Formed January 22, 1858 (142nd county)
Shackelford County (3,378), Albany (2,034)
The Second Empire courthouse should be listed in the book of what a county courthouse should look like. It was built in 1883 and sits on the square at the corner of Main and 3rd streets. Main Street is United States Highway 283 passing through the city. The building was restored in 2001. Albany has been the only county seat for the county since its January 22, 1858 organizing with the earlier courthouse being built in 1875. Shackelford County was originally part of Bosque County as the 142nd county. James E. Flanders designed this picturesque tan limestone courthouse. Shackelford is named for Dr. John Shackelford who was one of the few survivors of the Goliad Massacre. Albany gets its name from Albany, Georgia.
Shackelford County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners. One District Court Judge serves Shackelford and Jones counties and One County Court Judge serves Shackelford County. The county is located in north central Texas northeast of Abilene, Texas and southwest of Wichita Falls, Texas. A fork of the Brazos River crosses the northwest corner of the county. The county center is 4 miles North of Albany. The county is surrounded clockwise by Throckmorton, Stephens, Eastland, Callahan, Taylor, Jones, and Haskell counties.
The area of the county is 916 square miles. It is 135 out of 254 in the state. It ranks 221 out of 254 in population in the state. It has a density of 3.69 persons per square mile making it 215 out of 254 in the state. Shackelford County has 68.2% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 180 goes east to west from Stephens County to Jones County. United States Highway 283 is a north-south highway from Throckmorton County into Callahan County. The county is square with Albany slightly east of the county center. Albany is the county seat and the largest city. It is 60.2% of the county population. The county is pronounced SHAK-EL-FORD.
Albany
Moran
Lueders
