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Welcome to Blanco, Texas

Old Blanco County Courthouse

Blanco State Park

Pecan St.

Beautiful Blanco, Texas, is located in the Texas Hill Country. Blanco evokes memories of the past with its historic old courthouse on the town square, historic homes, small town charm, and the Blanco River meandering through town.

Blanco is the definition of small town, with 1,876 in the city limits in a county with just over 10,000 people. The community is tight-knit, always ready to help each other, and also welcoming to visitors. The volunteer spirit is alive with active involvement in many community organizations.

We hold several annual events along with frequent special events, concerts, fundraisers, and more. Nearby communities — including Fredericksburg, Marble Falls, Stonewall, Luckenbach — also host a variety of events year-round.

Austin is located 45 minutes east and San Antonio is 45 minutes south. Blanco County and the surrounding counties are growing rapidly with the expansion of those large cities.

Location

Blanco County is in the Hill Country of South Central Texas, bordered on the west by Gillespie County, on the north by Burnet and Llano counties, on the east by Hays County, and on the south by Kendall and Comal counties. Johnson City is the county seat. Blanco is the largest city and is located 45 miles from both Austin and San Antonio.

History

The area was first settled by white pioneers in 1853 when Captain James Hughes Callahan, his friend Eli Clemens Hinds, and their families bought land and built homes on the Blanco River near the present-day city of Blanco.

In 1854, General John D. Pitts joined Callahan and others in starting the Pittsburg Land Company and laid out the town of Pittsburg across the river from today’s Blanco.

Through the combined efforts of the Pittsburg Land Company and citizens of Comal County, the legislature formed Blanco County in 1858 from parts of Comal, Hays, Burnet, and Gillespie counties. A site across the Blanco River from Pittsburg was elected to be the county seat since it was within five miles of the center of the new county. The county and city were named after the Blanco River, which had been named for its limestone riverbed.

A courthouse was first erected in 1860 in the Blanco town square. The Old Blanco County Courthouse on today’s Blanco Square was completed in 1885.

As new counties were formed to the south, settlers along the Pedernales River in the northern part of the county felt the city of Blanco was no longer accessible. After a failed petition, Johnson City was established on land owned by James Polk Johnson, after whom the town was named. Citizens attempted several more petitions before the county seat was moved to Johnson City, which is four miles north of the center and 12 miles north of Blanco. The courthouse there, which is still in use, was built in 1916.

Today, Blanco County’s industries include farming, ranching, and tourism. In a 2014 estimate, the county population was 10,812. The city of Blanco has 1,876 citizens. Blanco and the surrounding counties, however, are growing rapidly with the expansion of Austin and San Antonio.