BlockBefore

Edwards County, Texas

29 topographic sheets cover 4 settlements here, and 1 property is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

1 National Register listing published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Texas within the United States
Edwards County within Texas

What the record shows

  • 44 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 1 property here is on the National Register of Historic Places, listed as a building.
  • It was added during the 1970s.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 4 populated places in this county; 4 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

1

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
Edwards County Courthouse and Jailbuilding197979002932

Bird's-eye views and land ownership maps

1

Drawn when these were printed as single large sheets: the town seen from the air, and the county divided into its farms with every owner named. Each opens the original at the Library of Congress.

Land ownership map, 1893 - Edwards Co
Land ownership map (1893) - Edwards Co. Library of Congress.

The county from the air

48 shown

Flown by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1937 and 1989, the Aerial Photo Single Frames collection is the definitive mid-century view of the land: fields, roads and rivers as the camera saw them. The Survey holds 1,697 frames inside the rectangle that bounds this county; the 48 frames below were taken over the county itself, chosen across the decades of flights (at most four a year from that rectangle), so one flight cannot crowd out the rest. The full set is free to browse and download at EarthExplorer under the dataset Aerial Photo Single Frames.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1950-04-25, scale 1:46000
1950-04-25, scale 1:46000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1950-04-25, scale 1:46000
1950-04-25, scale 1:46000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1952-12-11, scale 1:69000
1952-12-11, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1952-12-11, scale 1:69000
1952-12-11, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1953-04-24, scale 1:69000
1953-04-24, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1953-04-24, scale 1:69000
1953-04-24, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1953-05-05, scale 1:69000
1953-05-05, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1953-05-05, scale 1:69000
1953-05-05, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1954-05-27, scale 1:63000
1954-05-27, scale 1:63000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1954-05-27, scale 1:63000
1954-05-27, scale 1:63000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1954-05-27, scale 1:63000
1954-05-27, scale 1:63000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1954-05-27, scale 1:63000
1954-05-27, scale 1:63000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1957-12-04, scale 1:63996
1957-12-04, scale 1:63996. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1957-12-04, scale 1:63996
1957-12-04, scale 1:63996. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1957-12-04, scale 1:63996
1957-12-04, scale 1:63996. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1957-12-04, scale 1:63996
1957-12-04, scale 1:63996. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1963-01-02, scale 1:31000
1963-01-02, scale 1:31000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1963-01-02, scale 1:31000
1963-01-02, scale 1:31000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1963-01-02, scale 1:31000
1963-01-02, scale 1:31000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1963-01-02, scale 1:31000
1963-01-02, scale 1:31000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1966-01-29, scale 1:29200
1966-01-29, scale 1:29200. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1966-01-29, scale 1:29200
1966-01-29, scale 1:29200. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1966-01-29, scale 1:29200
1966-01-29, scale 1:29200. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1966-01-29, scale 1:29200
1966-01-29, scale 1:29200. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-11-06, scale 1:30000
1970-11-06, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-11-06, scale 1:30000
1970-11-06, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-11-06, scale 1:30000
1970-11-06, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-11-06, scale 1:30000
1970-11-06, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-01-21, scale 1:116757
1971-01-21, scale 1:116757. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-01-21, scale 1:116757
1971-01-21, scale 1:116757. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-01-21, scale 1:116757
1971-01-21, scale 1:116757. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-01-21, scale 1:116757
1971-01-21, scale 1:116757. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-08-21, scale 1:123246
1972-08-21, scale 1:123246. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-08-21, scale 1:123246
1972-08-21, scale 1:123246. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-08-21, scale 1:123246
1972-08-21, scale 1:123246. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-08-21, scale 1:123246
1972-08-21, scale 1:123246. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1973-02-03, scale 1:30000
1973-02-03, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1973-02-03, scale 1:30000
1973-02-03, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1973-02-03, scale 1:30000
1973-02-03, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1973-02-03, scale 1:30000
1973-02-03, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1974-02-09, scale 1:22400
1974-02-09, scale 1:22400. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1974-02-09, scale 1:22400
1974-02-09, scale 1:22400. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1974-02-09, scale 1:22400
1974-02-09, scale 1:22400. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1974-02-09, scale 1:22400
1974-02-09, scale 1:22400. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1976-01-31, scale 1:80000
1976-01-31, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1976-01-31, scale 1:80000
1976-01-31, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1976-01-31, scale 1:80000
1976-01-31, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1976-01-31, scale 1:80000
1976-01-31, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

