1824
BEXAR created as a department or district within the Mexican state of Coahuila and Texas. Boundaries were indefinite but BEXAR encompassed a large portion of present Texas [not mapped]. ("Mexican Government of Texas," New Handbook of Texas, 4:685)
6 July 1824
New Mexico was declared a territory by the Mexican government; included western part of present Texas [not mapped]. (Weber, 23-25)
December 1824
Department of Texas, also known as the District of Bexar, was organized as a subdivision of the state of Coahuila and Texas. Full boundaries and extent of Bexar not defined [not mapped]. ("Coahuila and Texas," New Handbook of Texas, 2:171)
20 January 1825
Treaty of Washington between the United States and Choctaw Indians definitively established the eastern line of the Choctaw Session (present boundary between Arkansas and Oklahoma) and affirmed Choctaw control of that part of MILLER (Ark. Terr., extinct) north of the Red River. (Royce, 708-709; Strickland, 162-163, 170)
19 March 1826
NACOGDOCHES (original county) established as a municipality by Mexico. Precise boundaries not described; municipality had initial jurisdiction over territory between the Neches and Sabine Rivers and the remaining area east of the Trinity River was designated part of NACOGDOCHES on 17 March 1836. Continued uncertainty over the boundary between the United States and Mexico resulted in an overlap between NACOGDOCHES and HEMPSTEAD (Ark.) and MILLER (Ark. Terr., extinct). ("Nacogdoches County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:926; Singletary, 88-90)
12 January 1828
Treaty between Mexico and the United States re-affirmed the boundary between the two countries as established by the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819. (Parry, 78:35-42; Van Zandt, 121)
1 February 1828
LAFAYETTE (Ark.) created by Arkansas Territory from HEMPSTEAD (Ark.); included part of present Texas. HEMPSTEAD eliminated from present Texas. Act passed 15 October 1827; took effect 1 February 1828. (Ark. Terr. Acts 1827, 5th sess./pp. 10-12)
12 February 1828
SAN FELIPE DE AUSTIN (now AUSTIN, original county) established as a municipality by Mexico. Precise boundaries not described; municipality had jurisdiction over territory between the Lavaca and San Jacinto Rivers, and south of the San Antonio Road to the Gulf of Mexico. ("Austin County," New Handbook of Texas, 1:305; Barker, 299-307)
6 May 1828
MILLER (Ark. Terr., extinct) lost to Indian lands when treaty between the U.S. and Cherokee Indians established the western line of Arkansas Territory north of Red River along the eastern line of the Choctaw Session. No change to the portion of MILLER that overlapped present Texas. (Ark. Terr. Acts 1828, spec. sess./pp. 9-10; Royce, 720-721)
1 November 1828
SEVIER (Ark.) created by Arkansas Territory from HEMPSTEAD (Ark.) and MILLER (Ark. Terr., extinct); included part of present Texas. Act passed 17 October 1828; took effect 1 November 1828. (Ark. Terr. Acts 1828, spec. sess./pp. 5-8 and sec. 9/p. 28; Strickland, 42-43)
1828
VICTORIA (original county) established as a municipality by Mexico. Precise boundaries not described; general area of municipality mapped. (Grimes, 448)
4 February 1829
LA BAHIA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO renamed GOLIAD. (Gammel, 1:Laws and Decrees of Coahuila and Texas, decree no. 73/p. 222)
14 November 1829
MILLER (Ark. Terr., extinct) gained from SEVIER (Ark.); SEVIER eliminated from present Texas. (Ark. Terr. Acts 1829, 6th sess./p. 91)
31 January 1831
NACOGDOCHES defined, overlap with LAYFETTE (Ark.) and MILLER (Ark. Terr. extinct) continued. (Gammel, 1:Laws and Decrees of Coahuila and Texas, decree no. 164/p. 171)
5 May 1831
LIBERTY (original county) created from NACOGDOCHES; established as a municipality by Mexico. Precise boundaries not described; general area of municipality mapped. (Partlow, inside front cover, 79-81, 325)
1 May 1832
BRAZORIA ( original county) created from AUSTIN; established as a municipality by Mexico. (Gammel, 1:Laws and Decrees of Coahuila and Texas, decree no. 196/p. 307)
November 1832
GONZALES (original county) established as a municipality by Mexico. Precise boundaries not described until 14 December 1837; general area of municipality mapped. (Rather, 126)
1834
BEVIL (now JASPER, original county) created from LIBERTY; established as a municipality by Mexico. Precise boundaries not described; general area of municipality mapped. ("Bevil, John," New Handbook of Texas, 1:514)
6 March 1834
MATAGORDA (original county) created from BRAZORIA; established as a municipality by Mexico. (Gammel, 1:Laws and Decrees of Coahuila and Texas, decree no. 265/p. 352)
SAN AUGUSTINE (original county) created from NACOGDOCHES; established as a municipality by Mexico. (Gammel, 1:Laws and Decrees of Coahuila and Texas, decree no. 265/p. 352)
April 1834
BRAZORIA renamed COLUMBIA. (Gammel, 1:Laws and Decrees of Coahuila and Texas, decree no. 283/p. 385)
MINA (now BASTROP, original county) established as a municipality by Mexico from AUSTIN and unorganized area in Mexico. (Gammel, 1:Laws and Decrees of Coahuila and Texas, decree no. 283/p. 384)
SAN PATRICIO (original county) established as a municipality by Mexico. (Gammel, 1:Laws and Decrees of Coahuila and Texas, decree no. 283/p. 384)
1 July 1834
REFUGIO (original county) established as a municipality by Mexico. (Huson, 1:1, 200; Henderson, 32:10)
October 1834
VIESCA (now MILAM, original county) established as a municipality by Mexico. (McLean, 3:300; 9:31-32, 39)
18 July 1835
WASHINGTON (original county) created from AUSTIN and LIBERTY; established as a municipality by Mexico. Precise boundaries not described; general area of municipality mapped. ("Documents Relating to the Organization.," 99; Partlow, inside front cover, 326)
11 November 1835
RED RIVER (original county) created from NACOGDOCHES; overlapped LAFAYETTE (Ark.) and MILLER (Ark. Terr., extinct). Established as a municipality by the Provisional Government of Texas, although specific boundaries not described until 18 Dec 1837. Boundaries mapped are based on 18 Dec 1837 descriptions. LAFAYETTE (Ark.) and MILLER (Ark. Terr., extinct) had been established in the same area in the 1820s, resulting in competing claims to the area by Arkansas Territory and the Republic of Texas. (Gammel, 1:Journals of the Consultation, 28)
TENEHAW (now SHELBY, original county) created from NACOGDOCHES and SAN AUGUSTINE; overlapped part of MILLER (Ark. Terr., extinct). Specific boundaries were not described until 14 Dec 1837. Boundaries mapped are based on 14 Dec 1837 descriptions. MILLER (Ark. Terr., extinct) had been established in the same area in 1820, resulting in competing claims to the area by Arkansas Territory and the Republic of Texas. (Gammel, 1:Journals of the Consultation, 28)
12 November 1835
COLUMBIA renamed BRAZORIA. (Gammel, 1:Journals of the Consultation, 31)
15 November 1835
Provisional Government of Texas was established by the Consultation, a group of delegates who met to discuss the war with Mexico and the movement toward Texas independence; the Provisional Government governed Texas until 1 March 1836. ("Provisional Government," New Handbook of Texas, 5:364)
3 December 1835
BEVIL renamed JASPER. (Gammel, 1:Proceedings of the Gen. Council, 65, 68)
5 December 1835
JACKSON (original county) created from MATAGORDA; established as a municipality by the Provisional Government of Texas. (Gammel, 1:Ordinances and Decrees, Provisional Govt. Texas, 45)
9 December 1835
JEFFERSON (original county) created from JASPER; established as a municipality by the Provisional Government of Texas. (Gammel, 1:Ordinances and Decrees, Provisional Govt. Texas, 51; Connor, 177-178)
15 December 1835
JASPER gained from SAN AUGUSTINE. (Gammel, 1:Ordinances and Decrees, Provisional Govt. Texas, 89)
SABINE (original county) created from SAN AUGUSTINE; established as a municipality by the Provisional Government of Texas. (Gammel, 1:Ordinances and Decrees, Provisional Govt. Texas, 89)
27 December 1835
VIESCA renamed MILAM. (Gammel, 1:Ordinances and Decrees, Provisional Govt. Texas, 98)
28 December 1835
MATAGORDA gained from BRAZORIA. (Gammel, 1:Ordinances and Decrees, Provisional Govt. Texas, 114)
1 January 1836
HARRISBURG (now HARRIS, original county) created from AUSTIN and LIBERTY; established as a municipality by the Provisional Government of Texas. (Gammel, 1:Ordinances and Decrees, Provisional Govt. Texas, 119)
16 January 1836
COLORADO (original county) created from AUSTIN and MINA (now BASTROP); established as a municipality by the Provisional Government of Texas. (Gammel, 1:Ordinances and Decrees, Provisional Govt. Texas, 130)
18 January 1836
TENEHAW renamed SHELBY. (Gammel, 1:Ordinances and Decrees, Provisional Govt. Texas, 121-122)
2 March 1836
Galveston Island did not fall under the jurisdiction of any county at the time Texas declared its independence from Mexico. ("Republic of Texas," New Handbook of Texas, 5:537-538; Swindler, 9:247, 249)
Texas declared its independence from Mexico; map depicts non-county area in the Republic of Texas. ("Republic of Texas," New Handbook of Texas, 5:537-538; Swindler, 9:247, 249)
17 March 1836
Constitution of the Republic of Texas implicitly recognized the earlier Mexican municipalities of AUSTIN, BEXAR, BRAZORIA, COLORADO, GOLIAD, GONZALES, HARRISBURG (now HARRIS), JACKSON, JASPER, JEFFERSON, LIBERTY, MATAGORDA, MILAM, MINA (now BASTROP), NACOGODOCHES, RED RIVER, REFUGIO, SABINE, SAN AUGUSTINE, SAN PATRICIO, SHELBY, VICTORIA, and WASHINGTON as the Republic's original twenty-three counties. (Connor, 170-171; Swindler, 9:254-255)
19 December 1836
BEXAR boundaries implicitly expanded to cover all non-county area when the Republic of Texas officially established its boundaries. BEXAR included parts of present Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Texas. (Texas Repub. Laws 1836, 1st cong./p. 133)
The Republic of Texas officially established its boundaries: on the north and east, the Adams-Onis Treaty line; on the south the Rio Grande River; and on the west, from the source of the Rio Grande River north to the 42d parallel. Area between the Rio Grande and Nueces Rivers remained in dispute, and neither the Republic of Texas nor Mexico established effective control of the area. (Texas Repub. Laws 1836, 1st cong./p. 133; Frantz and Cox, 29, 31; Stephens and Holmes, 34)
22 December 1836
HARRISBURG (now HARRIS) gained Galveston Island. (Texas Repub. Laws 1836, 1st cong./p. 224)
12 June 1837
HOUSTON created by the Republic of Texas from NACOGDOCHES; HOUSTON not fully organized. (Texas Repub. Laws 1836, 1st cong./p. 270)
4 September 1837
HOUSTON fully organized. (Texas Repub. Laws 1836, 1st cong./p. 271)
14 December 1837
FANNIN created by the Republic of Texas from NACOGDOCHES; FANNIN not fully organized. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./p. 53)
FAYETTE created by the Republic of Texas from COLORADO and MINA (now BASTROP); FAYETTE not fully organized. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./pp. 35-36)
HARRISBURG (now HARRIS) gained from WASHINGTON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./p. 49)
JASPER boundaries defined; JASPER gained from SABINE. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./p. 55)
MONTGOMERY created by the Republic of Texas from LIBERTY, WASHINGTON, and a small part of AUSTIN; MONTGOMERY fully organized. Non-County Area 1 created from a remnant of WASHINGTON that was east of MONTGOMERY. Boundary between AUSTIN and WASHINGTON defined (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./p. 33)
ROBERTSON created by the Republic of Texas from BEXAR, MILAM and NACOGDOCHES; ROBERTSON not fully organized. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./p. 56)
SABINE exchanged with SHELBY when SHELBY boundaries defined. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./pp. 48-49, 52, 55)
SAN AUGUSTINE boundaries defined; SAN AUGUSTINE gained from SABINE. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./p. 52)
VICTORIA gained from GONZALES when GONZALES boundaries were defined. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./p. 42)
18 December 1837
LIBERTY boundaries defined. LIBERTY gained from HARRISBURG (now HARRIS) and gained all of Non-County Area 1 (which was eliminated); Non-County Area 2 created from LIBERTY. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./p. 84)
Non-County Area 3 created from MINA (now BASTROP); MINA renamed BASTROP; BASTROP exchanged with BEXAR. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./pp. 90-91)
RED RIVER boundaries defined [this definition used for 11 November 1835 creation]. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./p. 89)
21 December 1837
JEFFERSON gained all of Non-County Area 2 (which was eliminated); JASPER gained from JEFFERSON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./p. 110)
29 December 1837
FORT BEND created by the Republic of Texas from AUSTIN, BRAZORIA, and HARRISBURG (now HARRIS); FORT BEND not fully organized. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./p. 118)
JACKSON gained from MATAGORDA and VICTORIA; COLORADO gained from JACKSON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1837, 2d cong., 1st sess./p. 121 and Texas Repub. Laws 1839, 4th cong./p. 249)
13 January 1838
FORT BEND fully organized. ("Fort Bend County," New Handbook of Texas, 2:1087)
18 January 1838
FAYETTE fully organized. ("Fayette County," New Handbook of Texas, 2:969)
February 1838
FANNIN fully organized. (Hodge, 8)
by March 1838
ROBERTSON fully organized. (HRS Texas, Robertson, 4)
25 April 1838
Treaty between the Republic of Texas and the United States re-affirmed that the boundary established by the treaty of 12 January 1828 between the United States and Mexico would be observed by the United States and the Republic of Texas. (Parry, 87:437-438)
3 May 1838
FAYETTE gained from Non-County Area 3. (Texas Repub. Laws 1838, 2d cong., 2d sess./p. 2)
15 May 1838
GALVESTON created by the Republic of Texas from BRAZORIA, HARRISBURG (now HARRIS), and LIBERTY; GALVESTON not fully organized. (Texas Repub. Laws 1838, 2d cong., 2d sess./p. 24)
24 May 1838
AUSTIN gained small area from WASHINGTON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1838, 2d cong., 2d sess./p. 43)
BEXAR exchanged with SAN PATRICIO. (Texas Repub. Laws 1838, 2d cong., 2d sess./p. 33)
GONZALES gained all of Non-County Area 3; Non-County Area 3 eliminated. (Texas Repub. Laws 1838, 2d cong., 2d sess./p. 44)
MONTGOMERY boundaries defined and clarified [no change]. (Texas Repub. Laws 1838, 2d cong., 2d sess./p. 45)
Part of BASTROP boundary defined [no change]. (Texas Repub. Laws 1838, 2d cong., 2d sess./p. 44)
27 August 1838
GALVESTON fully organized. (Hayes, 1:304)
by November 1838
Arkansas effectively lost control of MILLER (Ark. Terr., extinct). (Ark. Acts 1838, 2d sess./p. 138; Reynolds, 234-235)
10 January 1839
Boundary between AUSTIN and FORT BEND clarified [no change]. (Texas Repub. Laws 1838, 3d cong./p. 33)
25 January 1839
HARRISON created by the Republic of Texas from SHELBY, overlapped part of MILLER (Ark. Terr. extinct); HARRISON not fully organized. (Texas Repub. Laws 1838, 3d cong./p. 143)
28 November 1839
FANNIN gained from BEXAR, NACOGDOCHES, and ROBERTSON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1839, 4th cong./p. 194)
16 December 1839
BRAZORIA gained San Luis Island from GALVESTON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1839, 4th cong./p. 183)
28 December 1839
HARRISBURG renamed HARRIS. (Texas Repub. Laws 1839, 4th cong./p. 222)
25 January 1840
