Williamson

Formed March 13, 1848 (78^th county)

Williamson County (609,010), Georgetown (67,012), Round Rock (119,501)                

The stately Neo-Classical and Beaux Arts Revival courthouse in Georgetown was built in 1911 and sits on the square at the Rock and 8^th streets.  Interstate Highway 35 bypasses the center of the city to the west.  The building was restored in 2007.  An Annex was added in 1990 and a Justice Center was built in 2004.  Georgetown has been the only county seat and site of five courthouses since the March 13, 1848 organization of the county.  Williamson County was originally part of Milam County as the 78^th county.  Charles H. Page designed this brick and stone courthouse.  Williamson is named for Robert McAlpin Williamson who proposed the legislation for the county.  Georgetown gets its name from George Washington Glasscock, land promoter and advocate for Texas independence.  Glasscock County is also named for him.  Williamson County is the birthplace of 2 Texas Governors, Daniel J. Moody, Jr., Preston E. Smith. 

Williamson County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  Five District Court Judges and Five County Court Judges serve Williamson County.  The county is located in central Texas just northeast of Austin, Texas.  In addition to Austin, Texas being southwest of the county, Waco, Texas is northeast.  The county center is in Georgetown 3.4 miles North of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Bell, Milam, Lee, Bastrop, Travis, and Burnet counties. 

The area of the county is 1124 square miles.  It is 46 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 12 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 541.8 persons per square mile making it 14 out of 254 in the state.  Williamson County has 68.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 35 comes from Bell County on the north and goes into Travis County on the south.  United States Highway 79 enters from Milam County, east, and terminates in the county.  United States Highway 183 comes in from Burnet County on the northwest and goes into Travis County on the south.  The county is basically diamond shaped at the standard 45-degree skew.  Georgetown is a little south and west of center in the county.  Round Rock is on the southwest border of the county and extends into Travis County.  Georgetown is the county seat and Round Rock is the largest city.  Georgetown is 11.0% of the county population while Round Rock is 19.6% of the county population.  This county is in the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area.