Somervell County, Texas#Dinosaurs

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Somervell County

| founded = 1875

| state = Texas

| seat wl = Glen Rose

| largest city wl = Glen Rose

| area_total_sq_mi = 192

| area_land_sq_mi = 186

| area_water_sq_mi = 5.5

| area percentage = 2.9%

| census yr = 2020

| pop = 9205

| density_sq_mi = auto

| ex image = SomervellCourthouse1 (1 of 1).jpg

| ex image size = 250

| ex image cap = The Somervell County Courthouse in Glen Rose

| web = http://www.somervell.co/

| time zone = Central

| named for = Alexander Somervell

| district = 25th

| ZIP codes = 76043

| area codes = 254

}}

Somervell County ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ʌ|m|ər|v|ɛ|l}} {{respell|SUM|ər-vel}}) is a county on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 9,205.{{Cite web|title=Somervell County, Texas|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0500000US48425|website=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=January 30, 2022}} Its county seat is Glen Rose.{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}} The county is named for Alexander Somervell, secretary of war for the Republic of Texas.

Somervell County is included in the Granbury micropolitan area.

The county contains the Comanche Peak Nuclear Generating Station, one of two nuclear power plants in Texas.

History

Image:Dino footprint Glen Rose 20100401.jpg

Image:Settlers memorial Glen Rose 20100401.jpg

=Native Americans=

Caddo tribe Anadarko villages were scattered along Trinity and Brazos Rivers.{{cite web | title=Andarko Indian History |publisher=Access Genealogy | url=http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/caddo/anadarkohist.htm | access-date=April 28, 2010}} Access Genealogy The Caddo tribe of Wichita also inhabited the area. By 1860, these tribes had moved to Oklahoma.

The Tonkawa{{cite web | title=Indian Intruders From The North |publisher=Texas Beyond History |url=http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/st-plains/peoples/intruders.html | access-date=April 28, 2010}} Texas Beyond History were hunter-gatherers of the area, and often traded with their allies the Caddo and Karankawa. Like the Wichita, Karankawa and Jumano, the Tonkawa tattooed their bodies and faces. Some Tonkawa men were employed as scouts for the Texas Rangers and United States Army.{{cite web | title=Texas Indians, The Tonkawa | publisher=R. Edward Moore and Texarch Associates |url=http://www.texasindians.com/ | access-date=April 28, 2010}} R. Edward Moore and Texarch Associates As they were pushed out by the Comanche, they moved to the Brazos Indian Reservation,{{Handbook of Texas | name=Brazos Indian Reservation | id= bpb03| author=Crouch, Carrie J| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association. and later to Oklahoma

Comanche bands continued depredations on settlers until their removal to Oklahoma after 1875.{{cite web | title=Texas Indians Map | publisher=R E. Moore and Texarch Associates | url=http://www.texasindians.com/map2.htm |access-date=April 28, 2010}} R E. Moore and Texarch Associates

=County established=

The county was formed and organized in 1875 from Hood County. The town of Glen Rose became the county seat.

Torrey Trading Houses opened as a part of the Sam Houston peace policy to develop friendly relationships with native tribes.{{Handbook of Texas | name=Torrey Trading Houses | id= dft02| author=Armbruster, Henry C.| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association. They bought from, and sold to, the Indians on a banking and credit system, enabling them to also recover stolen horses and human captives. The Torreys sold their business to George Barnard in 1848,{{Handbook of Texas | name=George Barnard | id= fba68| author=Willingham, John| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association. who with his brother Charles {{Handbook of Texas | name=Charles E. Bernard | id= fbabf| author=Andrus, Pearl| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association. moved the Tehuacana store in Limestone County to near Comanche Peak.{{Handbook of Texas | name=Comanche Peak | id= rjc47| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association. Juana Josefina Cavasos Barnard{{Handbook of Texas | name=Juana Josefina Cavasos Barnard | id= fbane| author=Orozco, Cynthia E.| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association. had been captured by Comanches as a teenager. She was daughter of Maria Josefa Cavazos,{{cite web | title=Descendants of Don José Narciso Cavazos Gonzalez-Hildago | publisher=Villa de San Agustin-Laredo Genealogy Society | url=http://www.vsalgs.org/stnemgenealogy/NarcisoCavazos.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040127133857/http://vsalgs.org/stnemgenealogy/NarcisoCavazos.pdf |archive-date=January 27, 2004 |url-status=usurped| access-date=April 28, 2010}} and granddaughter of Don José Narciso Cavazos Gonzalez-Hildago who in 1792 received the largest land grant in Texas.{{cite web| title=San Juan de Carrictios Land Grant| publisher=Texas Historical Markers| url=http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5489004542| access-date=April 28, 2010| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907104059/http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5489004542| archive-date=September 7, 2011}} George ransomed Juana from the tribe, but his brother Charles married her in 1848.{{cite web | title=Juana Cavasos Barnard | publisher=Hood County Genealogical Society | url=http://www.granburydepot.org/z/biog/juana.htm| access-date=April 28, 2010}}