MONTGOMERY gained from HARRIS. (Texas Repub. Laws 1839, 4th cong./p. 222)
TRAVIS created by the Republic of Texas from BASTROP; western boundary clarified 5 February 1840. TRAVIS not fully organized. (Texas Repub. Laws 1839, 4th cong./pp. 181, 254)
4 February 1840
MILAM gained from WASHINGTON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1839, 4th cong./p. 223)
5 February 1840
FORT BEND gained from AUSTIN and HARRIS. (Texas Repub. Laws 1839, 4th cong./p. 220)
NORTHERN DIVISION OF LIBERTY (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from LIBERTY. (Texas Repub. Laws 1839, 4th cong./p. 205)
Western boundary of TRAVIS clarified [no change]. (Texas Repub. Laws 1839, 4th cong./p. 181)
February 1840
TRAVIS fully organized. ("Travis County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:553)
21 May 1840
Survey of boundary between the Republic of Texas and the United States began. HARRISON. NACOGODOCHES, and RED RIVER overlaps with LAFAYETTE (Ark.) and MILLER (Ark Terr., extinct) ended when Texas claims to the area were upheld. LAFAYETTE and MILLER eliminated from present Texas. (U.S. Stat., vol. 5, ch. 75 [1844]/p. 674; Marshall, 235-236)
17 December 1840
BOWIE and LAMAR created by the Republic of Texas from RED RIVER; BOWIE and LAMAR not fully organized. (Texas Repub. Laws 1840, 5th cong./p. 97)
1841
BOWIE fully organized. ("Old Boston," New Handbook of Texas, 4:1132)
19 January 1841
WARD (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from COLORADO, JACKSON, and MATAGORDA. WARD (Judicial County) was located in a different area of Texas from present WARD. (Texas Repub. Laws 1840, 5th cong./p. 65)
20 January 1841
GALVESTON gained from BRAZORIA, JEFFERSON, and LIBERTY. (Texas Repub. Laws 1840, 5th cong./ p. 45)
21 January 1841
SPRING CREEK (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from HARRIS and MONTGOMERY. (Texas Repub. Laws 1840, 5th cong./p. 49)
22 January 1841
MENARD (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from LIBERTY; MENARD (Judicial County) was located in a different area of Texas from present MENARD. (Texas Repub. Laws 1840, 5th cong./p. 74)
25 January 1841
Boundary between MATAGORDA and VICTORIA clarified along the Gulf Shore [no change]. (Texas Repub. Laws 1840, 5th cong./p. 102)
28 January 1841
FORT BEND gained from AUSTIN and HARRIS. FORT BEND boundary clarified on 4 February 1841 [no change]. (Texas Repub. Laws 1840, 5th cong./pp. 80, 136)
PASCHAL (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from BOWIE, LAMAR, and RED RIVER. (Texas Repub. Laws 1840, 5th cong./p. 56)
30 January 1841
BURNET (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from HOUSTON; BURNET (Judicial County) was located in a different area of Texas from present BURNET. [south line is estimated] (Texas Repub. Laws 1840, 5th cong./p. 94)
NAVASOTO (now BRAZOS) created by the Republic of Texas from ROBERTSON and WASHINGTON; NAVASOTO not fully organized. (Texas Repub. Laws 1840, 5th cong./pp. 86-88)
PANOLA (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from HARRISON. PANOLA (Judicial County) was located directly north of present PANOLA. SHELBY exchanged with HARRISON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1840, 5th cong./ pp. 153-155)
1 February 1841
LAMAR fully organized. ("Lamar County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:40)
24 June 1841
Surveyors reached the Red River, completing the survey of the boundary of the Republic of Texas with Arkansas and Louisiana. (Marshall, 241)
2 December 1841
GOLIAD gained from REFUGIO, exchanged with SAN PATRICIO when GOLIAD boundaries were surveyed and defined. (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./p. 6)
6 December 1841
BURNET (Judicial County) gained from NACOGDOCHES; HOUSTON gained from BURNET (Judicial County). (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./p. 7)
7 December 1841
NORTHERN DIVISION OF LIBERTY (Judicial County) renamed TRINITY (Judicial County); TRINITY (Judicial County) was located south of present TRINITY. (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./p. 8)
15 January 1842
BURLESON (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from MILAM; BURLESON (Judicial County) was located in the same general area as present BURLESON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./p. 36)
28 January 1842
NAVASOTO renamed BRAZOS. (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./p. 73)
29 January 1842
Boundary between AUSTIN and WASHINGTON adjusted [change too small to map]. (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./p. 76)
GUADALUPE (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from BEXAR, GONZALES, and TRAVIS; GUADALUPE (Judicial County) was located in the same general area as present GUADALUPE. (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./p. 78)
LA BACA (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from COLORADO, FAYETTE, GONZALES, JACKSON, and VICTORIA; LA BACA (Judicial County) was located in the same general area as present LAVACA. (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./p. 74)
NECHES (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from JASPER and JEFFERSON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./pp. 82-84)
WACO (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from MILAM and ROBERTSON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./p. 80)
1 February 1842
SMITH (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from NACOGDOCHES and small areas of HARRISON and SHELBY. SMITH (Judicial County) was located directly east of present SMITH. (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./pp. 87-89)
2 February 1842
DE WITT (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from GONZALES and VICTORIA; DE WITT (Judicial County) was located in the same general area as present DE WITT. (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./p. 89)
HAMILTON (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from HOUSTON and MONTGOMERY; HAMILTON (Judicial County) was located in a different area of Texas from present HAMILTON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./pp. 91-93)
MADISON (Judicial County) created by the Republic of Texas from MONTGOMERY; MADISON (Judicial County) was located south of present MADISON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1841, 6th cong., 1st sess./pp. 91-93)
18 June 1842
HARRISON fully organized. (Gournay, 39-40)
27 June 1842
Republic of Texas Supreme Court ruled judicial counties unconstitutional; all judicial counties eliminated. Elimination resulted in the following changes. ("Stockton v. Montgomery" in Dallam, 473-486)
BEXAR gained from GUADALUPE (Judicial County).
BOWIE gained from PASCHAL (Judicial County).
COLORADO gained from LA BACA (Judicial County) and WARD (Judicial County).
FAYETTE gained from LA BACA (Judicial County).
GONZALES gained from DE WITT (Judicial County), GUADALUPE (Judicial County), and LA BACA (Judicial County).
HARRIS gained from SPRING CREEK (Judicial County).
HARRISON gained from PAOLA (Judicial County) and SMITH (Judicial County).
HOUSTON gained from BURNET (Judicial County) and HAMILTON (Judicial County).
JACKSON gained from LA BACA (Judicial County) and WARD (Judicial County).
JASPER gained from NECHES (Judicial County).
JEFFERSON gained from NECHES (Judicial County).
LAMAR gained from PASCHAL (Judicial County).
LIBERTY gained from MENARD (Judicial County) and TRINITY (Judicial County).
MATAGORDA gained from WARD (Judicial County).
MILAM gained from BURLESON (Judicial County) and WACO (Judicial County).
MONTGOMERY gained from HAMILTON (Judicial County), MADISON (Judicial County), and SPRING CREEK (Judicial County).
NACOGDOCHES gained from BURNET (Judicial County) and SMITH (Judicial County).
RED RIVER gained from PASCHAL (Judicial County).
ROBERTSON gained from WACO (Judicial County).
SHELBY gained small area from SMITH (Judicial County).
TRAVIS gained from GUADALUPE (Judicial County).
VICTORIA gained from DE WITT (Judicial County) and LA BACA (Judicial County).
26 December 1842
Non-County Area 4 created from LAMAR. (Texas Repub. Laws 1842, 7th cong./p. 1)
16 January 1843
BOWIE boundaries clarified [no change]. (Texas Repub. Laws 1842, 7th cong./p. 37)
Non-County Area 4 attached to LAMAR for administrative and judicial purposes. (Texas Repub. Laws 1842, 7th cong./pp. 37-38)
RUSK created by the Republic of Texas from NACOGDOCHES and small areas of both HARRISON and SHELBY; RUSK not fully organized. (Texas Repub. Laws 1842, 7th cong./pp. 39-41)
6 February 1843
BRAZOS fully organized. (Kennedy, 66)
by 23 September 1843
RUSK fully organized. (Winfrey, 20)
3 January 1844
Non-County Area 4 gained from LAMAR; attached to LAMAR for administrative and judicial purposes. (Texas Repub. Laws 1843, 8th cong./p. 6)
8 January 1844
BOWIE gained from HARRISON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1843, 8th cong./p. 12)
1 February 1844
Part of the boundary between AUSTIN and WASHINGTON clarified [no change]. (Texas Repub. Laws 1843, 8th cong./p. 58)
24 December 1844
MATAGORDA and VICTORIA both gained from JACKSON. (Texas Repub. Laws 1844, 9th cong., 1st sess./p. 5)
31 December 1844
RUSK gained from HARRISON and SHELBY. (Texas Repub. Laws 1844, 9th cong., 1st sess./p. 8)
18 January 1845
REFUGIO and SAN PATRICIO both re-organized. (Texas Repub. Laws 1844, 9th cong., 1st sess./p. 21)
1 February 1845
SHELBY gained from RUSK. (Texas Repub. Laws 1844, 9th cong., 1st sess./p. 62)
29 December 1845
Congress admitted the state of Texas to the Union; Republic of Texas eliminated. Thirty-six counties in the Republic of Texas: AUSTIN, BASTROP, BEXAR, BOWIE, BRAZORIA, BRAZOS, COLORADO, FANNIN, FAYETTE, FORT BEND, GALVESTON, GOLIAD, GONZALES, HARRIS, HARRISON, HOUSTON, JACKSON, JASPER, JEFFERSON, LAMAR, LIBERTY, MATAGORDA, MILAM, MONTGOMERY, NACOGDOCHES, RED RIVER, REFUGIO, ROBERTSON, RUSK, SABINE, SAN AUGUSTINE, SAN PATRICIO, SHELBY, TRAVIS, VICTORIA, and WASHINGTON became counties in the State of Texas. (Texas Repub. Laws 1845, 9th cong., spec. sess./pp. 4-6; U.S. Stat., vol. 9, res. 1 [1845]/p. 108; Van Zandt, 122)
14 March 1846
Part of FANNIN reverted to non-county area that was designated Fannin Land District. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 6)
17 March 1846
GRAYSON created from non-county area in Fannin Land District; northern part of Fannin Land District attached to GRAYSON for administrative and judicial purposes. GRAYSON not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 7)
LEON created from ROBERTSON; LEON not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 8)
24 March 1846
ANDERSON created from HOUSTON and NACOGDOCHES; ANDERSON not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 20)
AUSTIN exchanged with FORT BEND. Area between Sixteen Mile Creek and San Bernard River was in dispute, although it appears that the 1841 boundary line continued to be generally observed. Boundary question settled 30 October 1931. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 15)
BRAZORIA gained from FORT BEND, and exchanged small areas with MATAGORDA. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./pp. 15, 18-20)
BURLESON created from MILAM; BURLESON not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./pp. 16-18)
COMAL created from BEXAR, TRAVIS, and a small part of GONZALES; COMAL not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 13)
DE WITT created from GOLIAD, GONZALES, and VICTORIA; DE WITT not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 18)
25 March 1846
HOPKINS created from NACOGDOCHES and from Non-County Area 4 attached to LAMAR; Non-County Area 4 eliminated; HOPKINS not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 24)
30 March 1846
DALLAS created from NACOGDOCHES and ROBERTSON; DALLAS not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 26)
GUADALUPE created from BEXAR, GONZALES, and TRAVIS; GUADALUPE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 33)
Non-County Area 5 created from MATAGORDA; anticipated creation of WHARTON on 3 Apr 1846. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 34)
PANOLA created from HARRISON and RUSK; PANOLA not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 31)
POLK created from LIBERTY; POLK not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./pp. 27-29)
1 April 1846
VICTORIA boundaries redefined: VICTORIA gained from REFUGIO; JACKSON gained from VICTORIA; Non-County Area 6 created from VICTORIA; anticipated creation of CALHOUN on 4 April 1846. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 35)
3 April 1846
COLLIN created from non-county area of Fannin Land District; resulted in an overlap with GRAYSON (see Overlap Area 1). Southern part Fannin Land District attached to COLLIN for administrative and judicial purposes. COLLIN not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 44)
Creation of COLLIN resulted in an overlap with GRAYSON (Overlap Area 1). (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 44)
Non-County Area 7 and Non-County Area 8 both created from JACKSON. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./pp. 37-38)
TYLER created from LIBERTY; TYLER not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./pp. 42-44)
WHARTON created from COLORADO, JACKSON, and all of Non-County Area 5 (which was eliminated); WHARTON not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 38)
4 April 1846
CALHOUN created from Non-County Area 6 and Non-County Area 7 (which were eliminated); CALHOUN not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 48)
6 April 1846
COLORADO gained from Non-County Area 8. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./pp. 37, 49)
GRIMES and WALKER both created from MONTGOMERY; GRIMES and WALKER not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 50-51)
LAVACA created from COLORADO, FAYETTE, GONZALES, and Non-County Area 8; LAVACA not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 49)
11 April 1846
CHEROKEE created from NACOGDOCHES; CHEROKEE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./pp. 63-65)
DENTON created from parts of Fannin Land District attached to both COLLIN and GRAYSON; resulted in an overlap with GRAYSON (see Overlap Area 1). DENTON not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 57)
HUNT created from NACOGDOCHES and from non-county area in Fannin Land District; HUNT not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 58)
LIMESTONE created from ROBERTSON; LIMESTONE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 72)
Non-County Area 9 created from all that part of ROBERTSON north of LIMESTONE. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./pp. 60, 72)
Overlap Area 1 expanded when creation of DENTON resulted in an overlap with GRAYSON. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 57)
SMITH created from NACOGDOCHES; SMITH not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./pp. 55-57)
18 April 1846
Non-County Area 10 and Non-County Area 11 both created from NACOGDOCHES when NACOGDOCHES boundaries defined. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 93)
NUECES created from SAN PATRICIO; NUECES not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 90)
SAN PATRICIO gained from REFUGIO. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./pp. 86, 90)
22 April 1846
ANGELINA created from Non-County Area 10 (which was eliminated); ANGELINA not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 120)
NEWTON created from JASPER; NEWTON not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 122)
25 April 1846
CASS created from BOWIE; CASS not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 135)
