Waller

Formed January 1, 1873 (163^rd county)

Waller County (56,763), Hempstead (5,428), Prairie View (8,189)                

The Modern courthouse in Hempstead was built in 1955.  It is situated Austin and 9^th streets in downtown Hempstead.  Herbert Voelcker designed the red brick and limestone structure.  The county was organized on January 1, 1873 and Hempstead has had all three courthouses (1877, 1894, and 1955) for the county.  The county was created from parts of Austin and Grimes counties as the 163^rd county.  Waller is named for Edwin Waller who was an early Texas leader.  Hempstead gets its name from S. B. Hempstead, an early Texas doctor. 

Waller County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge serves Waller, Austin, and Fayette counties, One District Court Judge serves Waller and Grimes counties, and Two County Court Judges serve Waller County.  The county is located in south central Texas in the river area to the northwest of Houston, Texas.  The Brazos River forms the western border of the county.  Houston, Texas is southeast, Austin, Texas is west, and Waco, Texas is northwest of the county.  The county center is 11.2 miles South-Southeast of Hempstead nearer Monaville.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Grimes, Montgomery, Harris, Fort Bend, Austin, and Washington counties. 

The area of the county is 514 square miles.  It is 237 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 60 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 110.4 persons per square mile making it 42 out of 254 in the state.  Waller County has 46.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 10 crosses the extreme southern tip from Fort Bend County into Austin County, east to west.  United States Highway 90 parallels Interstate Highway 10 from Fort Bend County to Austin County.  United States Highway 290 crosses the northern part of the county east to west from Harris County to Washington County.  The county is shaped like a fat I and slanted slightly with the top toward the west.  The county is relatively flat and wide.  Hempstead is in the northwest quarter of the county.  Hempstead is the county seat and Prairie View is the largest city.  Hempstead is 13.4% of the county population while Prairie View is 14.4% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced HEMP-STED.  This county is in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Waller