Limestone County is a county in Texas, United States, midway between Waco and Corsicana along U.S. Route 84. It had a population of 22,146 at the 2020 census and covers 933 square miles (2,420 km2), of which 905 square miles (2,340 km2) are land and 28 square miles (73 km2) are water, centred near 31°32′N 96°35′W.
Groesbeck is the county seat and its postal code is 76642. The county has two incorporated cities, four incorporated towns, and dozens of unincorporated communities. It observes Central time and carries FIPS code 48293.
Towns & Villages in Limestone County
Limestone County’s settled places range from the two incorporated cities of Groesbeck and Mexia down to farm crossroads that never grew past a store and a church. The table below marks incorporated places as City or Town and everything else as Unincorp. Population figures are shown only where a reliable count exists; unincorporated communities generally have no separate census count and are marked with a dash.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groesbeck | City · seat | — | 76642 |
| Mexia | City | — | 76667 |
| Coolidge | Town | — | 76635 |
| Kosse | Town | — | 76653 |
| Tehuacana | Town | — | 76686 |
| Thornton | Town | — | 76687 |
| Prairie Hill | Unincorp. | — | 76678 |
| Ben Hur | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Beulah | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bi-Stone | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Big Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Billington | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Box Church | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Buffalo Mound | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Calina | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Center | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Coit | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Davis Prairie | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Delia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Doyle | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Echols | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fair Oaks | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fallon | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Farrar | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Forest Glade | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fort Parker | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Frosa | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Holden | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Horn Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kirk | Unincorp. | — | — |
| LaSalle | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lavender | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Little Elm | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lost Prairie | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Midway | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Munger | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mustang | Unincorp. | — | — |
| New Hope | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Odds | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Old Union | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Oletha | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Personville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pleasant Grove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Point Enterprise | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Prairie Grove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Red Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sandy | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Seale | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Shiloh | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Springfield | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Thelma | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Victoria | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Watt | Unincorp. | — | — |
Springfield was the original county seat until an 1873 vote moved county government to Groesbeck; the old town survives today only as a small unincorporated community north of Springfield’s original site. Fort Parker is best known as the site of the 1836 raid described in the History section below, not as a modern settlement. Mart, a small city mostly in neighboring McLennan County, extends a few blocks into western Limestone County and is not listed here as a Limestone County place.
ZIP Codes
- 76642 — Groesbeck
- 76667 — Mexia
- 76635 — Coolidge
- 76653 — Kosse
- 76686 — Tehuacana (PO Box delivery)
- 76687 — Thornton
- 76678 — Prairie Hill
Every other unincorporated community in the county receives mail through one of these seven ZIP codes, depending on which post office is closest.
Geography
Limestone County sits in the Blackland Prairie and post oak savannah transition zone of Central Texas, drained by the Navasota River along its eastern edge and Big Elm Creek and the Steele Fork through its interior. Terrain rolls gently from prairie in the west to wooded bottomland in the east. Fort Parker Lake, formed on the Navasota, is the county’s main reservoir.
Limestone County borders Navarro County to the north, Freestone County to the northeast, Leon County to the southeast, Robertson County to the south, Falls County to the southwest, McLennan County to the west, and Hill County to the northwest.
Demographics
Limestone County had 22,146 residents at the 2020 census, a density of about 24 people per square mile. Mexia and Groesbeck are the two largest communities, together home to roughly half the county’s population. Median household income in the county runs below the Texas median of $75,780, reflecting the county’s rural, agriculture- and oilfield-linked economy.
Economy & Local Life
Cattle ranching, row-crop and hay farming, and oilfield services form the backbone of the local economy. The Mexia oilfield, discovered in 1913 and developed through the 1920s, briefly made Mexia one of the fastest-growing towns in Texas and left the county with a long-running oil and gas services sector that continues today. Groesbeck, the seat, hosts county government and a regional hospital; Mexia is the county’s largest retail and medical hub.
History
Limestone County was formed on April 11, 1846 from Robertson County and takes its name from limestone deposits found throughout the area. Its best-known historical event predates the county itself: on May 19, 1836, a raiding party attacked Fort Parker, a settlers’ stockade near present-day Groesbeck, killing several settlers and taking captives, including nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker, later the mother of Comanche leader Quanah Parker. The county seat moved from Springfield to Groesbeck in 1873 after the Houston and Texas Central Railway bypassed Springfield. The 1913-1920s Mexia oil boom briefly swelled that town’s population from roughly 3,500 to 35,000 before subsiding as the field declined.
Getting There
U.S. Route 84 runs east-west through Groesbeck and Mexia; Texas 14 runs north-south through the county; Texas 7 crosses the southern half toward Centerville. Approximate distances:
- Waco — 35 miles west
- Corsicana — 30 miles north
- Bryan-College Station — 55 miles south
- Dallas — 90 miles north
The nearest commercial airport is Waco Regional Airport, about 35 miles west of Groesbeck.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Limestone County, Texas?
It lies in Central Texas between Waco and Corsicana, along U.S. Route 84.
What is the population of Limestone County?
22,146 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Limestone County?
933 square miles (2,420 km2), of which 28 square miles are water.
What is the county seat of Limestone County?
Groesbeck.
How many towns are in Limestone County?
Two incorporated cities (Groesbeck, Mexia) and four incorporated towns (Coolidge, Kosse, Tehuacana, Thornton), plus dozens of unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Limestone County?
76642 (Groesbeck), 76667 (Mexia), 76635 (Coolidge), 76653 (Kosse), 76686 (Tehuacana), 76687 (Thornton), and 76678 (Prairie Hill).
What happened at Fort Parker?
A raid on the settlers’ stockade on May 19, 1836 killed several residents and took captives, including Cynthia Ann Parker.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Texas.