Burnet County, Texas

Burnet County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 34,147. Its county seat is Burnet. Burnet is named for David Gouverneur Burnet, the first (provisional) president of the Republic of Texas.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,021 square miles (2,644 km²), of which, 996 square miles (2,580 km²) of it is land and 25 square miles (65 km²) of it (2.44%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 183
• U.S. Highway 281
• State Highway 29

Adjacent counties

• Lampasas County (north)
• Bell County (northeast)
• Williamson County (east)
• Travis County (southeast)
• Blanco County (south)
• Llano County (west)
• San Saba County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 34,147 people, 13,133 households, and 9,665 families residing in the county. The population density was 34 people per square mile (13/km²). There were 15,933 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.64% White, 1.52% Black or African American, 0.68% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 6.24% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. 14.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 13,133 households out of which 30.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.50% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 22.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.50% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,921, and the median income for a family was $43,871. Males had a median income of $30,255 versus $20,908 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,850. About 7.90% of families and 10.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.50% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

• Bertram
• Briggs
• Burnet
• Cottonwood Shores
• Granite Shoals
• Highland Haven
• Horseshoe Bay
• Marble Falls
• Meadowlakes

Notable people from Burnet County

• Adam R. "Stovepipe" Johnson, Civil War general and the 1887 founder of Marble Falls, despite being blinded during the war.
• Gerald Lyda (1923-2005), general contractor and cattle rancher, born and raised in Burnet County, founded Darragh & Lyda Inc. with Burnet County rancher Steinmetz Darragh, owned & operated Lone Star Livestock Commission Company in San Antonio and owned the 320,000 acre La Escalera Ranch in Texas; Darragh & Lyda, Inc., in a joint venture with H. A. Lott Inc. of Houston, Texas, built the Tower of the Americas and most of the major structures associated with HemisFair '68, San Antonio's world's fair. Lyda's company was nationally-recognized for its construction of The Alamodome.
• Logan Vandeveer, early Texas soldier, ranger, cattleman and civic leader. Vandeveer was a leader in presenting the petition to the legislature in 1852 to establish Burnet County and was instrumental in having the town of Burnet named the county seat
• Dan Rather, former broadcaster and CBS Nightly News anchor. Rather reported at many special events in world history including the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He has a home in Burnet, Texas.

References

External links

• Burnet County government’s website
• Burnet County tourism website
• Burnet County TXGenWeb Project
• Burnet Bulletin newspaper
• The Highlander newspaper