Falls County is acounty in theU.S. state ofTexas. As of the2020 census, its population was 16,968.[1] Thecounty seat isMarlin.[2] It is named for the original 10-foot-tallwaterfalls on theBrazos River, which existed until the river changed course during a storm in 1866. The present falls are two miles northeast of the original falls, at the Falls on the Brazos Park, a camping site only a few miles out of Marlin onFarm to Market Road 712.
TheBrazos River Valley served as hunting grounds for several tribes, includingWacos, Tawakonis, andAnadarkos. TheComanches were often a more aggressive band, who forced other tribes off the land. TheTawakoni[5] branch ofWichita Indians originated north of Texas, but migrated south intoEast Texas. From 1843 onward, the Tawakoni were part of treaties made by both theRepublic of Texas and the United States.
TheCherokees arrived in the early 1830s.Sam Houston, adopted son of Chief Oolooteka (John Jolly) of the Cherokee, negotiated the February 1836 treaty betweenChief Bowl[6] of the Cherokees and the Republic of Texas.[6][7][8]
January 1839, Falls County had two brutal massacres by the Anadarkos, under chief José María,[9] at the homes of George Morgan and John Marlin.[10] A retaliatory offensive by settlers was ineffective, and forced the group into a retreat.
EmpresariosSterling C. Robertson and Robert Leftwich received a grant from theCoahuila y Tejas legislature to settle 800 families.[13] By contracting how many families each grantee could settle, the government sought to have some control over colonization. Robertson began bringing American settlers to his Nashville colony (later calledRobertson's Colony).[14] Most of the settlers came fromAlabama,Tennessee, andMississippi. He named the capital of the Nashville colonySarahville de Viesca.[15]Fort Viesca was built in 1834, with a name change to Fort Milam in 1835.[16] The settlement was deserted during the Runaway Scrape[17] of 1836, and reoccupied after theBattle of San Jacinto.[18]
The state legislature formed Falls County fromLimestone andMilam Counties in 1850, and named it after the falls of the Brazos River.[19][20] Marlin became the county seat.
By the census of 1860,[21] the county had 1,716 slaves. Falls County voted in favor ofsecession from the Union. The county fared better duringReconstruction than most, perhaps due to its distance from areas subject toUnion military occupation.
Marlin[22] began to be known for the healing powers of its hot mineral waters by the 1890s.[23]Conrad Hilton built the Falls Hotel, with a tunnel to a mineral bath, to accommodate the business generated by the hot spring.
A log cabin served as the county's first courthouse in the 1850s,[27] until the second courthouse was built of white cedar. The second courthouse burned in 1870. A third courthouse was built in 1876, but was damaged by a storm in 1886.
A fourth courthouse was built in 1888, which by the 1930s had greatly deteriorated. The concrete, brick, and stone fifth and present-day courthouse, designed by architect Arthur E. Thomas,[28] was completed in 1939.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 774 sq mi (2,000 km2), of which 765 sq mi (1,980 km2) are land and 8.4 square miles (22 km2) (1.1%) are covered by water.[29]
Falls County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition 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 may be of any race.
As of the 2000census[36] 18,576 people, 6,496 households, and 4,410 families resided in the county. Thepopulation density was 24 people per square mile (9.3 people/km2). The 7,658 housing units averaged 10 per square mile (3.9/km2). Theracial makeup of the county was 61.50% White, 27.45% Black or African American, 0.50% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 8.81% from other races, and 1.59% from two or more races. About 15.83% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 6,496 households, 30.60% had children under 18 living with them, 48.20% were married couples living together, 15.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were not families. About 29.40% of all households was made up of individuals, and 15.40% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the county, the population was distributed as 27.6% under 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $26,589, and for a family was $32,666. Males had a median income of $27,042 versus $20,128 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $14,311. About 18.80% of families and 22.60% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 28.70% of those under 18 and 18.40% of those 65 or over.
TheTexas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates theMarlin Unit, a transfer facility for men, in the city of Marlin. The unit opened in June 1992 and was transferred to theTexas Youth Commission (TYC) in May 1995.[37] When it was a part of TYC, the facility, then called the Marlin Orientation and Assessment Unit,[38] served as the place of orientation forminors of both sexes being committed into the TYC's care, from the facility's opening in 1995 to its transfer out of TYC in 2007.[39]
In September 2007, the facility was transferred back to the TDCJ.[37] The TDCJ also operates theWilliam P. Hobby Unit, a prison for women located southwest of Marlin inunincorporated Falls County.[40]
In 2013, a ranch in northeast Falls County nearMart, Texas, was the site of the series premiere ofTreehouse Masters, in which a couple had a $200,000 treehouse built on their property.[44]
.svg)
