Real

Formed April 3, 1913 (252^nd county)

Real County (2,751), Leakey (317), Camp Wood (518)

The old stone Classical Revival structure in Leakey was built in 1917.  It is at the intersection of United States Highway 83 and Market.  The building’s designer was H. A. Reuter.  Both courthouses that have served the county have been in Leakey.  An Annex was added in 1978.  Real County was organized on April 3, 1913 from parts of Bandera, Edwards, and Kerr counties as the 252^nd county.  The county was named for State Senator Julius Real.  Leakey got its name from an early settler, John Leakey. 

Real County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge serves Real, Medina, and Uvalde counties and One County Court Judge serves Real County.  The county is in the hill country west of Austin, Texas.  The Nueces River is the southwestern border of the county and the Frio River originates in the county.  The county center is 12.9 miles Northwest of Leakey.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Kerr, Bandera, Uvalde, and Edwards counties. 

The area of the county is 700 square miles.  It is 216 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 227 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 3.9 persons per square mile making it 207 out of 254 in the state.  Real County has 30.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 83 comes in from the north, Kerr County, and goes out to the south, Uvalde County.  The county has a basic rectangular shape with an addition on the southeast side.  Leakey is located in the southern quarter.  Camp Wood is in the southwest corner of the county.  Leakey is the county seat and Camp Wood is the largest city.  Leakey is 11.5% of the county population while Camp Wood is 18.8% of the county population.  The county is pronounced REE-AL.  The county seat is pronounced LAE-KEE.