Weather records

29 stations, 1 gage

The thermometers that kept this county's weather, and the gages that measured the flow of its streams, as the federal records hold them. The extremes below are measured values from those records, not estimates.

The 1950 census, district by district

8 districts

Who lived here in 1950, one enumeration district at a time, as the Census Bureau described each district. Each row opens its official National Archives result, with Population Schedules and ED Maps available there.

  • 69-1Justice Precinct 1: Rocksprings town: Rocksprings town - That part north of State Hwy. 41
  • 69-2Rocksprings town - That part south of State Hwy. 41
  • 69-3Justice Precinct 1 - That part outside Rocksprings town
  • 69-4Justice Precinct 2
  • 69-5Justice Precinct 3
  • 69-6Justice Precinct 4
  • 69-7Justice Precinct 5
  • 69-8Justice Precinct 6

Wildfire, 1999 to 2019

136 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 136 of them, burning about 49,359 acres. 11 started naturally and 1 was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning44
Missing data/not specified/undetermined35
Equipment and vehicle use28
Recreation and ceremony12
Natural11
Smoking3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Arson/incendiarism1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
10 August 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined17,831 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceBROWN RANCH
25 February 2008Equipment and vehicle use4,500 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceWEST HACKBERRY - 46
8 February 2008Equipment and vehicle use2,100 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCARTA VALLEY
16 March 2006Equipment and vehicle use2,100 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
20 July 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined2,000 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceWELDING FIRE/IVY RANCH
25 February 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined2,000 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
4 July 2011Debris and open burning2,000 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceWARB
22 January 2009Equipment and vehicle use1,500 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceROCKSPRING FIRE 18

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1962 to 2026

60 of 236 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 236 reports for this county, causing 2 deaths, 15 injuries and about $855,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Hail119
Flash Flood94
Thunderstorm Wind19
Tornado4