NAVARRO created from Non-County Area 9 (which was eliminated); NAVARRO not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 132)
27 April 1846
HENDERSON created from Non-County Area 11; HENDERSON not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 141)
UPSHUR created from HARRISON and Non-County Area 11; UPSHUR not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 139)
11 May 1846
TITUS created from BOWIE, RED RIVER, and Non-County Area 11 (which was eliminated), TITUS not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 198)
12 May 1846
MILAM gained from BEXAR; boundary change resulted in overlaps with Fannin Land District and creation of Non-County Area 12 north of the Brazos River. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 259)
Non-County Area 12 inadvertently created north of the Brazos River when MILAM gained from BEXAR. (Texas Laws 1846, 1st leg./p. 259)
10 July 1846
POLK fully organized. (Kennedy, 146)
13 July 1846
ANDERSON fully organized. (Hohes, 5)
BURLESON fully organized. (Kennedy, 69)
CASS fully organized. (Kennedy, 74)
CHEROKEE fully organized. ("Cherokee County," New Handbook of Texas, 2:59)
COLLIN fully organized. (Stambaugh and Stambaugh, 41-42)
COMAL fully organized. (Kennedy, 78)
DALLAS fully organized. (Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, 185)
DE WITT fully organized. (HRS Texas, De Witt, 9)
DENTON fully organized. (Kennedy, 84)
GRAYSON fully organized. (Kennedy, 99)
HOPKINS fully organized. (Kennedy, 109)
HUNT fully organized. (Ingmire, 1:16)
LAVACA fully organized. (Kennedy, 123)
LEON fully organized. (Kennedy, 126)
NAVARRO fully organized. (Putman, 3)
NEWTON fully organized. (Kennedy, 141)
TITUS fully organized. (Kennedy, 163)
TYLER fully organized. (Kennedy, 165)
UPSHUR fully organized. (Kennedy, 165)
WHARTON fully organized. (Kennedy, 173)
15 July 1846
GRIMES fully organized. (Ray, 355)
16 July 1846
ANGELINA fully organized. (Haltom, 20)
18 July 1846
PANOLA fully organized. ("Panola County," New Handbook of Texas, 5:46)
27 July 1846
WALKER fully organized. ("Walker County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:800)
4 August 1846
HENDERSON fully organized. ("Henderson County," New Handbook of Texas, 3:557)
7 August 1846
GUADALUPE fully organized. (HRS Texas, Guadalupe, 6)
8 August 1846
SMITH fully organized. (Johnson, 10)
18 August 1846
LIMESTONE fully organized. ("Limestone County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:199)
22 September 1846
CALHOUN fully organized. (HRS Texas, Calhoun, 7)
January 1847
NUECES fully organized. (Marcum, 1:1)
12 January 1848
Non-County Area 13 created from GRAYSON. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 11/p. 9)
Overlap Area 1 eliminated when GRAYSON boundaries redefined and control of the area was assigned to COLLIN and DENTON. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 11/p. 9)
24 January 1848
Boundary between COLLIN and GRAYSON clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 18/p. 13)
28 January 1848
WEBB created from BEXAR and NUECES; WEBB not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 23/p. 18)
10 February 1848
STARR created from NUECES; STARR not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 31/p. 24)
12 February 1848
CAMERON created from NUECES; CAMERON not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 35/p. 27)
GOLIAD boundaries redefined [no change]. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 34/p. 26)
MEDINA created from BEXAR; MEDINA not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 36/p. 27)
18 February 1848
MATAGORDA boundaries redefined [no change]. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 41/p. 31)
23 February 1848
GILLESPIE created from BEXAR; GILLESPIE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 47/p. 35)
26 February 1848
DEWITT exchanged with GOLIAD. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 51/p. 40)
KAUFMAN created from HENDERSON; KAUFMAN not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 52/pp. 40-43)
1 March 1848
HAYS and Non-County Area 14 both created from TRAVIS; HAYS not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 57/p. 48)
6 March 1848
CALDWELL created from GONZALES; CALDWELL not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 65/p. 53)
WALKER boundaries clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 64/p. 53)
13 March 1848
AUSTIN gained small area from FORT BEND. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 77/p. 75)
WILLIAMSON created from MILAM; WILLIAMSON not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 78/p. 76; "Travis County v. Williamson County," in SW Rptr., 2d ser., 4:610-613)
14 March 1848
Non-County Area 15 created from HENDERSON when HENDERSON boundaries were redefined. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 83/pp. 86-88)
15 March 1848
SANTA FE (extinct) created from BEXAR; included parts of present Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming. SANTA FE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch 87/p. 95)
16 March 1848
WEBB fully organized. (Kennedy, 171)
20 March 1848
COOKE created from parts of Fannin Land District attached to COLLIN and GRAYSON, and from Non-County Area 13 (whic was eliminated); COOKE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 130/p. 183)
LIMESTONE gained from NAVARRO. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 142/p. 207)
TRAVIS gained from BEXAR. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 150/p. 218)
VAN ZANDT created from Non-County Area 15 (which was eliminated), VAN ZANDT not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1847, 2d leg., ch. 119/p. 149)
5 June 1848
GILLESPIE fully organized. (HRS Texas, Gillespie, 4)
4 July 1848
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican War between the United States and Mexico. Mexico recognized the United States' annexation of Texas and agreed that the Rio Grande River, not the Nueces River, was the true boundary between Mexico and Texas. ("Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo," New Handbook of Texas, 6:558-559)
5 July 1848
State of Texas gained disputed territory from Louisiana through Sabine Lake, Sabine Pass, and the Sabine River [not mapped]. (U.S. Stat., vol. 9, ch. 94 [1848]/p. 245; Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 2/p. 4)
12 July 1848
MEDINA fully organized. (Castro Colonies Heritage Association, 5)
7 August 1848
HAYS fully organized. (HRS Texas, Hays, 7)
KAUFMAN fully organized. (Kennedy, 117)
STARR fully organized. (Kennedy, 159)
VAN ZANDT fully organized. (Manning, Wentworth, 104)
WILLIAMSON fully organized. (Scarbrough, 125)
21 August 1848
CALDWELL fully organized. (HRS Texas, Caldwell, 5)
11 September 1848
CAMERON fully organized. ("Cameron County," New Handbook of Texas, 1:919)
10 March 1849
COOKE fully organized. (Smith, 10)
20 December 1849
ELLIS created from NAVARRO [mistake in description corrected 28 January 1850]; ELLIS not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 18/p. 16)
TARRANT created from NAVARRO; TARRANT not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 17/pp. 14-16)
31 December 1849
SANTA FE (extinct) boundaries redefined; gained from BEXAR; Non-County Area 16 created from SANTA FE (extinct) in anticipation of the creation of EL PASO, PRESIDIO, and WORTH (extinct) on 3 January 1850. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 24/p. 21)
3 January 1850
EL PASO created from Non-County Area 16; included territory in present Texas and New Mexico; EL PASO not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 29/p. 24)
PRESIDIO created from Non-County Area 16; PRESIDIO not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 29/p. 24)
WORTH (extinct) created from Non-County Area 16; WORTH located entirely in present New Mexico. WORTH not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 29/p. 24)
19 January 1850
WEBB gained from BEXAR. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 46/p. 46)
22 January 1850
BELL created from MILAM; BELL not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 55/pp. 63-65)
McLENNAN created from LIMESTONE, MILAM, and NAVARRO; McLENNAN not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 54/p. 62)
Non-County Area 17 created from MILAM; attached to BELL for administrative and judicial purposes. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 55/pp. 63-65)
26 January 1850
ANDERSON gained small area from HOUSTON. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 71/p. 80)
CALDWELL gained from BASTROP. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 73/p. 82)
28 January 1850
ELLIS boundaries clarified [corrected mistake of 20 December 1849; no change]. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 78/p. 86)
FALLS created from LIMESTONE and MILAM; FALLS not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 80/p. 87)
KINNEY created from BEXAR; KINNEY not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 81/p. 88)
29 January 1850
HENDERSON exchanged with VAN ZANDT. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., chs. 82, 86/pp. 88, 91)
KAUFMAN gained from HENDERSON. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., chs. 82, 86/pp. 88, 91)
Non-County Area 18 created from VAN ZANDT. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 86/p. 91)
VAN ZANDT gained from KAUFMAN, exchanged with HENDERSON, lost to creation of Non-County Area 18. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., chs. 82, 86/pp. 88, 91)
1 February 1850
Non-County Area 19 created from BEXAR. Non-County Area 19 attached to MEDINA "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 89/p. 94)
5 February 1850
LIMESTONE exchanged with NAVARRO. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 102/p. 112)
WOOD created from Non-County Area 18(which was eliminated); WOOD not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 98/pp. 103-106)
7 February 1850
KAUFMAN boundaries clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 109/p. 123)
8 February 1850
Boundary between CALDWELL and GONZALES clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 118/p. 142)
UVALDE created from BEXAR; UVALDE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 112/p. 132)
11 February 1850
TRINITY created from HOUSTON; TRINITY not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1849, 3d leg., reg. sess., ch. 160/p. 201)
1 April 1850
TRINITY fully organized. (Kennedy, 165)
1 August 1850
BELL fully organized. (Memorial and Biographical History of McLennan, Falls, Bell and Coryell Counties, 246)
5 August 1850
ELLIS fully organized. (Memorial and Biographical History of Ellis County, 108)
FALLS fully organized. (Eddins, 108)
McLENNAN fully organized. (Memorial and Biographical History of McLennan, Falls, Bell and Coryell Counties, 103)
TARRANT fully organized. (History of Texas . . . Biographical History of Tarrant and Parker Counties, 208)
WOOD fully organized. (Kennedy, 178)
6 September 1850
FREESTONE created from LIMESTONE; FREESTONE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1850, 3d leg., 2d sess., ch. 39/p. 39 and Texas Laws 1850, 3d leg., 3d sess., ch. 37/p. 30)
13 December 1850
State of Texas sold land in present Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wyoming to the United States. BEXAR lost territory to the United States; implicitly gained territory extending to new northern limit of Texas. EL PASO lost territory to the United States; WORTH (extinct) and SANTA FE (extinct) both eliminated. Except for small adjustments, Texas state boundaries now set. (U.S. Stat., vol. 9, ch. 49 [1850]/pp. 446-452 and appendix, sec. 10/pp. 1005-1006; Texas Laws 1850, 3d leg., 3d sess., ch. 2/p. 4; Van Zandt, 122)
6 January 1851
FREESTONE fully organized. (Freestone County Historical Commission, 10)
8 December 1851
CAMERON boundaries clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1851, 4th leg., reg. sess., ch. 10/p. 8)
24 January 1852
COOKE exchanged with DENTON. (Texas Laws 1851, 4th leg., reg. sess., ch. 41/p. 32)
GRAYSON gained from DENTON. (Texas Laws 1851, 4th leg., reg. sess., ch. 41/p. 32)
HIDALGO created from CAMERON [mistake in description corrected 4 February 1853]; HIDALGO not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1851, 4th leg., reg. sess., ch. 42/p. 32)
5 February 1852
BURNET created from TRAVIS, WILLIAMSON, GILLESPIE, and Non-County Area 17 attached to BELL. BURNET not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1851, 4th leg., reg. sess., ch. 60/p. 49)
GILLESPIE gained very small area from TRAVIS. (Texas Laws 1851, 4th leg., reg. sess., ch. 60/p. 49)
Non-County Area 20 created from TRAVIS. (Texas Laws 1851, 4th leg., reg. sess., ch. 60/p. 49)
ORANGE created from JEFFERSON; ORANGE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1851, 4th leg., reg. sess., ch. 59/p. 48)
Travis Land District created when county of TRAVIS was divided by creation of BURNET. (Texas Laws 1851, 4th leg., reg. sess., ch. 60/p. 49)
12 February 1852
PRESIDIO attached to EL PASO "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1851, 4th leg., reg. sess., ch. 85/p. 91)
SAN PATRICIO boundaries clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1851, 4th leg., reg. sess., ch. 84/p. 90)
16 February 1852
JASPER gained from NEWTON. (Texas Laws 1851, 4th leg., reg. sess., ch. 109/p. 133; Partlow, inside front cover, 328)
20 March 1852
ORANGE fully organized. (Kennedy, 143)
2 August 1852
HIDALGO fully organized. (Texas Laws 1851, 4th leg., reg. sess., ch. 42, sec. 2/p. 33)
27 January 1853
MADISON created from GRIMES, LEON, and WALKER; MADISON not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1853, 4th leg., 2d sess., ch. 5/pp. 10-11)
4 February 1853
HIDALGO boundaries clarified to correct mistake of 24 January 1852 [no change]. (Texas Laws 1853, 4th leg., 2d sess., ch. 9/p. 18)
7 February 1853
HILL created from NAVARRO; HILL not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1853, 4th leg., 2d sess., ch. 26/p. 37)
Non-County Area 21 created from that part of NAVARRO north of HILL. Non-County Area 21 attached to HILL "for all county and general purposes." (Texas Laws 1853, 4th leg., 2d sess., ch. 26/p. 37)
WILLIAMSON gained from BELL and from Non-County Area 17 attached to BELL. (Texas Laws 1853, 4th leg., 2d sess., ch. 41/p. 53)
14 May 1853
HILL fully organized. ("Hill County," New Handbook of Texas, 3:620)
4 February 1854
BOSQUE created from McLENNAN; BOSQUE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1853, 5th leg., ch. 38/p. 48)
CORYELL created from McLENNAN and Non-County Area 17 attached to BELL; remaining Non-County Area 17 detached from BELL, attached to CORYELL "for all county and general purposes." CORYELL not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1853, 5th leg., ch. 36/pp. 45-47)
KARNES created from BEXAR, DE WITT, GOLIAD, and SAN PATRICIO; KARNES not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1853, 5th leg., ch. 35/p. 44)
Non-County Area 22 created from that part of MCLENNAN north of BOSQUE and CORYELL. Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE for administrative and judicial purposes. (Texas Laws 1853, 5th leg., ch. 38/p. 48)
11 February 1854
LAVACA gained from FAYETTE. (Texas Laws 1853, 5th leg., ch. 58/p. 78)
13 February 1854
Cooke Land District re-organized, gained most of non-county area in Fannin Land District; implicitly ended the attachment of non-county areas in Fannin Land District to COLLIN and GRAYSON. Non-county area in Fannin Land District eliminated. Map depicts non-county area in Cooke Land District. (Texas Laws 1853, 5th leg., ch. 72/p. 100)
