Shackelford County is a county in Texas, United States, on the eastern edge of the Rolling Plains where cattle country meets the Cross Timbers. It had a population of 3,105 people at the 2020 census and covers 916 square miles (2,370 km2), centred near 32°44′N 99°21′W.
Albany is the county seat, and its postal code is 76430. The county has three incorporated cities — Albany, Moran, and Lueders (whose town centre sits mostly across the line in neighboring Jones County) — alongside a handful of unincorporated communities and ghost towns. Shackelford County sits in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Shackelford County
The county has eight named places on record, split between three incorporated cities and five unincorporated communities, several of them now abandoned or reduced to a handful of residents. CDP stands for census-designated place; Unincorp. covers a settlement with no municipal government.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albany | City · seat | 1,854 | 76430 |
| Moran | City | 226 | 76464 |
| Lueders | City | — | 79532 |
| Fort Griffin | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Eureka | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Acampo | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Berryhill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sedwick | Unincorp. | — | — |
Lueders straddles the Shackelford–Jones county line; most of its households and its ZIP code, 79532, fall on the Jones County side, so no separate population figure is broken out for the Shackelford portion. Fort Griffin is both the name of a small rural community and the nearby state historic site built around the former U.S. Army fort.
ZIP Codes
- 76430 — Albany (also serves the county’s rural southern half)
- 76464 — Moran (also serves rural northwestern Shackelford County)
Lueders is served by ZIP 79532, which is centred across the line in Jones County. Acampo, Berryhill, Eureka, Fort Griffin, and Sedwick have no post office of their own and use Albany or Moran mail routes depending on location.
Geography
Shackelford County lies on the Texan Rolling Plains, a mix of mesquite grassland and low limestone breaks cut by the Clear Fork of the Brazos River, which crosses the county’s eastern half near Fort Griffin. The terrain is mostly ranchland, gently rolling in the west and rougher along the river breaks in the east.
The county borders Throckmorton County to the north, Stephens County to the east, Eastland County to the southeast, Callahan County to the south, Taylor County to the southwest, Jones County to the west, and Haskell County to the northwest. Live neighbor pages: Throckmorton County, Stephens County, Eastland County, Callahan County, Taylor County, Jones County, and Haskell County.
Demographics
Shackelford County counted 3,105 residents at the 2020 census, entirely a rural population with no census-designated urban area. Albany, the county seat, is home to 1,854 of those residents; Moran is the county’s only other incorporated town, with 226. Median household income in the county runs well below the Texas median of $75,780, typical of the sparsely populated ranching counties along the Rolling Plains. Population density is roughly 3.4 people per square mile, among the lowest in this part of the state.
Economy & Local Life
Cattle ranching has driven the local economy since the open-range era, and Shackelford County remains known for Hereford breeding — Albany bills itself the “Home of the Hereford.” Oil and gas leases on ranchland provide a secondary income stream for many landowners. Albany’s courthouse square anchors the county’s civic and retail life, and the county is home to the Old Jail Art Center, a well-regarded small museum in Albany’s 1877 county jail. The county’s biggest annual event is the Fort Griffin Fandangle, an outdoor musical staged every June since 1938 and billed as the oldest continuously running outdoor musical in Texas.
History
Shackelford County was created from Bexar and Bosque land in 1858 and organized as a county government in 1874, after Fort Griffin’s establishment in 1867 made the area safe enough for permanent settlement. It is named for Dr. Jack Shackelford, a Virginia-born physician who helped finance and equip a company of soldiers during the Texas Revolution. Fort Griffin itself grew into a rough frontier town and buffalo-hide trading post in the 1870s before the buffalo herds collapsed and the fort was abandoned in 1881; its ruins and the surrounding Fort Griffin State Historic Site are now the county’s best-known landmark.
Getting There
U.S. Route 180 crosses the county east–west through Albany, and State Highway 6 runs south from Albany toward Abilene. Nearby anchor towns:
- Abilene — 30 miles southwest
- Breckenridge — 25 miles east
- Anson — 25 miles west
- Fort Worth — 140 miles east
The nearest commercial airport is Abilene Regional Airport, about 35 miles southwest of Albany.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Shackelford County, Texas?
It sits on the Texan Rolling Plains east of Abilene, bordered by Throckmorton, Stephens, Eastland, Callahan, Taylor, Jones, and Haskell counties.
What is the population of Shackelford County?
The county had a population of 3,105 at the 2020 census.
How big is Shackelford County?
It covers 916 square miles (2,370 km2), almost entirely land.
What is the county seat of Shackelford County?
Albany is the county seat and the only incorporated city with a population over 1,000.
How many towns are in Shackelford County?
Three incorporated cities — Albany, Moran, and Lueders — plus five smaller unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Shackelford County?
76430 (Albany) and 76464 (Moran) are the county’s own ZIP codes; Lueders uses 79532, centred in neighboring Jones County.
What is Shackelford County known for?
Hereford cattle ranching, the Fort Griffin State Historic Site, and the annual Fort Griffin Fandangle outdoor musical.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Texas.