Falls

Formed January 1, 1850 (83^rd county)

Falls County (17,866), Marlin (5,967)

The stone Art Deco county courthouse in Marlin is located on Texas State Highway 7 at Crank.  It is on a square on the side north of the state highway.  Texas State Highway 6 bypasses the city center to the east but the business route goes two blocks east of the courthouse.  Arthur E. Thomas designed the 1939 courthouse.  There was a county seat previously in Viesca, but no courthouse was built.  Adams had the first courthouse but Adams later was renamed Marlin where the other three courthouses have been located.  The county was organized on January 1, 1850 from parts of Milam and Limestone counties as the 83^rd county.  Falls County is named for the falls of the Brazos River that crosses the county from north to south.  Marlin got its name from John Marlin who was an early settler in the region. 

The area of the county is 774 square miles.  It is 211 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 129 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 23.08 persons per square mile making it 120 out of 254 in the state.  Falls County has 47.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 35 crosses the far west tip of the county north to south, going from McLennan County into Bell County.  United States Highway 77 enters from McLennan County on the north and exits into Milam County on the south.  The county is a 45-degree rectangle.  Marlin is in the eastern half of the county.  Marlin is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 33.4% of the county population. 

Falls County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge serves Falls and Robertson counties and One County Court Judge serves Falls County.  Falls County is southeast of Waco, Texas and northeast of Austin, Texas in east central Texas.  The county center is 14.2 miles Southwest of Marlin nearer Lott.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Limestone, Robertson, Milam, Bell, and McLennan counties.