In 1837 most of the area of present-day Brazos County was included in Washington County. The Brazos River, which bisected the latter, proved a serious obstacle to county government, and a new county, Navasota, was formed in January 1841. The first court, with Judge R. E. B. Baylor presiding, was held later that year in the home of Joseph Ferguson, fourteen miles west of the site of present Bryan. The county seat, named Boonville for Mordecai Boon, was located on John Austin's league and was surveyed by Hiram Hanover in 1841. In January of the following year Navasota County was renamed Brazos County. Originally one of the state's poorer counties, the county donated 2,416 acres of land in the 1870s to create Texas A&M University, which has enabled the county to be among the state's most financially successful.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 152,415 people, 55,202 households, and 30,416 families residing in the county. The population density was 260 people per square mile. There were 59,023 housing units at an average density of 101 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 74.45% White, 10.72% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 4.01% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 8.42% from other races, and 1.97% from two or more races. 17.88% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 15.3% were of German, 8.4% English, 7.3% Irish and 7.2% American ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 55,202 households out of which 27.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.30% were married couplesliving together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.90% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.16. In the county, the population was spread out with 21.50% under the age of 18, 32.00% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 13.80% from 45 to 64, and 6.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,104, and the median income for a family was $46,530. Males had a median income of $32,864 versus $24,179 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,212. About 14.00% of families and 26.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.60% of those under age 18 and 10.30% of those age 65 or over.
Although it is home to a prominent university, Brazos County is a Republican stronghold, with no Democratic presidential nominee having carried the county since Texas native Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide. No Democrat since Hubert Humphrey in 1968 has even won more than forty percent of the county’s vote.