Somervell County got its first courthouse in Glen Rose in 1882, but the courthouse and all county records burned in 1893.{{cite web | title=First Somerville County Courthouse | publisher=Texas Historical Markers | url=http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5425004978 | access-date=April 28, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314204826/http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5425004978 | archive-date=March 14, 2012 }}

The second and current courthouse was built in 1894 by architect John McCormick.{{cite web | title=Second Somerville County Courthouse | publisher=Texas Escapes | url=http://www.texasescapes.com/CentralTexasTownsNorth/GlenRoseTexas/SomervellCountyCourthouse.htm| access-date=April 28, 2010}} The roof and clock tower were damaged in the 1902 Glen Rose tornado. County funds at the time limited the repair, which eliminated the clock tower. In 1986, work was done to restore the structure to its original design.

Glen Rose Collegiate Institute, or Glen Rose College, operated as a private, faith-based educational facility from 1889 to 1910. Educational competition from the public-school system caused enrollment to taper off until the institution was shut down.{{Handbook of Texas | name=Glen Rose Collegiate Institute | id= kbg11| author=Hart, Brian | retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.

Under the New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA), Glen Rose built a new water and sewage system in the 1930s, as well as school buildings, a canning plant, and low-water dams.{{Handbook of Texas | name=Somervell County | id= hcs12| author=Elam, Richard| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.

The Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant went online in the mid-1970s and employs over 1,000 people.{{cite web | title=Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station | publisher=Glenrosearea.com | url=http://www.glenrosearea.com/pages/comanche.html | access-date=April 28, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130124063615/http://www.glenrosearea.com/pages/comanche.html | archive-date=January 24, 2013 }} Squaw Creek Reservoir, which provides cooling water for the power plant, also has become a popular recreation site.{{cite web | title=Squaw Creek Reservoir | publisher=Going Outside.com | url=http://www.goingoutside.com/lake/110/1107567_Squaw_Creek_Reservoir_Texas.html| access-date=April 28, 2010}}

=Dinosaurs=

The tragic Paluxy River flood in 1908 uncovered three-toed prints from the Cretaceous period, possibly Acrocanthosaurus, and were discovered by high school student George Adams in the limestone river bed. The teenager relayed the discovery to his principal, Robert McDonald.{{cite web | title=Speaking of Texas, Glen Rose's Dinosaur Highway |publisher=Texas Highways | url=http://texashighways.com/history/item/4529-speaking-of-texas-glen-rose-s-dinosaur-highway | author=Jasinski, Laurie E | access-date=January 15, 2015}}Texas Highways Adams later ended up selling self-manufactured fake "giant man tracks"{{cite web |title=Strange Science, Forgeries and Frauds | publisher=Michon Scott | url=http://www.strangescience.net/stfor2.htm | author=Michon Scott | access-date=April 28, 2010}} to tourists sometime during the 1930s, sparking a debate about whether humans existed alongside dinosaurs.{{cite web |title=Human and Dinosaur Footprints | publisher=Creation vs. Evolution Resources | url=http://www.creation-vs-evolution.us/visual-evolution/human-footprints/ | access-date=April 28, 2010}} Visual Evolution. Keep it real In 1934, resident Charlie Moss discovered footprints of four-toed sauropods. Resident Jim Ryals dug out the actual dinosaur prints and sold them to tourists. Paleontologist Roland T. Bird of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City spotted the Adams "giant man tracks" in a tourist shop in Gallup, New Mexico, and, while recognizing them as fakes, was still intrigued enough to travel to Somervell County to see the Glen Rose area for himself. Bird's visit resulted in a 2-year WPA project to uncover the dinosaur prints. The American Museum of Natural History, the University of Texas at Austin, the Smithsonian Institution, and several local museums retain samples of what are said to be the best-preserved tracks in the United States.{{cite web | title=A Brief History of Dinosaur Tracks in Glen Rose, Texas |publisher=Kuban, Glen J. | url=http://paleo.cc/paluxy/glenrose.htm | author=Glen J. Kuban | access-date=April 28, 2010}}

The land along the Paluxy River for Dinosaur Valley State Park was purchased by the State of Texas in 1968, and the park opened to the public in 1972.{{cite web |title=Dinosaur Valley State Park | publisher=Texas Parks and Wildlife Department |url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/parkguide/rgn_pl_019.phtml | access-date=April 28, 2010}} TPWD

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|192|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|5.5|sqmi}} (2.9%) are covered by water.{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 10, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}} It is the second-smallest county by area in Texas, larger than only Rockwall County, and slightly smaller than Camp County.

