Robertson County, Texas

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Robertson County, Texas
The Robertson County Courthouse in Franklin
Location in the state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1838
Named for	Sterling C. Robertson
Seat	Franklin
Largest city	Hearne
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	865 sq mi (2,240 km²) 856 sq mi (2,217 km²) 9.7 sq mi (25 km²), 1.1
Population  - (2020)  - Density	16,757
Congressional district	17th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.robertson.tx.us

Robertson County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 16,757. Its county seat is Franklin. The county was created in 1837 and organized the following year. It is named for Sterling C. Robertson, an early settler who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.

Robertson County is in east-central Texas and is part of the College Station-Bryan, TX metropolitan statistical area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 865 sq mi (2,240 km²), of which 856 square miles (2,220 km²) are land and 9.7 sq mi (25 km²) (1.1%) are covered by water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 79
• U.S. Highway 190
• State Highway 6
• State Highway 7
• State Highway 14

Additionally, State Highway OSR forms Robertson County's southeastern border, but does not fully enter the county.

Adjacent counties

• Limestone County (north)
• Leon County (northeast)
• Brazos County (southeast)
• Burleson County (south)
• Milam County (southwest)
• Falls County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	934		—
1860	4,997		435.0%
1870	9,990		99.9%
1880	22,383		124.1%
1890	26,506		18.4%
1900	31,480		18.8%
1910	27,454		−12.8%
1920	27,933		1.7%
1930	27,240		−2.5%
1940	25,710		−5.6%
1950	19,908		−22.6%
1960	16,157		−18.8%
1970	14,389		−10.9%
1980	14,653		1.8%
1990	15,511		5.9%
2000	16,000		3.2%
2010	16,622		3.9%
U.S. Decennial Census 1850–2010 2010 2020

2020 census

Robertson County, Texas - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)

Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	9,821	9,505	59.08%	56.72%
Black or African American alone (NH)	3,509	3,095	21.11%	18.47%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	47	29	0.28%	0.17%
Asian alone (NH)	96	104	0.58%	0.62%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	21	0.00%	0.13%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	9	37	0.05%	0.22%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	150	438	0.90%	2.61%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	2,990	3,528	17.99%	21.05%
Total	16,622	16,757	100.00%	100.00%

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2000 Census

As of the census of 2000, 16,000 people, 6,179 households, and 4,356 families were residing in the county. The population density was 19 people/sq mi (7/km²). The 7,874 housing units averaged 9/sq mi (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 66.20% White, 24.19% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 7.22% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. About 14.74% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 6,179 households, 32.00% had children under 18 living with them, 51.10% were married couples living together, 15.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.50% were not families. About 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.50% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.55, and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county, the age distribution was 28.20% under 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 24.20% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 17.00% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,886, and for a family was $35,590. Males had a median income of $30,795 versus $21,529 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,714. About 17.30% of families and 20.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.70% of those under age 18 and 21.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Bremond
• Calvert
• Franklin (county seat)
• Hearne

Unincorporated communities

• Bald Prairie
• Benchley (partly in Brazos County)
• Easterly
• Elliott
• Hammond
• Mumford
• New Baden
• Ridge
• Tidwell Prairie
• Valley Junction
• Wheelock

Ghost towns

• Owensville

Politics

Robertson County was a longtime Democratic stronghold, like many rural Southern counties were in the Jim Crow and immediate post-Jim Crow eras. (It only voted for a Republican in 1972.) In 2000, the last time the county went to a Democrat (Al Gore), it was one of only three majority-white rural counties (with Newton and Morris) to vote for Bill Clinton's former vice president. None of the three have gone to a Democrat since.

United States presidential election results for Robertson County, Texas

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	5,646	69.71%	2,374	29.31%	79	0.98%
2016	4,668	66.35%	2,203	31.31%	164	2.33%
2012	4,419	60.64%	2,798	38.40%	70	0.96%
2008	3,980	59.31%	2,675	39.87%	55	0.82%
2004	3,792	55.81%	2,979	43.84%	24	0.35%
2000	3,007	47.21%	3,283	51.55%	79	1.24%
1996	1,944	37.57%	2,912	56.27%	319	6.16%
1992	1,707	30.46%	2,927	52.23%	970	17.31%
1988	2,184	37.45%	3,630	62.24%	18	0.31%
1984	2,663	44.27%	3,339	55.50%	14	0.23%
1980	1,661	31.28%	3,572	67.27%	77	1.45%
1976	1,244	24.90%	3,741	74.88%	11	0.22%
1972	1,977	50.01%	1,976	49.99%	0	0.00%
1968	965	20.35%	2,833	59.74%	944	19.91%
1964	895	21.07%	3,350	78.88%	2	0.05%
1960	935	25.86%	2,669	73.81%	12	0.33%
1956	1,285	36.63%	2,212	63.06%	11	0.31%
1952	1,378	34.39%	2,626	65.54%	3	0.07%
1948	246	8.49%	2,147	74.11%	504	17.40%
1944	126	4.14%	2,681	88.13%	235	7.73%
1940	175	5.20%	3,191	94.80%	0	0.00%
1936	86	3.16%	2,633	96.77%	2	0.07%
1932	148	5.82%	2,396	94.18%	0	0.00%
1928	751	33.54%	1,487	66.41%	1	0.04%
1924	226	10.00%	1,971	87.17%	64	2.83%
1920	225	8.95%	1,634	64.97%	656	26.08%
1916	218	13.82%	1,313	83.26%	46	2.92%
1912	153	11.57%	1,051	79.50%	118	8.93%

Education

School districts:

• Bremond Independent School District
• Bryan Independent School District
• Calvert Independent School District
• Franklin Independent School District
• Groesbeck Independent School District
• Hearne Independent School District
• Leon Independent School District
• Mumford Independent School District

Blinn College is the designated community college for portions of the county in Bryan, Franklin, Hearne, and Mumford ISDs. Portions in Bremond ISD and Calvert ISD are zoned to the McLennan Community College District.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Robertson County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Robertson County

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Robertson County, Texas

• Robertson County government's website
• Robertson County from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Sketch of Sterling Robertson from A pictorial history of Texas, from the earliest visits of European adventurers, to A.D. 1879, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.