Denton Land District re-organized, gained from Non-County Area 12, from Non-County Area 21 attached to HILL, and from non-county area in Fannin Land District. Non-county area in Fannin Land District eliminated. Denton Land District attached to HILL. Map depicts non-county area in Denton Land District. (Texas Laws 1853, 5th leg., ch. 72/p. 100)
JOHNSON created from Non-County Area 21 attached to HILL, and Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE; JOHNSON not fully organized. Remainder of Non-County Area 21 became part of the Denton Land District, attachment to HILL continued. (Texas Laws 1853, 5th leg., ch. 76/p. 104)
27 February 1854
KARNES fully organized. ("Karnes County," New Handbook of Texas, 3:1035)
31 March 1854
[March 1854] CORYELL fully organized. (Scott, 35)
7 August 1854
BOSQUE fully organized. (Pool, Bosque County, 24)
BURNET fully organized. (Debo, 1:33)
JOHNSON fully organized. (Byrd, 5)
MADISON fully organized. ("Madison County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:455)
12 December 1855
PARKER created from Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE and from non-county area of Denton Land District; remainder of Denton Land District detached from HILL, attached to PARKER "for all county and general purposes." PARKER not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 1/p. 3)
16 January 1856
Boundary between POLK and TYLER clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 24/p. 19)
23 January 1856
WISE created from COOKE; WISE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 31/p. 23)
25 January 1856
ATASCOSA created from BEXAR; ATASCOSA not fully organized. [estimated lines on west and southwest] (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 33/p. 25)
COMANCHE created from Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE and Non-County Area 17 attached to CORYELL; COMANCHE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 35/p. 27)
ERATH created from Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE and Non-County Area 17 attached to CORYELL; ERATH not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 34/p. 27)
26 January 1856
BANDERA created from BEXAR, UVALDE, and Non-County Area 19 attached to MEDINA; BANDERA not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 42/p. 31)
Bexar Land District was physically separated from BEXAR County by creation of BANDERA and KERR [map depicts non-county area in Bexar Land District]. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., chs. 40, 42/pp. 30-31)
KERR created from BEXAR; KERR not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 40/p. 30)
1 February 1856
LAMPASAS created from Non-County Area 17 attached to CORYELL, from a small area of BELL, and from Travis Land District; LAMPASAS not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 44/p. 41)
LLANO created from Bexar Land District and GILLESPIE; LLANO not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 48/p. 44)
SAN SABA created from Bexar Land District; SAN SABA not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 49/p. 45)
2 February 1856
Boundary between COOKE and GRAYSON clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 51/p. 49)
KINNEY exchanged with Bexar Land District. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., chs. 69, 72/pp. 71, 73)
LIVE OAK created from NUECES, SAN PATRICIO, and a small area of Bexar Land District; LIVE OAK not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 59/pp. 54-56)
MAVERICK created from KINNEY. MAVERICK not fully organized, attached to KINNEY "for all judicial and county purposes." (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 69/p. 71)
Non-County Area 23 created from SAN PATRICIO. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 59/pp. 54-56)
Part of Bexar Land District attached to WISE "for judicial purposes"; part of Cooke Land District south of the Wichita River attached to WISE "for judicial purposes"; part of Denton Land District northwest of YOUNG detached from PARKER, attached to WISE "for judicial purposes"; (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 71/p. 72)
UVALDE gained from BANDERA. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 70/p. 72)
YOUNG created from non-county area in Cooke and Denton Land Districts and from a small part of Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE; YOUNG fully organized by 12 February 1856. (Texas Laws 1855, 6th leg., reg. sess., ch. 71/p. 72; "Kimmarle & Hirsh v. Texas Central Railway," in Texas Rpts., 76:690)
1 March 1856
PARKER fully organized. (History of Texas . . . Biographical History of Tarrant and Parker Counties, 208)
10 March 1856
BANDERA fully organized. ("Bandera County," New Handbook of Texas, 1:364)
LAMPASAS fully organized. ("Lampasas County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:50)
17 March 1856
COMANCHE fully organized. (Kennedy, 79)
31 March 1856
[March 1856] KERR fully organized. ("Kerr County," New Handbook of Texas, 3:1078)
21 April 1856
UVALDE fully organized. (HRS Texas, Uvalde, 7)
5 May 1856
WISE fully organized. (Cates, 63-64)
19 July 1856
SAN SABA fully organized. ("San Saba County," New Handbook of Texas, 5:877)
28 July 1856
BASTROP exchanged with both BURLESON and WILLIAMSON. (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 88/p. 7)
4 August 1856
ATASCOSA fully organized. (TXGenWeb Project, Atascosa County, Texas; http://bsd.pastracks.com/states/texas/atascosa/; 11 December 2001)
ERATH fully organized. (History of Texas . . . Biographical History of Tarrant and Parker Counties, 207)
LIVE OAK fully organized. (Kennedy, 128)
LLANO fully organized. (Oatman, 33)
19 August 1856
Parts of Denton Land District attached to PARKER and WISE lost to creation of Young Territory, and lost to YOUNG. The portion of Denton Land District attached to WISE became part of Young Territory, ending its attachment to WISE. Remainder of non-county area in Denton Land District remained attached to PARKER. (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 110/p. 41)
That part of Bexar Land District north of Young Territory became known as Bexar Territory or Unorganized Territory on contemporary maps. (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 110/p. 41; Colton, New Map of the State of Texas; Martin and Martin, Maps of Texas, 154-155, 158-159)
YOUNG gained from Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE, from Non-County Area 12 (which was eliminated), and from part of Denton Land District attached to PARKER; lost to creation of Young Territory. Young Territory was non-county area attached to YOUNG "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 110/p. 41)
Young Territory created from Bexar and Cooke Land Districts, from the part of Denton Land District attached to WISE, part of Non-County Area 12 (which was eliminated), and from YOUNG. Young Territory was non-county area attached to YOUNG "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 110/p. 41)
21 August 1856
LAVACA gained small area from GONZALES. (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 114/p. 43)
26 August 1856
COMANCHE gained from Non-County Area 17 attached to CORYELL. (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 126/p. 55)
27 August 1856
BROWN created from Travis Land District (which was divided into two parts), and from Non-County Area 17 attached to CORYELL; BROWN not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 139/p. 66)
JACK created from COOKE, resulted in an overlap with COOKE (Overlap Area 2); JACK not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 135/pp. 62-64)
McCULLOCH created from Bexar Land District; McCULLOCH not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 141/p. 69)
PALO PINTO created from Non-County Area 17 attached to CORYELL, Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE, and non-county area in Denton Land District attached to PARKER; resulted in an overlap with YOUNG (Overlap Area 3). PALO PINTO not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 138/p. 65)
30 August 1856
BELL gained from FALLS. (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 142/p. 89)
1 September 1856
CALHOUN gained from VICTORIA. (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 177/p. 104)
ERATH gained from Non-County Area 17 attached to CORYELL. (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 172/p. 96)
REFUGIO gained part of Matagorda Island and part of San Antonio Bay from CALHOUN. (Texas Laws 1856, 6th leg., adj. sess., ch. 177/p. 104)
13 May 1857
PALO PINTO fully organized. (Clarke, 7)
4 July 1857
JACK fully organized. (Huckabay, 15)
8 December 1857
BEE created from GOLIAD, KARNES, LIVE OAK, REFUGIO, and SAN PATRICIO; BEE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 14/p. 11)
GOLIAD gained from REFUGIO. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., chs. 13-14/pp. 10-11)
SAN PATRICIO gained from REFUGIO, exchanged with NUECES (exchange repealed 23 January 1858). (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., chs. 13-14/pp. 10-11)
24 December 1857
CLAY created from COOKE. Creation of CLAY eliminated overlap between COOKE and JACK (Overlap Area 2), created overlap between CLAY and JACK (Overlap Area 4). Dispute was settled in favor of JACK in March 1895. Non-county area west of CLAY attached to CLAY "for judicial and general purposes." CLAY not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 34/p. 33)
MONTAGUE created from COOKE; MONTAGUE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 33/p. 31)
13 January 1858
THROCKMORTON created from Young Territory and Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE; THROCKMORTON not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 39/pp. 36-38)
20 January 1858
COMANCHE gained from Non-County Area 17 attached to CORYELL. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 49/p. 54)
Non-County Area 24 created from COMANCHE, anticipated creation of HAMILTON on 22 Jan 1858. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 49/p. 54)
22 January 1858
Texas legislature passed a single law creating 8 new counties. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 55/pp. 58-60; for sections on particular counties from the Texas laws, see following citations)
ARCHER created from Young Territory; ARCHER not fully organized. (sec. 5/p. 59)
BUCHANAN (now STEPHENS) created from Young Territory and Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE; BUCHANAN not fully organized. (sec. 6/pp. 59-60)
HAMILTON created from BOSQUE, LAMPASAS, and all of Non-County Area 24 (which was eliminated); HAMILTON not fully organized. (sec. 9/pp. 60-61 and ch. 56/p. 63)
HARDIN created from JEFFERSON, LIBERTY, and TYLER; HARDIN not fully organized. (sec. 8/p. 60)
KIMBLE created from Bexar Land District; KIMBLE not fully organized. (sec. 4/p. 59)
MASON created from GILLESPIE, LLANO, and Bexar Land District; MASON not fully organized. (sec. 2/pp. 58-59)
MENARD created from Bexar Land District; MENARD not fully organized. (sec. 3/p. 59)
ZAPATA created from STARR and WEBB; ZAPATA not fully organized. (sec. 7/p. 60)
23 January 1858
NUECES exchanged with SAN PATRICIO (repealed act of 8 December 1857). (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 59/p. 65)
REFUGIO gained from SAN PATRICIO. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 59/p. 65)
25 January 1858
BEE fully organized. ("Bee County," New Handbook of Texas, 1:460)
1 February 1858
Texas Legislature passed a single act creating 26 new counties. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 75/pp. 87-92; for sections on particular counties from Texas Laws, see following citations)
ATASCOSA gained from Bexar Land District; lost to creation of FRIO and McMULLEN. (secs. 6-7/p. 88)
BAYLOR created from Young Territory; BAYLOR not fully organized. (sec. 11/p. 89)
CALLAHAN created from Bexar Land District, Travis Land District, Non-County Area 17 attached to CORYELL, and Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE; CALLAHAN not fully organized. (sec. 13/p. 89)
COLEMAN created from BROWN and Travis Land District; COLEMAN not fully organized. (sec. 4/p. 87)
CONCHO created from Bexar Land District, and a very small part of Travis Land District [NE corner]; CONCHO not fully organized. (sec. 3/p. 87)
DAWSON (original) created from KINNEY, MAVERICK, and UVALDE; DAWSON (original) not fully organized. DAWSON (original) was located in a different part of the state from present DAWSON. (sec. 9/p. 88)
DIMMIT created from MAVERICK, UVALDE, WEBB, and Bexar Land District; DIMMIT not fully organized. (sec. 21/p. 91)
DUVAL created from LIVE OAK and NUECES; DUVAL not fully organized. (sec. 23/p. 91)
EASTLAND created from PALO PINTO, Non-County Area 17 attached to CORYELL, and Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE; EASTLAND not fully organized. (sec. 10/p. 88)
EDWARDS created from Bexar Land District; EDWARDS not fully organized. (sec. 20/p. 91)
ENCINAL (extinct) created from NUECES and WEBB; ENCINAL not fully organized. (sec. 24/p. 92)
FRIO created from ATASCOSA, UVALDE, and Bexar Land District; FRIO not fully organized. (sec. 6/p. 88)
HARDEMAN created from Young Territory; HARDEMAN not fully organized. (sec. 19/pp. 90-91)
HASKELL created from Young Territory; HASKELL not fully organized. (sec. 17/p. 90)
JONES created from Young Territory, Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE, a small part of Bexar Land District; JONES not fully organized. (sec. 16/p. 90)
KNOX created from Young Territory; KNOX not fully organized. (sec. 18/p. 90)
LA SALLE created from small area of NUECES, from WEBB, Bexar Land District, and Non-County Area 23; LA SALLE not fully organized. (sec. 22/p. 91)
McMULLEN created from ATASCOSA, LIVE OAK, NUECES, Bexar Land District, and Non-County Area 23; McMULLEN not fully organized. (sec. 7/p. 88)
RUNNELS created from Bexar Land District and Travis Land District; RUNNELS not fully organized. (sec. 14/p. 89)
SHACKELFORD created from Young Territory and Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE; SHACKELFORD not fully organized. (sec. 5/pp. 87-88)
TAYLOR created from Bexar Land District, Travis Land District, Young Territory, and small part of Non-County Area 22 attached to BOSQUE; TAYLOR not fully organized. (sec. 15/p. 90)
UVALDE gained small area from MAVERICK; lost to creation of DAWSON (original), FRIO, DIMMIT, and ZAVALA. (secs. 6, 8-9, 21/pp. 88, 91)
WICHITA created from Young Territory; WICHITA not fully organized. (sec. 2/p. 87)
WILBARGER created from Young Territory; WILBARGER not fully organized. (sec. 12/p. 89)
ZAVALA created from MAVERICK, UVALDE, and Bexar Land District; ZAVALA not fully organized. (sec. 8/p. 88)
2 February 1858
JACK boundaries clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 80/p. 97)
3 February 1858
NUECES gained from SAN PATRICIO in Corpus Christi and Aransas Bays, including Mustang Island and "various small Islands." (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 89/p. 105)
4 February 1858
UPSHUR gained small area from HARRISON. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 90/p. 105)
5 February 1858
BROWN gained from Travis Land District and gained all of small remnant of Non-County Area 17 attached to CORYELL. Non-county area in Travis Land District, and Non-County Area 17 both eliminated. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 96/p. 122)
YOUNG gained undisputed control of part of PALO PINTO when PALO PINTO boundaries were clarified; eliminated overlap with PALO PINTO dating from 27 August 1856 (Overlap Area 3). (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 97/p. 123)
10 February 1858
LLANO gained from BURNET and GILLESPIE. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 114/p. 147)