=Major highways=

File:Glen Rose August 2017 05 (NE Barnard Street).jpg as NE Barnard Street in Glen Rose]]

=Adjacent counties=

Hood County (north)
Johnson County (east)
Bosque County (south)
Erath County (west)

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1880= 2649

|1890= 3419

|1900= 3498

|1910= 3931

|1920= 3563

|1930= 3016

|1940= 3071

|1950= 2542

|1960= 2577

|1970= 2793

|1980= 4154

|1990= 5360

|2000= 6809

|2010= 8490

|2020= 9205

|estyear=

|estimate=

|estref=

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=}}
1850–2010{{cite web|url=http://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010|publisher=Texas Almanac|access-date=May 10, 2015}} 2010 2020

}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Somervell County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
{{nobold|Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.}}

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Somervell County, Texas|url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=0500000US48425&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|website=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }}

!Pop 2010{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Somervell County, Texas|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US48425&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}}

!{{partial|Pop 2020}}{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Somervell County, Texas|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US48425&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}}

!% 2000

!% 2010

!{{partial|% 2020}}

White alone (NH)

|5,763

|6,595

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7,011

|84.64%

|77.68%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |76.17%

Black or African American alone (NH)

|13

|54

|style='background: #ffffe6; |39

|0.19%

|0.64%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.42%

Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|39

|45

|style='background: #ffffe6; |49

|0.57%

|0.53%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.53%

Asian alone (NH)

|17

|40

|style='background: #ffffe6; |55

|0.25%

|0.47%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.60%

Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.00%

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

Other Race alone (NH)

|24

|style='background: #ffffe6; |33

|0.06%

|0.28%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.36%

Mixed Race or Multiracial (NH)

|58

|105

|style='background: #ffffe6; |331

|0.85%

|1.24%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.60%

Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|915

|1,626

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,687

|13.44%

|19.15%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |18.33%

Total

|6,809

|8,490

|style='background: #ffffe6; |9,205

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

As of the census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 14, 2011|title=U.S. Census website}} of 2000, 6,809 people, 2,438 households, and 1,840 families were residing in the county. The population density was {{convert|36|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people|people|abbr=on}}. The 2,750 housing units had an average density of {{convert|15|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 92.19% White, 0.28% African American, 0.69% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 5.12% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. About 13.44% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 2,438 households, 37.4% had children under 18 living with them, 61.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were not families. About 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.73, and the average family size was 3.17. As of the 2010 census, about 1.3 same-sex couples per 1,000 households were in the county.{{citation |title=Where Same-Sex Couples Live|date=June 26, 2015|access-date=July 6, 2015|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/upshot/supreme-court-gay-marriage-ruling-where-same-sex-couples-live.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0}}

In the county, the age distribution was 28.4% under 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,404, and for a family was $46,458. Males had a median income of $32,463 versus $23,381 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,367. About 6.10% of families and 8.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.30% of those under age 18 and 9.10% of those age 65 or over.

Media

One newspaper has an office located in Somervell County, the [http://www.theglenrosereporter.com/ Glen Rose Reporter]. The [https://salon.glenrose.net/ Somervell County Salon] is a local blog that has video and audio of local meetings. [https://glenrose.news/ GlenRose.News] is also an online news site. Local television stations that provide coverage for the area broadcast from the Dallas-Fort Worth and the Waco/Temple/Killeen (Central Texas) metropolitan areas.

Communities

=City=

Glen Rose (county seat)

=Unincorporated communities=

Politics

Somervell County has voted for the Republican Party in all presidential elections since 1984, except in 1992, when it was one of the few counties nationwide to vote for the independent candidate Ross Perot who beat George H. W. Bush by a mere 42 votes.

{{PresHead|place=Somervell County, Texas|source={{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=April 9, 2018}}}}

References

External links

[http://www.glenrose.org/ Somervell County]
{{Handbook of Texas|id=hcs12|name=Somervell County}}
[https://archive.today/20130103104434/http://www.glenrosearea.com/ Glen Rose Information]

{{Geographic Location

|Centre = Somervell County, Texas

|North = Hood County

|Northeast =

|East = Johnson County

|Southeast =

|South = Bosque County

|Southwest =

|West = Erath County

|Northwest =

}}

{{coord|32.22|-97.77|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990}}