Young County, Texas

Young County is located in the North Central Texas surrounded by Archer County to the north, Jack County to the east, Palo Pinto County to the southeast, Stephens County to the south, Throckmorton County to the west. Graham, the county seat, is 87 miles northwest of Fort Worth.

Cities, Towns and Communities

Eliasville | Fort Belknap | Graham – county seat | Loving | Markley | Newcastle | Olney | Southbend

History

Young County 1858. This is the extreme north-western county in the State, and lies about 350 miles north-west of Austin. It was formed by the legislature of 1856-7, out of Cook county [sic]. Fort Belknap and the Indian reservation are within its limits. It is a well watered and timbered county, and a desirable place to live. Following the beaten track from Fort Graham, in Hill county, to Fort Belknap, you will, after a tedious journey through the ” Cross Timbers,” reach a range of ragged, but open, hills, with the Brazos meandering through the narrow valley. Fort Belknap may be seen in the distance : it is a situation of considerable importance, and has a spacious magazine, comfortable quarters for the troops, and buildings for the officers. Below the fort is a fine spring, and a well of considerable depth, affording abundance of good water. South of the fort, at the distance of half a mile, is the county-seat of Young. In the neighborhood is a bed of bituminous coal, of a superior quality, which, at some future day, will be a valuable product. Continue Reading Young County History from Braman’s information about Texas, 1858 >>

Young County History 1922. Young County may probably be considered the cornerstone in the history and development of Northwest Texas. For many years the Young Land District and the Young District Court comprised a jurisdiction greater than that of many states in the Union. Around the nucleus of a military post, settlement at Fort Belknap was begun during the ’50s. The county was created by the Legislature hi 1856 and a county government instituted, but as a result of the depredations of the savages, organization was abandoned in 1864. It was during the ’70s and early ’80s, before any railroads were built into Northwest Texas, that Young County exercised so extensive an official relation with the yast district to the north and west. In April, 1874, the county government was permanently organized, after a lapse of ten years.

Two years after the establishment of the military post at Fort Worth, owing to the continued advance of settlers, a new line of frontier had to be drawn, and in 1850 the government directed the establishment of two forts, one of which was Fort Belknap, on the Brazos River in what is Young County, and the other Fort Phantom Hill, on the Clear Fork of the Brazos in the southeastern part of what is now Jones County. The first company of soldiers reached Fort Belknap in November, 1850.Continue Reading Young County History Written in 1922 >>

Location

Graham, TX 33° 6′ 25.416″ N, 98° 35′ 22.2072″ W

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