Burnet County, Texas


Burnet County is a List of [Texas counties|county] located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 [United States census|2020 census], its population was 49,130. Its county seat is Burnet.
The 2024 county population estimate was 55,722. The county was founded in 1852 and later organized in 1854. It is named for David Gouverneur Burnet, the first president of the Republic of Texas. The name of the county is pronounced with the emphasis or accent on the first syllable, just as is the case with its namesake.

History

inhabited the area as early as 4500 BC. Later known tribes in the area include Tonkawa, Lipan Apache, and Comanche.
During the 1820s-1830s, Stephen F. Austin and Green DeWitt conducted surveying and Indian-fighting explorations. In 1849, the United States established Fort Croghan, and in 1848, the first settlers arrived in the county, Samuel Eli Holland, Logan Vandeveer, Peter Kerr, William Harrison Magill, Noah Smithwick, Captain Jesse B. Burnham, R. H. Hall, Adam Rankin "Stovepipe" Johnson, and Captain Christian Dorbandt. In 1851, 20 Mormon families under the leadership of Lyman Wight establish a colony at Hamilton Creek, later to be known as Morman Mill.
In 1852, the Fourth Texas Legislature created Burnet County from Bell, Travis, and Williamson Counties. The first post office was established at Hamilton in 1853.
In 1860, 235 slaves were in Burnet County. After the war, some former slaves left the county, but many stayed. A group of them settled on land in the eastern part of Oatmeal. In 1870, the black population of the county had increased to 358, keeping pace with the growth of the total number of residents; the number of blacks had fallen to 248 by 1880, however, and the number of new white residents was such that after 1890, blacks represented less than 3% of the total population. Some found work on farms and ranches, but by the turn of the century, many had moved into the Marble Falls area to work in town.
During 1882–1903, railroad tracks connected Burnet, Granite Mountain, Marble Falls, and Lampasas. Lake Victor and Bertram became shipping-point communities. Other communities lost population as the railroad offered employment. During the Great Depression, county farmers suffered financially, but found work with government-sponsored public-works projects. The Lower [Colorado River Authority] employed hundreds of people for the construction of the Hamilton Dam and Roy B. Inks Dam.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which are covered by water.

Major highways

Race / ethnicity Pop 2000Pop. 2010% 2000% 2010
White alone 28,01732,53034,81082.05%76.09%70.85%
Black or African American alone 5007005791.46%1.64%1.18%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 1551691830.45%0.40%0.37%
Asian alone 891984240.26%0.46%0.86%
Pacific Islander alone 1313140.04%0.03%0.03%
Other race alone 15441470.04%0.10%0.30%
Mixed race or multiracial 3144441,7740.92%1.04%3.61%
Hispanic or Latino 5,0448,65211,19914.77%20.24%22.79%
Total34,14742,75049,130100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 49,130 and a median age of 45.9 years. 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 24.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.9 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 77.0% White, 1.3% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 8.7% from some other race, and 11.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 22.8% of the population.
32.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 67.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 19,245 households in the county, of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 55.0% were married-couple households, 16.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 23,436 housing units, of which 17.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 75.2% were owner-occupied and 24.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.7%.

Communities

Cities