SAN SABA boundaries clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 115/p. 148)
12 February 1858
BLANCO created from BURNET, COMAL, GILLESPIE, HAYS, KERR, all of Non-County Area 14, and all of Non-County Area 20; BLANCO not fully organized. Non-County Areas 14 and 20 eliminated. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 130/pp. 198-200)
CHAMBERS created from JEFFERSON and LIBERTY; CHAMBERS not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., chs. 125-126/pp. 192-193)
COMAL and HAYS both gained from GUADALUPE. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 130/pp. 198-200)
15 February 1858
HILL and LIMESTONE both gained from NAVARRO. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 144/p. 218)
1 March 1858
WALKER gained from TRINITY. (Texas Laws 1857, 7th leg., ch. 50/p. 54)
12 April 1858
BLANCO fully organized. (Moursund, 127)
26 April 1858
ZAPATA fully organized. ("Zapata County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:1144)
31 May 1858
[May 1858] BROWN fully organized. (HRS Texas, Brown, 8)
2 August 1858
CHAMBERS fully organized. (Kennedy, 74)
HAMILTON fully organized. (Kennedy, 102)
HARDIN fully organized. (History of Hardin County, 16)
MASON fully organized. (Kennedy, 134)
MONTAGUE fully organized. ("Montague County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:795)
2 January 1860
WICHITA attached to CLAY "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 13, sec. 3/p. 17)
8 February 1860
GREER (Okla.) created by Texas from Young Territory. GREER was located entirely in present Oklahoma; GREER not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 90/p. 138)
MARION created from CASS and TITUS; MARION not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 48/pp. 57-59)
11 February 1860
CALHOUN gained part of Matagorda Island and part of San Antonio Bay from REFUGIO. (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., spec., ch. 178/p. 196)
13 February 1860
WILSON created from BEXAR and KARNES; WILSON not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 76/pp. 106-108)
14 February 1860
ARCHER, BAYLOR, HASKELL, KNOX, and THROCKMORTON attached to YOUNG "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 5/p. 120)
Boundary between COMANCHE and ERATH clarified [no change]. CALLAHAN, EASTLAND, and TAYLOR all attached to COMANCHE "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 3/p. 120 and ch. 88/p. 121)
BUCHANAN (now STEPHENS), JONES, and SHACKELFORD attached to PALO PINTO "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 4/p. 120)
CLAY, GREER (Okla.), HARDEMAN, and WILBARGER all attached to MONTAGUE "for all judicial purposes." WICHITA detached from CLAY, attached to MONTAGUE "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 6/p. 120)
COLEMAN and RUNNELS both attached to BROWN "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 2/p. 120)
CONCHO and McCULLOCH both attached to SAN SABA "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 7/p. 120)
DAWSON (original), KINNEY, and ZAVALA all attached to UVALDE "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 7/p. 120)
DIMMIT attached to WEBB "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 7/p. 120)
DUVAL, ENCINAL (extinct), and LA SALLE attached to NUECES "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 7/ p. 120)
EDWARDS attached to BANDERA "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 7/ p. 120)
FRIO attached to ATASCOSA "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 7/p. 120)
KIMBLE attached to GILLESPIE "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 7/p. 120)
McMULLEN attached to LIVE OAK "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 7/p. 120)
MENARD attached to MASON "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1859, 8th leg., reg. sess., gen., ch. 87, sec. 7/p. 120)
15 March 1860
MARION fully organized. (Kennedy, 132)
1 August 1860
[by August 1860] WILSON fully organized. (HRS Texas, Wilson, 7)
31 December 1860
[1860] CLAY fully organized, detached from MONTAGUE. (Taylor, 47-48)
4 April 1861
BELL gained from MILAM. (Texas Laws 1861, 8th leg., ext. sess., ch. 36/p. 29)
EDWARDS detached from BANDERA, attached to UVALDE "for all judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1861, 8th leg., ext. sess., ch. 40/p. 31)
5 April 1861
VICTORIA gained from GOLIAD. (Texas Laws 1861, 8th leg., ext. sess., ch. 42/p. 33)
6 April 1861
KAUFMAN gained from HENDERSON (act repealed 2 January 1862). (Texas Laws 1861, 8th leg., ext. sess., ch. 49/p. 38)
17 December 1861
BUCHANAN renamed STEPHENS. (Texas Laws 1861, 9th leg., reg. sess., ch. 14/p. 8)
CASS renamed DAVIS. (Texas Laws 1861, 9th leg., reg. sess., ch. 14/p. 8)
2 January 1862
HENDERSON gained from KAUFMAN (repealed act of 6 April 1861). (Texas Laws 1861, 9th leg., reg. sess., spec., ch. 48/p. 23)
3 January 1862
LIVE OAK gained all of ATASCOSA; ATASCOSA eliminated, temporarily ending the attachment of FRIO (act repealed 4 December 1863). (Texas Laws 1861, 9th leg., reg. sess., ch. 29/p. 27)
McMULLEN gained from DUVAL and NUECES, exchanged with LIVE OAK (acts repealed 4 December 1863). (Texas Laws 1861, 9th leg., reg. sess., chs. 29-30/pp. 27-29)
10 January 1862
BLANCO gained from HAYS. (Texas Laws 1861, 9th leg., reg. sess., chs. 38-39/pp. 32-33)
KENDALL created from BLANCO and KERR; KENDALL not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1861, 9th leg., reg. sess., ch. 38/p. 32)
KERR gained from EDWARDS. (Texas Laws 1861, 9th leg., reg. sess., chs. 38-39/pp. 32-33)
18 January 1862
KENDALL fully organized. (Kennedy, 117)
by 1 January 1863
CLAY disorganized due to Indian attacks and the flight of settlers; all non-county area attachments to CLAY ended. (Taylor, 50; Vernon's Annotated Constitution, 2:634-636)
4 December 1863
ATASCOSA re-created from LIVE OAK; FRIO again attached to ATASCOSA (repealed acts of 3 January 1862). (Texas Laws 1863, 10th leg., reg. sess., spec., ch. 8/p. 5)
DUVAL and NUECES both gained from McMULLEN (repealed act of 3 January 1862); LIVE OAK exchanged with McMULLEN (Texas Laws 1863, 10th leg., reg. sess., spec., ch. 8/p. 5)
8 December 1863
MARION gained small area from HARRISON. (Texas Laws 1863, 10th leg., reg. sess., spec., ch. 9/p. 5)
6 October 1864
COLEMAN fully organized, detached from BROWN. (History of Texas . . . Biographical History of Tarrant and Parker Counties, 206)
1865
[by 1865; possibly by 1861-1862] YOUNG disorganized, ending attachment of ARCHER, BAYLOR, HASKELL, KNOX, and THROCKMORTON to YOUNG. ("Young County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:1131; "Kimmarle & Hirsh v. Houston & Texas Central Railway," in Texas Rpts., 76:690-691)
29 September 1866
DIMMIT and ZAVALA both gained from MAVERICK. (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., ch. 23/p. 18)
UVALDE gained from DAWSON (original). (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., ch. 23/p. 18)
5 October 1866
KINNEY gained all of DAWSON (original); DAWSON (original) eliminated, ending its attachment to UVALDE. Non-county area in Bexar Land District was attached to KINNEY "for judicial and other purposes." (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., chs. 28-29/pp. 21-22)
MAVERICK gained from KINNEY; MAVERICK detached from KINNEY, attached to UVALDE "for judicial and other purposes." (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., ch. 29/p. 22)
Non-County Area 25 created from MAVERICK. (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., ch. 29/p. 22)
11 October 1866
ARCHER attached to CLAY "for judicial purposes." WICHITA detached from MONTAGUE, attached to CLAY "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., ch. 35, sec. 17/p. 27)
BAYLOR, HASKELL, KNOX, and THROCKMORTON all attached to YOUNG; GREER (Okla.), HARDEMAN and WILBARGER all detached from MONTAGUE, attached to YOUNG. All attachments were "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., ch. 35, sec. 17/p. 27 and ch. 96, sec. 1/p. 94)
EDWARDS attached to UVALDE "for judicial purposes," or EDWARDS detached from UVALDE, attached to BANDERA "for judicial purposes" [conflict between chapters 35 and 36; corrected 10 August 1870]. (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., ch. 35, sec. 17/p. 27 and ch. 36, sec.7/p. 28)
EDWARDS detached from UVALDE, attached to BANDERA "for judicial purposes." This conflicted with chapter 36 which stated EDWARDS remained attached to UVALDE; corrected 10 August 1870. (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., ch. 35, sec. 17/p. 27 and ch. 36, sec. 7/p. 28)
ENCINAL (extinct) detached from NUECES, attached to WEBB "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., ch. 35, sec. 17/p. 27)
LA SALLE detached from NUECES, attached to LIVE OAK "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., ch. 35, sec. 17/p. 27)
2 November 1866
ERATH gained from PALO PINTO. (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., chs. 84-85/pp. 82-83)
HOOD created from ERATH, JOHNSON, and PALO PINTO; HOOD not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., ch. 85/p. 83)
6 November 1866
ARCHER detached from CLAY, attached to JACK; BAYLOR, HASKELL, KNOX and THROCKMORTON detached from YOUNG, attached to JACK; YOUNG attached to JACK. All attachments were "for judicial and other purposes." (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., ch. 96, sec. 1/p. 94)
CLAY attached to MONTAGUE; WICHITA detached from CLAY, attached to MONTAGUE; GREER (Okla.), HARDEMAN, and WILBARGER detached from YOUNG, all attached to MONTAGUE. All attachments were "for judicial and other purposes." (Texas Laws 1866, 11th leg., ch. 96, sec. 2/p. 94)
25 December 1866
HOOD fully organized. (Kennedy, 108)
August 1868
Constitutional Convention authorized creation of DELTA (proposed) from FANNIN, HOPKINS, HUNT, and LAMAR [overlapped by WEBSTER (proposed)]; county was never organized or legalized by the Legislature. DELTA (proposed) was in the same general area as DELTA created 29 July 1870. (Gammel, 6: "Ordinances Constitutional Convention 1868," 49)
Constitutional Convention authorized creation of WEBSTER (proposed) from FANNIN and LAMAR [overlapped by DELTA (proposed)]; county was never organized or legalized by the Legislature. (Gammel, 6: "Ordinances Constitutional Convention 1868," 48)
26 August 1868
Constitutional Convention authorized creation of RICHLAND (proposed) from HILL, LIMESTONE, and NAVARRO; county was never organized or legalized by the Legislature. (Gammel, 6: "Ordinances Constitutional Convention 1868," 50)
5 January 1869
Constitutional Convention authorized creation of SAN JACINTO from LIBERTY, MONTGOMERY, POLK, and WALKER; county was never organized or legalized by the Legislature. Boundaries were identical to those of SAN JACINTO created 13 August 1870. (Gammel, 6: "Ordinances Constitutional Convention 1868," 66)
19 January 1869
Constitutional Convention authorized WILSON to gain from GUADALUPE, and proposed WILSON be renamed "CIBOLO;" changes were never recognized or legalized by the Legislature. (Gammel, 6: "Ordinances Constitutional Convention 1868," 75)
25 January 1869
Constitutional Convention authorized creation of LATIMER (proposed) from DAVIS (now CASS) and TITUS; county was never organized or legalized by Legislature. (Gammel, 6: "Ordinances Constitutional Convention 1868," 110)
9 June 1870
RAINS created from HOPKINS, HUNT, VAN ZANDT, and WOOD; RAINS not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 3/p. 2; "Hunt County v. Rains County," in Texas Rpts., 116:277-288; "Hunt County v. Rains County," in SW Rptr., 2d ser., 7:648-657)
19 July 1870
PRESIDIO boundaries redefined [no change]. (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 19/p. 32)
26 July 1870
DUVAL gained from STARR and ZAPATA. (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 27/p. 40)
ENCINAL (extinct) gained from ZAPATA. (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 27/p. 40)
NUECES gained from CAMERON, HIDALGO, and STARR. (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 27/p. 40)
WEBB gained small area from ZAPATA. (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 27/p. 40)
29 July 1870
DELTA created from HOPKINS and LAMAR; DELTA not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 30/p. 42)
10 August 1870
ARCHER, BAYLOR, and KNOX detached from JACK, all attached to MONTAGUE "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 40, sec. 13/p. 53)
ARCHER, BAYLOR, and KNOX detached from JACK, all attached to MONTAGUE "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 40, sec. 13/p. 53)
CALLAHAN, EASTLAND, and TAYLOR detached from COMANCHE, all attached to PALO PINTO "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 40, sec. 14/p. 54)
DIMMIT detached from WEBB, attached to MAVERICK "for judicial purposes." ZAVALA detached from UVALDE, attached to MAVERICK "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 40, sec. 25/p. 57)
EDWARDS detached from either BANDERA or UVALDE, attached to KERR "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 40, sec. 27/p. 57)
FRIO detached from ATASCOSA, attached to MEDINA "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 40, sec. 25/p. 57)
LA SALLE detached from LIVE OAK, attached to WEBB "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 40, secs. 16, 25/pp. 54, 57)
Legislature authorized BRAZOS to gain from BURLESON, dependent on local referendum that failed [no change]. (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 39/p. 50)
13 August 1870
SAN JACINTO created from LIBERTY, MONTGOMERY, POLK, and WALKER; SAN JACINTO not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1870, 12th leg., called sess., ch. 59/p. 79)
6 October 1870
DELTA fully organized. ("Delta County," New Handbook of Texas, 2:580)
1 December 1870
RAINS fully organized. (Kennedy, 147)
SAN JACINTO fully organized. (Kennedy, 154)
8 February 1871
COMAL boundaries clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 1st sess., ch. 6/p. 4)
25 March 1871
JOHNSON gained from ELLIS. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 1st sess., ch. 23/p. 17)
VAN ZANDT boundaries confirmed [no change]. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 1st sess., ch. 24/p. 17)
31 March 1871
DELTA gained from HOPKINS. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 1st sess., ch. 25/p. 18)
26 April 1871
ZAPATA gained small area from WEBB. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 1st sess., ch. 58/p. 62)
2 May 1871
EL PASO gained from PRESIDIO. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 1st sess., ch. 67/p. 70)
Non-County Area 26 created from EL PASO. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 1st sess., ch. 67/p. 70)
7 May 1871
EL PASO fully organized. (History of Texas . . . Biographical History of Tarrant and Parker Counties, 207)
8 May 1871
MENARD fully organized, detached from MASON. (Kennedy, 135)
PECOS created from PRESIDIO and Non-County Area 26 (which was eliminated); PECOS not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 1st sess., ch. 70/p. 73)
12 May 1871
PRESIDIO boundaries redefined [no change]. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 1st sess., ch. 86/p. 86)
19 May 1871
LIVE OAK exchanged with NUECES. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 1st sess., ch. 106/p. 109)
22 May 1871
FRIO boundaries redefined [no change]. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 1st sess., ch. 112/p. 122)
23 May 1871
DAVIS renamed CASS. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 1st sess., ch. 95/p. 92)
25 May 1871
