Erath County, Texas

Erath County is a county in Texas, United States, on the eastern edge of the Cross Timbers region between Fort Worth and Abilene. It had a population of 42,545 at the 2020 census and covers 1,090 square miles (2,800 km2), of which 1,083 square miles (2,800 km2) is land and 6.7 square miles (17 km2) is water, centred near 32°14′N 98°13′W.

Stephenville is the county seat; its postal code is 76401. The county has two incorporated cities, three census-designated places and a scatter of unincorporated communities, plus one recognised ghost town. It runs on Central time (UTC−6, UTC−5 during daylight saving) and anchors the Stephenville Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Towns & Villages in Erath County

Erath County has two incorporated cities — Stephenville and Dublin — three census-designated places, and roughly two dozen unincorporated communities and rural crossroads. Below, City means a full municipal government, CDP is an unincorporated but Census-recognised place, and Unincorp. covers rural communities with no municipal boundary.

Thurber, in the county’s northwest corner, was once a company-owned coal- and brick-mining town of several thousand people; it emptied out after the mines and brickworks closed in the 1930s and now sits largely a ghost town, though the “New York Hill” smokestack still marks the site along I-20. Duffau, in the south of the county, has similarly faded to a handful of residents around its old store and cemetery.

ZIP Codes

• 76401 — Stephenville (county seat)
• 76446 — Dublin
• 76433 — Bluff Dale
• 76458 — Huckabay
• 76461 — Lingleville
• 76465 — Morgan Mill
• 76463 — Thurber

Smaller unincorporated communities such as Alexander, Chalk Mountain, Clairette and Duffau use a Stephenville or Dublin mailing address rather than a ZIP of their own.

Geography

Erath County sits at the eastern edge of the Cross Timbers, where the rolling, oak-studded terrain of north-central Texas gives way to the Grand Prairie further east. The North Bosque River and its tributaries drain most of the county, and Lake Stephenville, a small city-owned reservoir, sits just north of the county seat. The land is a mix of ranchland, hay and grain fields, and dairy pasture, with elevations generally between 1,000 and 1,400 feet.

Erath County borders Palo Pinto County to the north, Hood County to the northeast, Somervell County to the east, Bosque County to the southeast, Hamilton County to the south, Comanche County to the southwest, and Eastland County to the west.

Demographics

Erath County had 42,545 residents at the 2020 census. Stephenville, the seat, is by far the largest community at 20,847, followed by Dublin at 3,359 — together the two cities hold well over half the county’s population. Median household income runs below the Texas median of $75,780, reflecting the county’s dairy- and ranching-based rural economy outside Stephenville. Population density is roughly 39 people per square mile, concentrated around Stephenville and along the US-377/US-67 corridor.

Economy & Local Life

Dairy farming has anchored Erath County’s economy for decades — the county has long styled itself the “Dairy Capital of Texas,” and milk cows still outnumber people in the surrounding pasture land. Tarleton State University, founded in Stephenville in the 1890s and now part of the Texas A&M University System, is the county’s largest employer and drives much of the local retail and rental economy. Renewable natural-gas facilities processing dairy and landfill waste have also become significant local employers in recent years. Dublin trades on its history as home to the original Dr Pepper bottling plant, which operated there for 120 years and is celebrated each June at the town’s Old Fashioned Days festival.

History

Erath County was organized in 1856 out of Bosque and Coryell counties and named for George Bernard Erath, a surveyor, Texas Ranger and Battle of San Jacinto veteran who later served in the Texas legislature. Cotton dominated the county’s farm economy from roughly 1875 to 1915, before dairying and ranching took over. Thurber, in the northwest, grew into one of Texas’s largest company towns around the turn of the 20th century on coal mining and brick production, then was abandoned almost overnight when the Texas and Pacific Coal Company shut it down in the 1930s.

Getting There

Interstate 20 crosses the northern part of the county through the Thurber area, and US Routes 67, 281 and 377 all converge on Stephenville, along with State Highways 6 and 108.

• Fort Worth — 65 miles northeast
• Abilene — 75 miles west
• Waco — 70 miles southeast
• Granbury — 25 miles northeast

Stephenville Clark Field, a small municipal airport, serves general aviation; the nearest commercial service is Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Erath County, Texas?
It sits in north-central Texas, on the Cross Timbers, between Fort Worth and Abilene.

What is the population of Erath County?
42,545 at the 2020 census.

How big is Erath County?
1,090 square miles (2,800 km2), including 6.7 square miles of water.

What is the county seat of Erath County?
Stephenville is the county seat and largest city.

How many towns are in Erath County?
Two incorporated cities (Stephenville and Dublin), three census-designated places, and about two dozen smaller unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes are in Erath County?
Main ZIPs include 76401 (Stephenville), 76446 (Dublin), 76433 (Bluff Dale), 76458 (Huckabay) and 76461 (Lingleville).

Why is Erath County known as the Dairy Capital of Texas?
Its rolling pasture and mild climate have supported a concentrated dairy industry for generations; the county consistently ranks among the top milk-producing counties in the state.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Texas.