Erath

Formed January 1, 1856 (105^th county)

Erath County (42,545), Stephenville (20,963)

The beautiful red-roofed tower of Erath County is visual for miles from Stephenville.  This 1892 Romanesque Revival structure is the third to serve the county since its January 1, 1856 founding.  Stephenville has been the location of all three courthouses.  The county was carved from parts of Bosque and Coryell counties as the 105^th county.  The courthouse is located on the square where Texas State Highway 108 intersects with United States Highway (Business) 377.  The light limestone and darker roof was the architectural designs of J. Riely Gordon.  The building was renovated in 1988 and a Justice Center was added in 1988.  Erath County’s namesake is George Bernard Erath, a veteran of the Texas Revolution.  Stephenville is named for John Stephen who donated the land for the city.  Stephens County to the northwest has a different namesake than Stephenville. 

Erath County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge and Two County Court Judges serve Erath County.  The county is located in north central Texas southwest of Fort Worth, Texas and southeast of Abilene, Texas.  The county center is in Stephenville 2.2 miles West-Southwest of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Palo Pinto, Hood, Somervell, Bosque, Hamilton, Comanche, and Eastland counties. 

The area of the county is 1086 square miles.  It is 52 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 77 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 39.2 persons per square mile making it 91 out of 254 in the state.  Erath County has 57.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 20 cuts the northwest corner from Palo Pinto County, northeast, into Eastland County, northwest.  United States Highways 67 and 377 cross jointly from northeast to southwest, Hood County to Comanche County.  United States Highway 281 enters from Palo Pinto County on the north and exits into Hamilton County on the south.  The county is a 45-degree turned rectangle to both the northwest and southwest corners cut out.  Stephenville is near the county center.  Stephenville is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 49.3% of the county population.  The county is pronounced E-RATH.  This county is in the Stephenville Micropolitan Statistical Area.