LA SALLE detached from WEBB, attached to LIVE OAK "for judicial and all other necessary purposes." (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 1st sess., ch. 121/p. 132)
20 July 1871
FRIO fully organized, detached from MEDINA. (Frio County Centennial Corporation, [1])
4 September 1871
MAVERICK fully organized, detached from UVALDE. ("Maverick County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:577)
30 September 1871
ARANSAS created from REFUGIO; ARANSAS not fully organized. Act passed 18 September 1871; took effect 30 September 1871. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 2d sess., ch. 1/p. 1)
CALHOUN gained from REFUGIO. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 2d sess., ch. 1/p. 1)
13 October 1871
KINNEY detached from UVALDE, attached to MAVERICK "for judicial purposes." ZAVALA detached from MAVERICK, attached to UVALDE "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 2d sess., ch. 6/p. 5)
17 November 1871
LAMAR gained from DELTA. (Texas Laws 1871, 12th leg., 2d sess., ch. 35/p. 30)
26 March 1872
ARANSAS fully organized. ("Aransas County," New Handbook of Texas, 1:218)
1 March 1873
ROCKWALL created from KAUFMAN; ROCKWALL not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1873, 13th leg., ch. 7/p. 10)
4 March 1873
ZAVALA detached from UVALDE, attached to FRIO "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1873, 13th leg., ch. 9/pp. 11-12)
2 April 1873
MEDINA gained from BEXAR and from Non-County Area 19 attached to MEDINA; Non-County Area 19 eliminated. (Texas Laws 1873, 13th leg., ch. 21/p. 32)
23 April 1873
ROCKWALL fully organized. (Kennedy, 151)
7 May 1873
GREGG created from UPSHUR; GREGG not fully organized. Act passed 12 April 1873; took effect 7 May 1873. (Texas Laws 1873, 13th leg., ch. 27/pp. 37-39)
WALLER created from AUSTIN and GRIMES; WALLER not fully organized. Act passed 28 April 1873; took effect 7 May 1873. (Texas Laws 1873, 13th leg., ch. 38/p. 49)
27 May 1873
CLAY fully organized, detached from MONTAGUE. (Taylor, 47-50, 70-71; Texas Laws 1873, 13th leg., ch. 72/pp. 106-108)
31 May 1873
Bexar Territory gained from Young Territory. (Texas Laws 1873, 13th leg., ch. 91/p. 167)
WEGEFARTH (extinct) created from Bexar Territory and Young Territory; WEGEFARTH not fully organized. Act passed 2 June [sic] 1873; took effect 31 May 1873. (Texas Laws 1873, 13th leg., ch. 91/p. 167)
2 June 1873
Legislature authorized BURNET to gain from LAMPASAS; line cannot be drawn as described [repealed 1 May 1874; no change]. (Texas Laws 1873, 13th leg., ch. 105/p. 184)
4 June 1873
LA SALLE detached from LIVE OAK, attached to WEBB "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1873, 13th leg., ch. 123/pp. 207-208)
28 June 1873
GREGG fully organized. (History of Gregg County, [5])
16 August 1873
WALLER fully organized. (Waller County Historical Survey Committee, 145)
2 December 1873
EASTLAND fully organized, detached from PALO PINTO. (Ghormley, 16)
7 February 1874
KINNEY fully organized, detached from MAVERICK. (Gournay, 61)
24 February 1874
KINNEY boundaries redefined [no change]. (Texas Laws 1874, 14th leg., reg. sess., ch. 12/p. 9)
13 March 1874
GUADALUPE lost to WILSON. (Texas Laws 1874, 14th leg., reg. sess., ch. 25/p. 21)
TOM GREEN created from Bexar Land District; TOM GREEN not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1874, 14th leg., reg. sess., ch. 26/p. 21)
6 April 1874
CAMP created from UPSHUR; CAMP not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1874, 14th leg., reg. sess., ch. 55/p. 65)
8 April 1874
Boundary of SAN JACINTO with MONTGOMERY and WALKER clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1874, 14th leg., reg. sess., ch. 62/p. 71)
14 April 1874
LEE created from BASTROP, BURLESON, FAYETTE, and WASHINGTON; LEE not fully organized. BURLESON divided into two parts. (Texas Laws 1874, 14th leg., reg. sess., ch. 75/pp. 94-97)
28 April 1874
PECOS and TOM GREEN both attached to EL PASO "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1874, 14th leg., reg. sess., ch. 109/p. 155)
30 April 1874
GREGG gained from RUSK. (Texas Laws 1874, 14th leg., reg. sess., ch. 128/p. 179)
MARION gained from HARRISON. (Texas Laws 1874, 14th leg., reg. sess., ch. 127/p. 178)
1 May 1874
Act of 2 June 1873, changing the boundary between BURNET and LAMPASAS, was repealed [no change]. (Texas Laws 1874, 14th leg., reg. sess., ch. 135/p. 185)
JONES, SHACKELFORD, and STEPHENS detached from PALO PINTO, all attached to JACK "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1874, 14th leg., reg. sess., ch. 133, sec. 2/p. 184)
2 May 1874
Boundary between HOPKINS and WOOD clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1874, 14th leg., reg. sess., ch. 153/p. 205)
LEE gained from BURLESON. (Texas Laws 1874, 14th leg., reg. sess., ch. 149/p. 202)
2 June 1874
LEE fully organized. (Kennedy, 126)
20 June 1874
CAMP fully organized. (Kennedy, 73)
12 October 1874
SHACKELFORD fully organized, detached from JACK. ("Shackelford County," New Handbook of Texas, 5:984)
3 November 1874
YOUNG fully organized; detached from JACK. (Crouch, 31, 57-58; "Young County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:1131)
5 January 1875
TOM GREEN fully organized, detached from EL PASO. ("Tom Green County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:523)
22 January 1875
CROCKETT created from Bexar Land District; CROCKETT not fully organized. Non-county area within Bexar Land District eliminated. (Texas Laws 1875, 14th leg., 2d sess., ch. 2/p. 2)
25 January 1875
Boundary between GRIMES and WALLER clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1875, 14th leg., 2d sess., ch. 4/p. 3)
10 February 1875
CROCKETT attached to KINNEY "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1875, 14th leg., 2d sess., ch. 18/p. 16)
25 February 1875
HASKELL and THROCKMORTON detached from JACK, both attached to YOUNG "for judicial purposes." STEPHENS detached from JACK, attached to PALO PINTO "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1875, 14th leg., 2d sess., ch. 40, sec. 2/p. 54)
9 March 1875
PECOS fully organized, detached from EL PASO. ("Pecos County," New Handbook of Texas, 5:121)
11 March 1875
POLK gained from TRINITY. (Texas Laws 1875, 14th leg., 2d sess., ch. 67/p. 81)
13 March 1875
FRANKLIN created from TITUS; FRANKLIN not fully organized. Act passed 8 March 1875; took effect 13 March 1875. (Texas Laws 1875, 14th leg., 2d sess., ch. 81/pp. 95-97)
MORRIS created from TITUS; MORRIS not fully organized. Act passed 8 March 1875; took effect 13 March 1875. (Texas Laws 1875, 14th leg., 2d sess., ch. 82/pp. 97-99)
SOMERVELL created from HOOD; SOMERVELL not fully organized [county name was incorrectly spelled "SOMERVILLE;" see 20 November 1876]. (Texas Laws 1875, 14th leg., 2d sess., ch. 83/pp. 99-101)
1 April 1875
CALLAHAN and TAYLOR detached from PALO PINTO, both attached to SHACKELFORD "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1875, 14th leg., 2d sess., ch. 47, sec. 1/p. 59)
April 1875
SOMERVELL fully organized. (Nunn, 44)
FRANKLIN fully organized. ("Franklin County," New Handbook of Texas, 2:1154)
12 May 1875
MORRIS fully organized. ("Morris County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:846)
1875
PRESIDIO fully organized, detached from EL PASO. ("Presidio County," New Handbook of Texas, 5:331)
3 January 1876
KIMBLE fully organized, detached from GILLESPIE. ("Kimble County," New Handbook of Texas, 3:1100)
18 February 1876
McCULLOCH fully organized, detached from SAN SABA. (Spiller, 1:36)
29 July 1876
CONCHO detached from SAN SABA, attached to McCULLOCH "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1876, 15th leg., ch. 67, sec. 11/p. 74)
31 July 1876
ELLIS boundaries clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1876, 15th leg., ch. 74/p. 77)
15 August 1876
CALLAHAN detached from SHACKELFORD, attached to EASTLAND "for judicial purposes." HASKELL and THROCKMORTON detached from YOUNG, both attached to SHACKELFORD "for judicial purposes." JONES detached from JACK, attached to SHACKELFORD "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1876, 15th leg., ch. 88/p. 134)
RUNNELS detached from BROWN, attached to COLEMAN "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1876, 15th leg., ch. 88/p. 133)
7 November 1876
DUVAL fully organized, detached from NUECES. (Kennedy, 86)
19 November 1876
Correct spelling of SOMERVELL was confirmed [act of 13 March 1875 incorrectly spelled it "SOMERVILLE"]. (Texas Laws 1876, 15th leg., ch. 99/p. 152)
Texas legislature passed a single act creating 54 new counties. (Texas Laws 1876, 15th leg., ch. 144/pp. 234-242; for page numbers of particular counties from the Texas laws, see following citations)
ANDREWS created from TOM GREEN and Young Territory; ANDREWS not fully organized, attached to SHACKELFORD "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 239, 242)
ARMSTRONG created from Young Territory; ARMSTRONG not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 236, 242)
BAILEY created from Young Territory; BAILEY not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 237, 242)
BORDEN created from Young Territory; BORDEN not fully organized, attached to SHACKELFORD "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 238-239, 242)
BRISCOE created from WEGEFARTH (extinct) and Young Territory; BRISCOE not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 237, 242)
CARSON created from Bexar Territory and Young Territory; CARSON not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 235-236, 242)
CASTRO created from Young Territory; CASTRO not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 237, 242)
CHILDRESS created from HARDEMAN, WEGEFARTH (extinct), and Young Territory; CHILDRESS not fully organized, attached to CLAY "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 236, 242)
COCHRAN created from Young Territory; COCHRAN not fully organized, attached to YOUNG "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 237, 242)
COLLINGSWORTH created from WEGEFARTH (extinct); COLLINGSWORTH not fully organized, attached to CLAY "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 236, 242)
COTTLE created from HARDEMAN and Young Territory; COTTLE not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 237, 242)
CROSBY created from Young Territory; CROSBY not fully organized, attached to YOUNG "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 238, 242)
DALLAM created from Bexar Territory; DALLAM not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 235, 242)
DAWSON created from Young Territory; DAWSON not fully organized, attached to SHACKELFORD "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 239, 242)
DEAF SMITH created from Young Territory; DEAF SMITH not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 236, 242)
DICKENS created from Young Territory; DICKENS not fully organized, attached to YOUNG "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 238, 242)
DONLEY created from WEGEFARTH (extinct); mistake in description corrected 10 March 1891. DONLEY not fully organized, attached to CLAY "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 236, 242)
FISHER created from JONES and Young Territory; FISHER not fully organized, attached to SHACKELFORD "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 238, 242)
FLOYD created from Young Territory; FLOYD not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 237, 242)
GAINES created from Young Territory; GAINES not fully organized, attached to SHACKELFORD "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 239, 242)
GARZA created from Young Territory; GARZA not fully organized, attached to YOUNG "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 238, 242)
GRAY created from Bexar Territory and WEGEFARTH (extinct); GRAY not fully organized, attached to CLAY "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 235, 242)
HALE created from Young Territory; HALE not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 237, 242)
HALL created from WEGEFARTH (extinct) and Young Territory; HALL not fully organized, attached to CLAY "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 236, 242)
HANSFORD created from Bexar Territory; HANSFORD not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 234-235, 242)
HARTLEY created from Bexar Territory; HARTLEY not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 235, 242)
HEMPHILL created from Bexar Territory; HEMPHILL not fully organized, attached to CLAY "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 235, 242)
HOCKLEY created from Young Territory; HOCKLEY not fully organized, attached to YOUNG "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 237-238, 242)
HOWARD created from TOM GREEN and Young Territory; HOWARD not fully organized, attached to SHACKELFORD "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 239, 242)
HUTCHINSON created from Bexar Territory; HUTCHINSON not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 235, 242)
KENT created from Young Territory; KENT not fully organized, attached to YOUNG "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 238, 242)
KING created from KNOX and Young Territory; KING not fully organized, attached to YOUNG "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 238, 242)
LAMB created from Young Territory; LAMB not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 237, 242)
LIPSCOMB created from Bexar Territory; LIPSCOMB not fully organized, attached to CLAY "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 234, 242)
LUBBOCK created from Young Territory; LUBBOCK not fully organized, attached to YOUNG "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 238, 242)
LYNN created from Young Territory; LYNN not fully organized, attached to YOUNG "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 238, 242)
MARTIN created from TOM GREEN and Young Territory; MARTIN not fully organized, attached to SHACKELFORD "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 239, 242)
MITCHELL created from TOM GREEN and Young Territory; MITCHELL not fully organized, attached to SHACKELFORD "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 239, 242)
MOORE created from Bexar Territory; MOORE not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 235, 242)
MOTLEY created from Young Territory; MOTLEY not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 237, 242)
NOLAN created from TAYLOR, TOM GREEN, and Young Territory; NOLAN not fully organized, attached to SHACKELFORD "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 239, 242)
OCHILTREE created from Bexar Territory; OCHILTREE not fully organized, attached to CLAY "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 234, 242)
OLDHAM created from Bexar Territory and Young Territory; OLDHAM not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 236, 242)
PARMER created from Young Territory; PARMER not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 237, 242)
POTTER created from Bexar Territory and Young Territory; POTTER not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 236, 242)
RANDALL created from Young Territory; RANDALL not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 236, 242)
ROBERTS created from Bexar Territory; ROBERTS not fully organized, attached to CLAY "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 235, 242)
SCURRY created from Young Territory; SCURRY not fully organized, attached to SHACKELFORD "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 238, 242)
SHERMAN created from Bexar Territory; SHERMAN not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 235, 242)
STONEWALL created from HASKELL and Young Territory; STONEWALL not fully organized, attached to YOUNG "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 238, 242)
