Hamilton County, Texas

Hamilton County, Texas
The Hamilton County Courthouse in Hamilton, Texas. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 4, 1980.
Location in the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1858
Named for	James Hamilton Jr.
Seat	Hamilton
Largest city	Hamilton
Area
• Total	836 sq mi (2,165 km2)
• Land	836 sq mi (2,165 km2)
• Water	0.5 sq mi (1 km2), 0.06%
Population
• (2010)	8,517
• Density	10/sq mi (4/km²)
Congressional district	25th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.hamiltoncountytx.org

Hamilton County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 8,517. The county seat is Hamilton. The county was created in 1858. It is named for James Hamilton Jr., a former governor of South Carolina who gave financial aid to the Republic of Texas.

Indigenous peoples were the first inhabitants of the area. Later Indian tribes settled in the area, including Tawakoni, Tonkawa, Waco and Comanche.

In 1821, shortly after Mexico claimed its independence from Spain, Anglo settlers from the North came to Texas, claiming Mexican citizenship.

Following Texas's independence from Mexico (1836) and its annexation by the United States (1845), Robert Carter and family became the first permanent white settlers in the county in 1854. The next year, settlers James Rice, Henry Standefer, Frederic Bookerman, William Beauchamp, and Asa Langford formed a community that later becomes the town of Hamilton. Asa Langford began Langford's Cove, which later grows into present-day Evant. In 1858 the Sixth Texas Legislature formed Hamilton County, named after James Hamilton Jr., from parts of Comanche, Bosque, and Lampasas counties. In 1858, Hamilton was named the county seat.