Robertson

Formed June 12, 1837 (27^th county)

Robertson County (16,759), Franklin (1,613), Hearne (4,538)

The unique designs of the 1882 Second Empire courthouse make it stand out in the small city of Franklin.  The building is located on the square at Center and Decherd streets, one block to the northwest of United States Highway 79.  The architect was Frederick E. Ruffini.  The building was restored in 2014.  An Annex was built in 2011 in the same design.  Four courthouses have served the county since its June 12, 1837 founding, each one in a different city.  Old Franklin, Wheelock, Owensville, Calvert, and Morgan (now Franklin) have all been county seats.  Apparently, Calvert never had a courthouse but it did have a jail.  The county was formed from Milam County as the 27^th county.  Robertson County was named for Sterling Clack Robertson, a colonist and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.  The county seat was named for Old Franklin, the original county seat, but its name origin is not determined.  Franklin County may or may not have the same namesake. 

Robertson County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge serves Robertson and Falls counties and One County Court Judge serves Robertson County.  Robertson County is located in central Texas in the triangle between Waco, Texas (northwest), Austin, Texas (southwest), and Houston, Texas (southeast).  The Brazos River is the southwest border and the Navasota River is the northeast border for the county.  The county center is in Franklin .6 miles West of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Limestone, Leon, Madison, Brazos, Burleson, Milam, and Falls counties. 

The area of the county is 855 square miles.  It is 182 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 136 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 19.6 persons per square mile making it 134 out of 254 in the state.  Robertson County has 47.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 79 crosses diagonally from Leon County, northeast, into Milam County, southwest.  United States Highway 190 enters from Brazos County (southeast), joins United States Highway 79, and exits into Milam County.  The county is mainly rectangular skewed 45-degrees.  Franklin is near the center in the county.  Hearne is in the southwest quarter of the county.  Franklin is the county seat and Hearne is the largest city.  Franklin is 9.6% of the county population while Hearne is 27.1% of the county population.  The largest city is pronounced HERN.  This county is in the College Station-Bryan Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Hearne