SWISHER created from Young Territory; SWISHER not fully organized, attached to JACK "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 237, 242)
TERRY created from Young Territory; TERRY not fully organized, attached to YOUNG "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 238, 242)
WHEELER created from Bexar Territory and WEGEFARTH (extinct); WHEELER not fully organized, attached to CLAY "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 235, 242)
YOAKUM created from Young Territory; YOAKUM not fully organized, attached to YOUNG "for judicial, surveying and all other purposes." (pp. 238, 242)
Boundaries of CALLAHAN, EASTLAND, HARDEMAN, HASKELL, JONES, KNOX, and TAYLOR redefined to reflect changes brought on by creation of some Panhandle counties. (Texas Laws 1876, 15th leg., ch. 144/ pp. 239-240)
Bexar Territory (northern portion of Bexar Land District), WEGEFARTH (extinct), and Young Territory all eliminated by creation of 54 new counties. (Texas Laws 1876, 15th leg., ch. 144/pp. 234-242)
1876
STEPHENS fully organized, detached from PALO PINTO. ("Stephens County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:88)
1877
McMULLEN fully organized, detached from LIVE OAK. ("McMullen County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:438)
3 July 1877
CALLAHAN fully organized, detached from EASTLAND. ("Callahan County," New Handbook of Texas, 1:906)
3 July 1878
TAYLOR fully organized, detached from SHACKELFORD. (Zachry, 9)
1 March 1879
LA SALLE detached from WEBB, attached to McMULLEN "for judicial and surveying purposes." (Texas Laws 1879, 16th leg., reg. sess., ch. 29/p. 22)
11 March 1879
CONCHO fully organized, detached from McCULLOCH. (Kennedy, 80)
18 March 1879
THROCKMORTON fully organized, detached from SHACKELFORD. (Kennedy, 163)
12 April 1879
BAYLOR fully organized, detached from MONTAGUE. (Kennedy, 62)
WHEELER fully organized, detached from CLAY. ("Wheeler County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:918)
23 April 1879
ARCHER, HARDEMAN, KNOX, WICHITA, and WILBARGER detached from MONTAGUE, all attached to CLAY "for judicial and other purposes." (Texas Laws 1879, 16th leg., reg. sess., ch. 136/p. 150)
7 October 1879
CHILDRESS, COLLINGSWORTH, DONLEY, GRAY, HALL, HEMPHILL, LIPSCOMB, OCHILTREE, and ROBERTS detached from CLAY, all attached to WHEELER; GREER (Okla.) detached from MONTAGUE, attached to WHEELER; ARMSTRONG, BRISCOE, CARSON, CASTRO, DALLAM, DEAF SMITH, HANSFORD, HARTLEY, HUTCHINSON, MOORE, OLDHAM, PARMER, POTTER, RANDALL, SHERMAN, and SWISHER detached from JACK, all attached to WHEELER. All attachments were "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1879, 16th leg., spec. sess., ch. 30, sec. 3/p. 29)
MONTAGUE boundaries clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1879, 16th leg., spec. sess., ch. 30, sec. 3/p. 29 and ch. 47/p. 42)
February 1880
RUNNELS fully organized, detached from COLEMAN. ("Runnels County," New Handbook of Texas, 5:717)
27 July 1880
ARCHER fully organized, detached from CLAY. ("Archer County," New Handbook of Texas, 1:224)
2 November 1880
DIMMIT fully organized, detached from MAVERICK. (Kennedy, 85)
November 1880
LA SALLE fully organized, detached from McMULLEN. (Ludeman, 7)
10 January 1881
MITCHELL fully organized, detached from SHACKELFORD. ("Mitchell County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:781)
20 January 1881
NOLAN fully organized, detached from SHACKELFORD. ("Nolan County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:1027)
15 February 1881
CASTRO, DALLAM, DEAF SMITH, HARTLEY, MOORE, PARMER, POTTER, RANDALL, SHERMAN, and SWISHER detached from WHEELER, all attached to OLDHAM "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1881, 17th leg., reg. sess., ch. 13, sec. 5/p. 8)
25 February 1881
GARZA, KENT, LYNN, STONEWALL, TERRY, and YOAKUM detached from YOUNG, all attached to THROCKMORTON "for judicial purposes." HASKELL detached from SHACKELFORD, attached to THROCKMORTON "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1881, 17th leg., reg. sess., ch. 18, sec. 2/p. 12)
HARDEMAN, KNOX, and WILBARGER detached from CLAY; BAILEY, COTTLE, FLOYD, HALE, LAMB, and MOTLEY detached from JACK; COCHRAN, CROSBY, DICKENS, HOCKLEY, LUBBOCK, and KING detached from YOUNG. All attached to BAYLOR "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1881, 17th leg., reg. sess., ch. 18, sec. 2/p. 12)
30 March 1881
ANDREWS, BORDEN, DAWSON, GAINES, HOWARD, MARTIN, and SCURRY detached from SHACKELFORD, all attached to MITCHELL "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1881, 17th leg., reg. sess., ch. 74, sec. 11/p. 79)
FISHER detached from SHACKELFORD, attached to NOLAN "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1881, 17th leg., reg. sess., ch. 74, sec. 11/p. 79)
12 June 1881
OLDHAM fully organized, detached from WHEELER. (Kennedy, 143)
13 June 1881
JONES fully organized, detached from SHACKELFORD. (Kennedy, 115)
30 June 1881
JOHNSON gained small area from HILL. (Texas Laws 1881, 17th leg., reg. sess., ch. 48/p. 38)
10 October 1881
WILBARGER fully organized, detached from BAYLOR. (Ross and Rouse, 2)
22 March 1882
DONLEY fully organized, detached from WHEELER. (Browder, 200)
15 June 1882
HOWARD fully organized, detached from MITCHELL. (Kennedy, 109)
21 June 1882
WICHITA fully organized, detached from CLAY. ("Wichita County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:952)
14 August 1882
UPSHUR gained from GREGG so as to meet constitutional requirements that the boundary line approach no nearer than twelve miles to the adjoining county seat. (HRS Texas, Gregg, 12-13; Swindler, 9:340)
20 March 1883
LEE boundaries clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1883, 18th leg., reg. sess., ch. 37/p. 27)
27 March 1883
ANDREWS, BORDEN, DAWSON, GAINES, and MARTIN detached from MITCHELL, all attached to HOWARD "for judicial purposes." LYNN, TERRY and YOAKUM detached from THROCKMORTON, all attached to HOWARD "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1883, 18th leg., reg. sess., ch. 41, sec. 1/p. 29)
ARMSTRONG, BRISCOE, CARSON, CHILDRESS, and HALL detached from WHEELER, all attached to DONLEY; FLOYD detached from BAYLOR, attached to DONLEY; RANDALL and SWISHER detached from OLDHAM, both attached to DONLEY. All attachments were "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1883, 18th leg., reg. sess., ch. 41, sec. 4/p. 30)
COTTLE and HARDEMAN detached from BAYLOR, both attached to WILBARGER "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1883, 18th leg., reg. sess., ch. 41, sec. 8/p. 31)
GARZA and KENT detached from THROCKMORTON, both attached to MITCHELL "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1883, 18th leg., reg. sess., ch. 41, sec. 1/p. 29)
STONEWALL detached from THROCKMORTON, attached to JONES "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1883, 18th leg., reg. sess., ch. 41, sec. 1/p. 29)
10 April 1883
EDWARDS fully organized, detached from KERR. (Kennedy, 88)
13 April 1883
GILLESPIE boundaries clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1883, 18th leg., reg. sess., ch. 89/p. 90)
14 April 1883
REEVES created from PECOS; REEVES not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1883, 18th leg., reg. sess., ch. 103/p. 105)
5 February 1884
HALE and MOTLEY detached from BAYLOR, both attached to DONLEY "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1884, 18th leg., spec. sess., ch. 15, sec. 31/p. 26)
25 February 1884
ZAVALA fully organized, detached from FRIO. (Kennedy, 180)
28 June 1884
SCURRY fully organized, detached from MITCHELL. (Shelton, 26)
1 September 1884
LYNN detached from HOWARD, attached to MITCHELL "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1883, 18th leg., reg. sess., ch. 67, sec. 32/p. 63)
4 November 1884
REEVES fully organized. (Kennedy, 150)
November 1884
MARTIN fully organized, detached from HOWARD. (Smithson and Hull, 4)
30 December 1884
HARDEMAN fully organized, detached from WILBARGER. (Neal, 49)
January 1885
HASKELL fully organized, detached from THROCKMORTON. ("Haskell County," New Handbook of Texas, 3:501)
4 March 1885
MIDLAND created from TOM GREEN; MIDLAND not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1885, 19th leg., ch. 23/p. 24)
24 March 1885
PECOS gained very small area [above NW corner of VAL VERDE] from CROCKETT. (Texas Laws 1885, 19th leg., ch. 50/p. 48)
VAL VERDE created from CROCKETT, KINNEY, and PECOS; VAL VERDE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1885, 19th leg., ch. 50/p. 48)
WEBB gained all of Non-County Area 25 (which was eliminated). (Texas Laws 1885, 19th leg., ch. 45/p. 43)
2 May 1885
VAL VERDE fully organized. (Kennedy, 167)
15 June 1885
MIDLAND fully organized. (Griffin, 70)
30 June 1885
ANDREWS and GAINES detached from HOWARD, both attached to MARTIN "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1885, 19th leg., ch. 113, sec. 3/p. 110)
ANDREWS and GAINES detached from HOWARD, both attached to MARTIN "for judicial purposes." LYNN detached from MITCHELL, attached to HOWARD "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1885, 19th leg., ch. 113, sec. 3/pp. 109-110)
COTTLE detached from WILBARGER, attached to HARDEMAN "for judicial purposes." MOTLEY detached from DONLEY, attached to HARDEMAN "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1885, 19th leg., ch. 113, sec. 5/p. 111)
GARZA and KENT detached from MITCHELL, both attached to SCURRY "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1885, 19th leg., ch. 113, sec. 5/p. 111)
RANDALL detached from DONLEY, attached to OLDHAM "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1885, 19th leg., ch. 113, sec. 2/p. 109)
March 1886
KNOX fully organized, detached from BAYLOR. (Knox County History Committee, 17)
20 April 1886
FISHER fully organized, detached from NOLAN. (Yeats and Shelton, 43-44)
July 1886
GREER (Okla.) fully organized, detached from WHEELER. ("Greer County," New Handbook of Texas, 3:326)
20 November 1886
CROSBY fully organized, detached from BAYLOR. (Spikes and Ellis, 18-19)
2 February 1887
BREWSTER created from PRESIDIO; BREWSTER not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 4/p. 4)
22 February 1887
BREWSTER fully organized. (Casey, 27-28)
26 February 1887
CRANE created from TOM GREEN; CRANE not fully organized, attached to MIDLAND "for judicial, surveying, and all other purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 12, secs. 1e, 4/p. 9)
ECTOR created from TOM GREEN; ECTOR not fully organized, attached to MIDLAND "for judicial, surveying, and all other purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 12, secs. 1a, 4/pp. 8-9)
LOVING created from TOM GREEN; LOVING not fully organized, attached to REEVES "for judicial, surveying, and all other purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 12, secs. 1c, 3/pp. 8-9)
UPTON created from TOM GREEN; UPTON not fully organized, attached to MIDLAND "for judicial, surveying, and all other purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 12, secs. 1d, 4/p. 9)
WARD created from TOM GREEN; WARD not fully organized, attached to REEVES "for judicial, surveying, and all other purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 12, secs. 1f, 3/p. 9)
WINKLER created from TOM GREEN; WINKLER not fully organized, attached to REEVES "for judicial, surveying, and all other purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 12, secs. 1b, 3/pp. 8-9)
4 March 1887
EDWARDS gained from CROCKETT. (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 17/p. 12)
15 March 1887
BUCHEL (extinct) created from PRESIDIO; BUCHEL not fully organized, attached to BREWSTER "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 38/p. 26)
FOLEY (extinct) created from PRESIDIO; FOLEY not fully organized, attached to BREWSTER "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 38/p. 26)
JEFF DAVIS created from PRESIDIO; JEFF DAVIS not fully organized, attached to BREWSTER "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 38/p. 26)
MILLS created from BROWN, COMANCHE, HAMILTON, and LAMPASAS; MILLS not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 37/p. 25)
17 March 1887
ARANSAS exchanged with SAN PATRICIO [act repealed 24 April 1891]. (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 40/p. 28)
25 March 1887
CROCKETT detached from KINNEY, attached to VAL VERDE "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 65, sec. 2/p. 46)
1 April 1887
SCHLEICHER created from CROCKETT; SCHLEICHER not fully organized, attached to MENARD "for judicial and surveying purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 103/p. 95)
SUTTON created from CROCKETT; SUTTON not fully organized, attached to KIMBLE "for judicial and surveying purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 103/p. 95)
4 April 1887
GLASSCOCK created from TOM GREEN; GLASSCOCK not fully organized, attached to MARTIN "for judicial, surveying, and all other purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 143/p. 136)
11 April 1887
CHILDRESS fully organized, detached from DONLEY. (Ord, 8)
1 June 1887
JEFF DAVIS fully organized, detached from BREWSTER. (Jacobson and Nored, 151)
June 1887
LIPSCOMB fully organized, detached from WHEELER. ("Lipscomb County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:216)
BAILEY, COCHRAN, DICKENS, HOCKLEY, LAMB, and LUBBOCK detached from BAYLOR, attached to CROSBY; FLOYD and HALE detached from DONLEY, attached to CROSBY; MOTLEY detached from HARDEMAN, attached to CROSBY. All attachments were "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 98, sec. 4/p. 80)
KING detached from BAYLOR, attached to KNOX "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1887, 20th leg., reg. sess., ch. 98, sec. 8/p. 81)
July 1887
HEMPHILL fully organized, detached from WHEELER. ("Hemphill County," New Handbook of Texas, 3:551-552)
30 August 1887
MILLS fully organized. (Bowles, 85)
POTTER fully organized, detached from OLDHAM. ("Potter County," New Handbook of Texas, 5:300)
29 June 1888
CARSON fully organized, detached from DONLEY. (Randel, 1:38)
4 August 1888
HALE fully organized, detached from CROSBY. (Cox, Mary, 2-3)
20 December 1888
STONEWALL fully organized, detached from JONES. ("Stonewall County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:114)
January 1889
ROBERTS fully organized, detached from WHEELER. ("Roberts County," New Handbook of Texas, 5:614)
18 February 1889
ANDREWS detached from MARTIN, attached to MIDLAND "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1889, 21st leg., ch. 138, sec. 4/p. 162)
BAILEY, COCHRAN, HOCKLEY, and LAMB detached from CROSBY, attached to HALE "for judicial purposes." SWISHER detached from DONLEY, attached to HALE "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1889, 21st leg., ch. 138, secs. 6, 10/p. 163)
COLLINGSWORTH detached from WHEELER, and COTTLE detached from HARDEMAN, both attached to CHILDRESS "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1889, 21st leg., ch. 138, sec. 8/p. 163)
HANSFORD detached from WHEELER, attached to LIPSCOMB "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1889, 21st leg., ch. 138, sec. 2/p. 162)
HUTCHINSON detached from WHEELER, attached to CARSON "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1889, 21st leg., ch. 138, sec. 2/p. 162)
LYNN detached from HOWARD, attached to CROSBY "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1889, 21st leg., ch. 138, sec. 6/p. 163)
MOORE, RANDALL, and SHERMAN detached from OLDHAM, all attached to POTTER "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1889, 21st leg., ch. 138, sec. 10/p. 163)