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
November 2001Flash FloodCountywide1 killed, 5 hurt, $80,000Rainfall redeveloped on the morning of the 15th over the Edward Plateau and western Hill Country. In addition to the accumulations on the evening of the 14th, general 3 to 4 inch totals fell across Edwards County, bringing total amounts since the 14th to as much as 10 to 12 inches southeast of Rocksprings. Maximum amounts of up to 18 inches were reported near Barksdale in the southeast part of the county along the Real County line. A 22-year old woman drowned when the car she was riding in was swept off a low-water crossing across SH55 into Hackberry Creek. The driver of the vehicle was also washed into the creek. Both exited the vehicle and were clinging to tree branches as rescuers attempted to reach them. The young woman was pregnant and unable to maintain her hold. She was swept into the flood waters and drowned. The driver was rescued. Two men drove a pickup truck into the flooded low water crossing only a few minutes later but were rescued.
October 1996Flash FloodCountywide1 killed, $3,000no account filed
June 1997Flash FloodCountywide10 hurt, $100,000no account filed
November 2001Thunderstorm WindBarksdale$100,000Severe thunderstorm winds damaged homes and barns and knocked over trees both east and west of Barksdale, in both Edwards and Real Counties.
August 1998Flash FloodCountywide$100,000no account filed
October 2003Flash FloodCountywide$80,000As the showers and thunderstorms spread eastward across Edwards County, they produced general rain totals of 2 inches. The heaviest amounts were over the south and east parts of the county, where isolated totals of up to 5 inches were reported. The showers and thunderstorms continued to develop over the county through the evening and finally ended by late evening. Most county roads were closed due to flash flooding. US 377 was closed across much of the county for several hours, with up to six feet of water over the road in one place. Damages were mainly to roads and bridges.
August 1998Flash FloodCountywide$50,000no account filed
October 2002Flash FloodCountywide$30,000Near midnight on October 24, as an upper level disturbance approached from the west, showers and thunderstorms began forming in over Edwards, Uvalde, Kinney and Maverick Counties. Storms continued to near sunrise, with flash flooding developing quickly due to the saturated nature of the soils. General rainfall over Edwards County averaged 1 to 2 inches with up to 4 inches in isolated locations. Flash flooding developed in the early morning hours and ended just after sunrise. Minor damage was reported to county roads.
October 2002Flash FloodSouth Portion$30,000The area of thunderstorms began moving into Edwards county just before midnight continued into the morning, producing general 1 to 2 inches of rain over the southern part of the county. Isolated totals to 5 inches were indicated in the storms. The Edwards County Sheriff's Department reported flash flooding through noon over roads across the southern part of the county, mainly southwest of Rocksprings.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindBarksdale$30,000Severe thunderstorm winds blew down several power lines between Barksdale in Edwards County and Camp Wood in Real County.Real County
April 2026Thunderstorm WindRocks Spgs Arpt$25,000A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that peeled sheets of corrugated metal off the roof and walls of an unused hangar at the Edwards County Airport.
October 2000Flash FloodEast Portion$25,000no account filed
August 2007Flash FloodRocks Spgs$20,000Showers and thunderstorms associated with Erin developed over the northwest quarter of Edwards County in the late-afternoon. Rain totals averaged between 3 and 4 inches in the northwest corner of the county, closing US277 and SH55 near the Val Verde County line in the late evening hours.
November 2001Flash FloodCountywide$20,000A general 2 to 3 inches rain accumulation was reported over the central and eastern parts of Edwards County. The maximum totals were nearly 5 inches just south of Rocksprings. This caused widespread flash flooding into the late evening hours, with only minor damage to roads and bridges.
June 2000Flash FloodEast Portion$20,000no account filed
June 1997Flash FloodCountywide$15,000no account filed
June 2014Thunderstorm WindCarta Vly$10,000A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated between 60 and 70 mph that blew the tops off of portions of barns and horse stalls.
April 2010HailRocks Spgs$10,000A thunderstorm produced one and one half inch hail which broke windows in a house and office buildings. This large hail also produced damage to several buildings in and around Rocksprings including the county courthouse where several windows were broken. The hail accumulated to several inches deep.
June 2007Flash FloodCarta Vly$10,000Thunderstorms from the early morning into the mid morning across eastern Val Verde County and western Edwards County produced widespread rain amounts of 3 to 5 inches from Carta Valley to Rocksprings. Roads across southwestern Edwards County were closed, including FM674 and FM2523.
May 1999Flash FloodCountywide$10,000Rainfall of generally 1 to 2 inches, with isolated totals between 3 and 4 inches produced brief flash flooding across county low areas and low water crossings.
