Veterans Memorial at Real County courthouseThe Real County Historical Museum is located in a rustic building in Leakey.Open gate to a grassy field in Real County
1762–1771: Looking for protection fromComanches, Lipan Apache chief El Gran Cabezón persuadesFranciscans and the Spanish military to establish San Lorenzo de la Santa Cruz Mission on the Nueces River. The mission was abandoned in 1771[3]
1856: John and Nancy Leakey settle in Frio Canyon.[4]
1857: The originalCamp Wood is established on theNueces River near the site of the former San Lorenzo mission.[5]
1864: Lipan Apaches attack the family of George Schwander in the abandoned ruins of the San Lorenzo mission.[6]
1868: Theophilus Watkins, F. Smith and Newman Patterson construct a gravity flow irrigation canal from theFrio River that operates for a century.[7][8]
1879: Indians attack and kill Jennie Coalson, wife of Nic Coalson, and two children at Half Moon Prairie.[9]
1881: Lipan Apaches strike the McLauren home at Buzzard's Roost in the Frio Canyon. Last Indian raid in southwest Texas.[10]
1910: Crop farming declines in the county, livestock ranching gains prominence, in particular angora goats.[9]
1913: On April 3,[11] the Texas state legislature establishes Real County from parts ofEdwards,Bandera, andKerr counties.Leakey is the county seat.[9]
1920: Camp Wood township is founded and becomes a railroad terminus to transport heart cedar.[12]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 700.1 square miles (1,813 km2), of which 699 square miles (1,810 km2) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2) (0.1%) is water.[16]
Real 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 thecensus[22] of 2000, 3,047 people, 1,245 households, and 869 families resided in the county. Thepopulation density was 4/sq mi (1.5/km2). The 2,007 housing units averaged 3/sq mi (1.2/km2). Theracial makeup of the county was 91.40% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 6.01% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were about 22.58% of the population.
Of the 1,245 households, 26.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% weremarried couples living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were not families. About 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the county, the population was distributed as 23.40% under the age of 18, 5.40% from 18 to 24, 21.50% from 25 to 44, 28.80% from 45 to 64, and 20.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $25,118, and for a family was $29,839. Males had a median income of $21,076 versus $18,352 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $14,321. About 17.40% of families and 21.20% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 30.60% of those under age 18 and 15.00% of those age 65 or over.