TERRY and YOAKUM detached from HOWARD, both attached to MARTIN "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1889, 21st leg., ch. 138, sec. 4/p. 162)
21 February 1889
OCHILTREE fully organized, detached from WHEELER. (Kennedy, 142-143)
7 March 1889
IRION created from TOM GREEN; IRION not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1889, 21st leg., ch. 87/p. 99)
11 March 1889
HANSFORD fully organized, detached from LIPSCOMB. (Kennedy, 102)
13 March 1889
COKE created from TOM GREEN; COKE not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1889, 21st leg., ch. 77/p. 86)
21 March 1889
GLASSCOCK detached from MARTIN, attached to HOWARD "for judicial, surveying, and other purposes." (Texas Laws 1889, 21st leg., ch. 81/p. 92)
27 March 1889
BREWSTER gained from FOLEY (extinct). (Texas Laws 1889, 21st leg., ch. 49/p. 44)
PRESIDIO gained from BREWSTER and FOLEY (extinct); PRESIDIO was authorized to exchange with JEFF DAVIS [exchange disputed and never took effect, not mapped; see 11 November 1903]. (Texas Laws 1889, 21st leg., ch. 49/p. 44)
16 April 1889
IRION fully organized. (Crawford, 24)
23 April 1889
COKE fully organized. (Sharp, 1)
June 1889
SHERMAN fully organized, detached from POTTER. (McDaniel, 1:29)
July 1889
RANDALL fully organized, detached from POTTER. ("Randall County," New Handbook of Texas, 5:438)
8 March 1890
ARMSTRONG fully organized, detached from DONLEY. (History of Texas . . . Biographical History of Tarrant and Parker Counties, 206)
28 May 1890
FLOYD fully organized, detached from CROSBY. ("Floyd County," New Handbook of Texas, 2:1043)
23 June 1890
HALL fully organized, detached from DONLEY. ("Hall County," New Handbook of Texas, 3:418)
17 July 1890
SWISHER fully organized, detached from HALE. ("Swisher County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:181)
30 September 1890
COLLINGSWORTH fully organized, detached from CHILDRESS. (History of Collingsworth County, 32-35)
4 November 1890
SUTTON fully organized, detached from KIMBLE. (Kennedy, 160)
1 December 1890
DEAF SMITH fully organized, detached from OLDHAM. ("Deaf Smith County," New Handbook of Texas, 2:546-547)
6 January 1891
ECTOR fully organized, detached from MIDLAND. (Kennedy, 88)
January 1891
HARTLEY fully organized, detached from OLDHAM. (Hunter, 31)
5 February 1891
MOTLEY fully organized, detached from CROSBY. (Traweek, 15)
3 March 1891
FOARD created from COTTLE, HARDEMAN, and KNOX; FOARD not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1891, 22d leg., reg. sess., ch. 15/p. 17)
4 March 1891
STERLING created from TOM GREEN; STERLING not fully organized, attached to TOM GREEN "for judicial, surveying and recording purposes." (Texas Laws 1891, 22d leg., reg. sess., ch. 16/p. 18)
10 March 1891
DONLEY boundaries clarified, correcting mistake of 19 November 1876 [no change]. (Texas Laws 1891, 22d leg., reg. sess., ch. 20/p. 21)
LUBBOCK fully organized, detached from CROSBY. ("Lubbock County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:323)
14 March 1891
DICKENS fully organized, detached from CROSBY. (Kennedy, 85)
17 March 1891
BORDEN fully organized, detached from HOWARD. (Kennedy, 65)
25 March 1891
ANDREWS detached from MIDLAND, attached to MARTIN "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1891, 22d leg., reg. sess., ch. 34, sec. 1/p. 36)
COCHRAN and HOCKLEY detached from HALE, both attached to LUBBOCK "for judicial purposes." LYNN detached from CROSBY, attached to LUBBOCK "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1891, 22d leg., reg. sess., ch. 34, sec. 3/p. 37)
1 April 1891
DALLAM detached from OLDHAM, attached to HARTLEY "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1891, 22d leg., reg. sess., ch. 46, sec. 2/p. 49)
PARMER detached from OLDHAM, attached to DEAF SMITH "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1891, 22d leg., reg. sess., ch. 46, sec. 2/p. 49)
13 April 1891
HUTCHINSON detached from CARSON, attached to ROBERTS "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1891, 22d leg., reg. sess., ch. 74/p. 92)
24 April 1891
ARANSAS exchanged with SAN PATRICIO [repealed act of 17 March 1887]. (Texas Laws 1891, 22d leg., reg. sess., ch. 109/p. 172)
27 April 1891
FOARD fully organized. ("Foard County," New Handbook of Texas, 2:1047)
20 May 1891
STERLING fully organized, detached from TOM GREEN. (Daniels, 20-21)
25 June 1891
KING fully organized, detached from KNOX. (Kennedy, 119)
7 July 1891
CROCKETT fully organized, detached from VAL VERDE. ("Crockett County," New Handbook of Texas, 2:411)
28 July 1891
DALLAM fully organized, detached from HARTLEY. (Hunter, 35)
21 December 1891
CASTRO fully organized, detached from OLDHAM. ("Castro County," New Handbook of Texas, 1:1022)
11 January 1892
COTTLE fully organized, detached from CHILDRESS. (Bennett, 22)
15 March 1892
BRISCOE fully organized, detached from DONLEY. ("Briscoe County," New Handbook of Texas, 1:741)
29 March 1892
WARD fully organized, detached from REEVES. (Kennedy, 171)
5 July 1892
MOORE fully organized, detached from POTTER. ("Moore County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:826)
1 September 1892
BAILEY and LAMB detached from HALE, both attached to CASTRO "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1892, 22d leg., called sess., ch. 24, sec. 2/p. 59)
8 November 1892
KENT fully organized, detached from SCURRY. (Kennedy, 118)
28 March 1893
GLASSCOCK fully organized, detached from HOWARD. (Kennedy, 97)
11 May 1893
GARZA detached from SCURRY, attached to BORDEN "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1893, 23d leg., ch. 110/p. 166)
8 July 1893
LOVING fully organized, detached from REEVES. Organization was determined to be fraudulent, and the county was officially disorganized 24 May 1897. ("Loving County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:311)
1 March 1895
[March 1895] JACK gained control over the area claimed by both JACK and CLAY since 1857; Overlap Area 4 eliminated. (Taylor, 1, 127)
4 May 1895
GRAY detached from WHEELER, attached to ROBERTS "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1895, 24th leg., reg. sess., ch. 90/p. 143)
16 March 1896
GREER eliminated from Texas when U.S. Supreme Court ruled that GREER was not within the boundaries of Texas, but was under the jurisdiction of the United States. GREER became a county in Oklahoma Territory on 4 May 1896. ("United States v. Texas," in U.S. Rpts., 162:1-91; U.S. Stat., vol. 29, ch. 155[1896]/pp. 113-114)
21 April 1897
BREWSTER gained all of BUCHEL (extinct) and FOLEY (extinct); BUCHEL and FOLEY eliminated. (Texas Laws 1897, 25th leg., reg. sess., ch. 90/p. 115)
24 May 1897
LOVING disorganized, reattached to REEVES "for judicial and other purposes" [see also 8 July 1893]. (Texas Laws 1897, 25th leg., reg. sess., ch. 143/p. 205; "Loving County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:311)
12 March 1899
WEBB gained all of ENCINAL (extinct); ENCINAL eliminated. (Texas Laws 1899, 26th leg., reg. sess., ch. 11/p. 10)
13 May 1901
HUTCHINSON fully organized, detached from ROBERTS. ("Hutchinson County." New Handbook of Texas, 3:805)
July 1901
SCHLEICHER fully organized, detached from MENARD. ("Schleicher County," New Handbook of Texas, 5:920)
27 May 1902
GRAY fully organized, detached from ROBERTS. (Kennedy, 98)
7 March 1903
REAGAN created from TOM GREEN; REAGAN not fully organized, attached to TOM GREEN "for judicial, surveying and recording purposes." (Texas Laws 1903, 28th leg., reg. sess., ch. 32/p. 44)
27 March 1903
CRANE detached from MIDLAND, attached to ECTOR "for judicial and surveying purposes." (Texas Laws 1903, 28th leg., reg. sess., ch. 67, sec. 3/p. 92)
7 April 1903
LYNN fully organized, detached from LUBBOCK. ("Lynn County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:352)
20 April 1903
REAGAN fully organized, detached from TOM GREEN. (History of Reagan County, 19)
11 November 1903
Dispute between JEFF DAVIS and PRESIDIO ended; 1887 boundary confirmed [see also 27 March 1889]. ("Presidio County v. Jeff Davis County," in SW Rptr., 1st ser., 77:278-279)
28 June 1904
TERRY fully organized, detached from MARTIN. (Terry County Historical Survey Committee, 19)
8 February 1905
YOAKUM detached from MARTIN, attached to TERRY "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1905, 29th leg., reg. sess., ch. 9, sec. 5/p. 11)
20 March 1905
DAWSON fully organized, detached from HOWARD. ("Dawson County," New Handbook of Texas, 2:541)
14 July 1905
COLORADO gained all of Non-County Area 8 (whic was eliminated). (Texas Laws 1905, 29th leg., reg. sess., ch. 38/p. 49)
TERRELL created from PECOS; TERRELL not fully organized, attached to PECOS "for judicial, surveying and recording purposes." Act passed 8 April 1905; took effect 14 July 1905. (Texas Laws 1905, 29th leg., reg. sess., ch. 70/p. 96)
27 July 1905
TERRELL fully organized, detached from PECOS. ("Terrell County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:263)
24 October 1905
GAINES fully organized, detached from MARTIN. (Kennedy, 95)
7 May 1907
PARMER fully organized, detached from DEAF SMITH. ("Parmer County," New Handbook of Texas, 5:68)
5 July 1907
GARZA fully organized, detached from BORDEN. (Garza County Historical Survey Committee, 5)
1907
YOAKUM fully organized, detached from TERRY. "Yoakum County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:1122)
20 June 1908
LAMB fully organized, detached from CASTRO. ("Lamb County," New Handbook of Texas, 4:44)
3 February 1909
ANDREWS detached from MARTIN, attached to MIDLAND "for judicial and all other purposes." (Texas Laws 1909, 31st leg., reg. sess., ch. 8, sec. 4/p. 12)
5 April 1910
WINKLER fully organized, detached from REEVES. ("Winkler County," New Handbook of Texas, 6:1023)
7 May 1910
UPTON fully organized, detached from MIDLAND. (Eagleton, 15)
16 July 1910
ANDREWS fully organized, detached from MIDLAND. (Andrews County Heritage Committee, 21)
10 March 1911
CULBERSON created from EL PASO; CULBERSON not fully organized, attached to EL PASO "for judicial, surveying and recording purposes." (Texas Laws 1911, 32d leg., reg. sess., ch. 38/p. 53)
11 March 1911
BROOKS created from HIDALGO, STARR, and ZAPATA; BROOKS not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1911, 32d leg., reg. sess., ch. 39/pp. 55-57)
JIM WELLS created from NUECES; JIM WELLS not fully organized, attached to NUECES "for all purposes." Act passed 25 [sic] March 1911; took effect 11 March 1911. (Texas Laws 1911, 32d leg., reg. sess., ch. 140/pp. 58-61)
WILLACY created from CAMERON and HIDALGO; WILLACY not fully organized. Small remnants of CAMERON remained along its former northern boundary with NUECES. (Texas Laws 1911, 32d leg., reg. sess., ch. 48/pp. 83-87)
6 May 1911
JIM WELLS fully organized, detached from NUECES. (Minutes of the Commissioners' Court, Jim Wells County, 8 May 1911)
2 September 1911
BROOKS fully organized. (Brooks County Historical Commission, 3)
5 January 1912
CULBERSON fully organized, detached from EL PASO. (Wylie, 13)
31 January 1912
[January 1912] WILLACY fully organized. (Pierce, Frank C., 139)
27 February 1913
KLEBERG created from small remnants of CAMERON and from NUECES; KLEBERG not fully organized, attached to NUECES "for all purposes." (Texas Laws 1913, 33d leg., reg. sess., ch. 10/pp. 14-17)
3 April 1913
REAL created from BANDERA, EDWARDS, and KERR; REAL not fully organized. (Texas Laws 1913, 33d leg., reg. sess., ch. 133/pp. 264-267)
29 April 1913
REAL fully organized. (Chiodo, 362-363)
27 June 1913
KLEBERG fully organized, detached from NUECES. ("Kleberg County," New Handbook of Texas, 3:1139)
30 June 1913
JIM HOGG created from BROOKS and DUVAL; JIM HOGG not fully organized. Act passed 31 March 1913; took effect 30 June 1913. (Texas Laws 1913, 33d leg., reg. sess., ch. 73/pp. 133-136)
11 August 1913
JIM HOGG fully organized. (TXGenWeb Project, Jim Hogg County, Texas; http://www.vsta.com/~rlblack/jimhogg.html; 11 December 2001)
21 August 1913
Legislature authorized creation of DUNN (proposed) from DUVAL; creation did not take effect. Act was declared unconstitutional by Court of Civil Appeals of Texas, 8 April 1914. (Texas Laws 1913, 33d leg., 1st called sess., ch. 35/pp. 86-89; "Woods et al. v. Ball et al.," in SW Rptr., 1st ser., 166:4-7)
30 January 1917
KLEBERG exchanged with WILLACY. (Texas Laws 1917, 35th leg., reg. sess., ch. 7/pp. 8-11)
27 February 1917
JIM HOGG gained from DUVAL. (Texas Laws 1917, 35th leg., reg. sess., ch. 47/pp. 81-85)
19 June 1917
HUDSPETH created from EL PASO; HUDSPETH fully organized later in 1917. Act passed 16 February 1917; took effect 19 June 1917. (Texas Laws 1917, 35th leg., reg. sess., ch. 25/pp. 39-43)
by 17 March 1919
BAILEY fully organized, detached from CASTRO. (Kennedy, 61; Texas Laws 1919, 36th leg., reg. sess., ch. 82, sec. 2/p. 132)
19 February 1921
HOCKLEY fully organized, detached from LUBBOCK. (Hockley County Historical Commission, 200)
2 April 1921
KENEDY created from WILLACY; KENEDY not fully organized. Act passed 16 March 1921; took effect 2 April 1921. (Texas Laws 1921, 37th leg., reg. sess., ch. 104/pp. 200-207)
WILLACY re-created and re-organized. WILLACY gained from CAMERON and HIDALGO; lost all of its territory to creation of KENEDY, except for narrow strip along its original southern border. WILLACY organized later in 1921. (Texas Laws 1921, 37th leg., reg. sess., ch. 104/pp. 200-207)
21 April 1921
KENEDY fully organized. (Correspondence, Barbara Turcot, Kenedy County Clerk's Office, 20 June 2001)
10 June 1921
COCHRAN detached from LUBBOCK, attached to HOCKLEY "for judicial purposes." (Texas Laws 1921 37th leg., reg. sess., ch. 103/p. 199)
5 December 1921
ZAPATA gained small area from WEBB when agreement was reached on the true boundary line between the counties. ("Zapata County v. Webb County," Jim Hogg District Court, December Term 1921)
1924
COCHRAN fully organized, detached from HOCKLEY. ("Cochran County," New Handbook of Texas, 2:182)
12 August 1927
CRANE fully organized, detached from ECTOR. (Correspondence, Judy Crawford, District and County Clerk, Crane County, 3 July 2001)
19 August 1929
Legislature confirmed the correct spelling of "ZAVALA" to contain one "L," not two. (Texas Laws 1929, 41st leg., 1st called sess., ch. 57/p. 157)
14 May 1931
LOVING fully organized, detached from REEVES. (Correspondence, Beverly Hanson, District and County Clerk, Loving County, 19 July 2001)
27 May 1931
Western extents of ANDREWS, BAILEY, COCHRAN, DALLAM, DEAF SMITH, GAINES, HARTLEY, OLDHAM, PARMER, and YOAKUM explicitly extended to the Texas-New Mexico boundary (103d meridian) as established by John H. Clark in 1859 [not mapped]. (Texas Laws 1931, 42d leg., reg. sess., ch. 358/p. 850)
30 October 1931
FORT BEND gained from AUSTIN, settling boundary dispute dating from 24 March 1846. ("Austin County v. Fort Bend County," Agreed Judgment in Cause #6545, Washington County District Court in "Austin County Boundary File 5," Texas General Land Office, Austin)
3 April 1945
Boundary between BROOKS and JIM HOGG clarified to end uncertainty about the southern section of the boundary [not mapped]. (Texas Laws 1945, 49th leg., reg. sess., ch. 60/p. 84)
4 September 1947
Boundaries of Gulf Coast counties ARANSAS, BRAZORIA, CALHOUN, CAMERON, GALVESTON, JEFFERSON, KENEDY, KLEBERG, MATAGORDA, NUECES, and WILLACY extended to the continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico [not mapped]. (Texas Laws 1947, 50th leg., reg. sess., ch. 287/p. 490)
10 August 1959
SHERMAN boundaries clarified [no change]. (Texas Laws 1959, 56th leg., reg. sess., ch. 41/p. 82)
1 September 1975
ORANGE gained from JEFFERSON in Lake Sabine. (Texas Laws 1975, 64th leg., reg. sess., chs. 322, 592/pp. 831, 1876)