Somervell County, Texas

Native Americans

Caddo tribe Anadarko villages were scattered along Trinity and Brazos Rivers.^[3] The Caddo tribe of Wichita also inhabited the area. By 1860, these tribes had moved to Oklahoma.

The Tonkawa^[4] were hunter-gatherers of the area, and often traded with their allies the Caddo and Karankawa. Like the Wichita, Karankawa and Jumano, the Tonkawa tattooed their bodies and faces. Some Tonkawa men were employed as scouts for the Texas Rangers and United States Army.^[5] As they were pushed out by the Comanche, they moved to the Brazos Indian Reservation,^[6] and later to Oklahoma.

Comanche bands continued depredations on settlers until their removal to Oklahoma after 1875.^[7]

County established

The county was formed and organized in 1875 from Hood County. The town of Glen Rose became the county seat.

Torrey Trading Houses opened as a part of the Sam Houston peace policy to develop friendly relationships with native tribes.^[8] They bought from, and sold to, the Indians on a banking and credit system, enabling them to also recover stolen horses and human captives. The Torreys sold their business to George Barnard in 1848,^[9] who with his brother Charles ^[10] moved the Tehuacana store in Limestone County to near Comanche Peak.^[11] Juana Josefina Cavasos Barnard^[12] had been captured by Comanches as a teenager. She was daughter of Maria Josefa Cavazos,^[13] and granddaughter of Don José Narciso Cavazos Gonzalez-Hildago who in 1792 received the largest land grant in Texas.^[14] George ransomed Juana from the tribe, but his brother Charles married her in 1848.^[15]

Somervell County got its first courthouse in Glen Rose in 1882, but the courthouse and all county records burned in 1893.^[16] The second and current courthouse was built in 1894 by architect John McCormick.^[17] The roof and clock tower were damaged in the 1902 Glen Rose tornado. County funds at the time limited the repair, which eliminated the clock tower. In 1986, work was done to restore the structure to its original design.

Glen Rose Collegiate Institute, or Glen Rose College, operated as a private, faith-based educational facility from 1889 to 1910. Educational competition from the public-school system caused enrollment to taper off until the institution was shut down.^[18]

Under the New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA), Glen Rose built a new water and sewage system in the 1930s, as well as school buildings, a canning plant, and low-water dams.^[19]

The Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant went online in the mid-1970s and employs over 1,000 people.^[20] Squaw Creek Reservoir, which provides cooling water for the power plant, also has become a popular recreation site.^[21]

Dinosaurs

The tragic Paluxy River flood in 1908 uncovered three-toed prints from the Cretaceous period, possibly Acrocanthosaurus, and were discovered by high school student George Adams in the limestone river bed. The teenager relayed the discovery to his principal, Robert McDonald.^[22] Adams later ended up selling self-manufactured fake "giant man tracks"^[23] to tourists sometime during the 1930s, sparking a debate about whether humans existed alongside dinosaurs.^[24] In 1934, resident Charlie Moss discovered footprints of four-toed sauropods. Resident Jim Ryals dug out the actual dinosaur prints and sold them to tourists. Paleontologist Roland T. Bird of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City spotted the Adams "giant man tracks" in a tourist shop in Gallup, New Mexico, and, while recognizing them as fakes, was still intrigued enough to travel to Somervell County to see the Glen Rose area for himself. Bird's visit resulted in a 2-year WPA project to uncover the dinosaur prints. The American Museum of Natural History, the University of Texas at Austin, the Smithsonian Institution, and several local museums retain samples of what are said to be the best-preserved tracks in the United States.^[25]

The land along the Paluxy River for Dinosaur Valley State Park was purchased by the State of Texas in 1968, and the park opened to the public in 1972.^[26]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 67
• State Highway 144

Adjacent counties

• Hood County (north)
• Johnson County (east)
• Bosque County (south)
• Erath County (west)

Racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 9,205 and the median age was 43.3 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.5% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.7 males age 18 and over.^[34]

The racial makeup of the county was 80.1% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 5.8% from some other race, and 12.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 18.3% of the population.^[35]

<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.^[36]

There were 3,411 households in the county, of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 60.0% were married-couple households, 14.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[34]

There were 3,928 housing units, of which 13.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 77.9% were owner-occupied and 22.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.4%.^[34]

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, about 1.3 same-sex couples per 1,000 households were in the county.^[37]

2000 census

As of the census^[38] of 2000, 6,809 people, 2,438 households, and 1,840 families were residing in the county. The population density was 36 people/mi² (14 people/km²). The 2,750 housing units had an average density of 15 units per square mile (5.8 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.19% White, 0.28% African American, 0.69% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 5.12% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. About 13.44% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 2,438 households, 37.4% had children under 18 living with them, 61.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were not families. About 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.73, and the average family size was 3.17.

In the county, the age distribution was 28.4% under 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,404, and for a family was $46,458. Males had a median income of $32,463 versus $23,381 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,367. About 6.10% of families and 8.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.30% of those under age 18 and 9.10% of those age 65 or over.

City

• Glen Rose (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

• Glass
• Nemo
• Rainbow