Kimble County, Texas
Kimble County, Texas
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Kimble County, Texas

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2303627

Kimble County, Texas

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Kimble County, Texas

Kimble County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,286. Its county seat is Junction. The county was created in 1858 and organized in 1876. It is named for George C. Kimble, who died at the Battle of the Alamo.

Prior to the arrival of foreign settlers, the area that later became Kimble County was inhabited by several Native American groups, including the Comanche, Kiowa, Kiowa Apache, and Lipan Apache. The first Europeans to encounter the area were the Spanish, who led several campaigns against the local Indian tribes in the mid-18th century. In 1808, Spanish Captain Francisco Amangual commanded a military expedition from San Antonio to Santa Fe and mapped a road, which passed through what is now Kimble County. The area was first mentioned in Republic of Texas documents in 1842, when about 416,000 acres of the present county were included in the Fisher–Miller Land Grant, which extended from the Llano River to the Colorado River.

The earliest settlers began arriving in the late 1850s. One of the first was Raleigh Gentry, who settled along Bear Creek around 1857. The Gentry family consisted of Raleigh, his wife, and their several adult sons. Another early settler was James Bradbury Sr., who moved to the area from Williamson County and chose a site along the banks of the South Llano River. Others settled in the Big and Little Saline valleys. Two of the Gentry's sons were later killed, one by Indians and the other during the Civil War. Bradbury was also killed by Indians during what was known as the Battle of Bradbury Hills.

The Texas Legislature enacted legislation on January 22, 1858, creating Kimble County from what was previously part of Bexar County. The new county was named for Lieutenant George C. Kimble (sometimes spelled Kimbell), who died during the Battle of the Alamo. From 1858 to 1875, Kimble County was attached to Gillespie County for judicial purposes.

Meanwhile, several settlements sprang up along the Johnson Fork of the Llano River, near Copperas Creek, and in the valleys of the James River after the Civil War. Throughout the 1870s, the lightly populated settlements of Kimble County faced raids by Comanches, as well as Lipans and Kickapoos, who used Mexico as their base. The county became a popular haven for outlaws who used the area's hilly terrain and dense cedar breaks as hideouts.

On September 6, 1875, Kimble County was separated from Gillespie County and attached to Menard County for judicial purposes.

Nearly 18 years after its creation, Kimble County was officially organized on January 3, 1876. William Potter was the county's first judge. That spring, the towns of Kimbleville and Denman (quickly changed to Junction City) were founded. Kimbleville was designated the first county seat. During the first district court session, however, the seat was moved to Junction City. Kimbleville soon disappeared largely due to its location in a flood-prone area of the county. Other communities were formed during the latter half of the 19th century, including London, Noxville, Roosevelt, Segovia, Telegraph, and Viejo (later Cleo).

The population of Kimble County rose from 72 in 1870 to 1,343 in 1880. In 1878, a courthouse was erected in Junction City. The structure was destroyed, along with all of the county records, in an 1884 fire. The replacement, a two-story stone building, was partially destroyed by fire in 1888, but was repaired and remained in operation until the present courthouse was constructed in 1929. The census of 1890 recorded 2,243 people and 279 farms and ranches in the county. The raising of cattle and sheep soon dominated the economy. In 1894, the county seat of Junction City became known simply as Junction.

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