May 2001Flash FloodSouth Portion$10,000no account filed
April 1999Flash FloodEast Portion$10,000no account filed
May 2017HailCarta Vly$5,000A thunderstorm produced baseball size hail in Carta Valley.
May 2017HailRocks Spgs Arpt$5,000A thunderstorm produced hail up to tea cup size along Hwy 41 northeast of Rocksprings.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindRocks Spgs$5,000A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 58 mph that damaged or destroyed several outbuildings.
March 2004Flash FloodSouth Portion$5,000The storms that formed in the afternoon along the frontal boundary moving southeast across the Edwards plateau produced a general half-inch of rain over southern Edwards County. Highest totals were in the Barksdale area, where up to 2 inches was reported. Highway 55 was closed due to flash flooding between Rocksprings and Barksdale. In addition, Highways 377 and 674 were also closed due to flash flooding.
June 2003Flash FloodBarksdale$5,000Showers and thunderstorms over Gillespie and Kerr Counties continued to spread southwestward into the Edwards Plateau through the early morning hours. Rainfall continued shortly past sunrise, with amounts of 2 to 3 inches over Real and Edwards Counties and northern Uvalde County. Up to 4 inches of rain was reported between Barksdale and Camp Wood along the Edwards-Real line. Flash flooding developed in and around the two towns near 0500CST, with FM337 and SH55 closed.
June 1997Flash FloodCountywide$5,000Flash flooding resulted from brief heavy rainfall, with 1 foot of water reported over Hwy 377.
November 1994HailRocksprings$5,000Reported by the sheriff's department.
November 2000Flash FloodNortheast Portion$5,000no account filed
May 2000Flash FloodNortheast Portion$5,000no account filed
September 1998Flash FloodNorth Portion$5,000no account filed
June 1997Flash FloodCountywide$5,000no account filed
March 1998Flash FloodSouth Portion$3,000Border Patrol officers from Carrizo Springs reported roads under water in southern Edwards County as a result of nearly 2 inches of rain over the previous 2 hours.
June 1999Flash FloodSoutheast Portion$3,000no account filed
May 2019Thunderstorm WindRocks Spgs Arpt$2,000A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that knocked down trees east-northeast of Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindCarta Vly$2,000A thunderstorm produced estimated wind gusts of 50 kts which knocked down several large limbs from oak and pecan trees.
October 1996Flash FloodCountywide$2,000no account filed
April 2026Thunderstorm WindCarta Vly$500A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that blew down a large, free-standing flagpole south of Carta Valley.
March 2026HailCamp Wood-A COOP observer estimated up to quarter sized hail from a thunderstorm in southeastern Edwards County.
April 2026HailBarksdale-A thunderstorm produced quarter size hail north of Barksdale.
April 2026HailBarksdale-A thunderstorm produced quarter size hail north of Barksdale.
April 2026HailBarksdale-A thunderstorm produced chicken egg size hail in Barksdale.
April 2026HailCamp Wood-A thunderstorm produced 5 diameter hail (picture on X) south of Camp Wood.
May 2025HailRocks Spgs Arpt-A thunderstorm produced nickel size hail at he CoCoRAHS site 11.8 ENE of Rocksprings.
July 2025Flash FloodRocks Spgs Arpt-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding closing RM 335. The emergency manager estimated four feet of water over the road.
November 2025Flash FloodCarta Vly-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding. RM 674 was impassable with 3-4 feet of water over the roadway north of Kickapoo Cavern State Park.
May 2024HailRocks Spgs-A thunderstorm produced quarter size hail northeast of Rocksprings.
June 2024HailRocks Spgs-A thunderstorm produced quarter size hail west of Rocksprings.
July 2024Flash FloodRocks Spgs-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding closing RR 674 southwest of Rocksprings.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindRocks Spgs-A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 60 mph by a trained spotter in Rocksprings. The storm also produced half inch diameter hail.
October 2023Flash FloodBarksdale-Thunderstorms produced locally heavy rain that led to flash flooding sending three feet of water over RM 335 near and downstream of the Ben Williams crossing on the Nueces River.
May 2022HailCarta Vly-A thunderstorm produced 3.5 inch diameter hail on Hwy 277 northwest of Rocksprings.
August 2022Flash FloodBarksdale-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding in Edwards County along the Nueces River. A video on social media showed swiftly flowing water through a low water crossing on Dry Creek Rd. near Barksdale.
August 2022Flash FloodBarksdale-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding in Edwards County. The Edwards County Sheriff's Office reported several low water crossings on Hwy 55 near Barksdale were flooded and impassable.
March 2021HailBarksdale-A thunderstorm produced 1.5 to 2.0 inch diameter hail in Barksdale. The hail fell for about five minutes.
August 2021Flash FloodBarksdale-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding. FM 335 was flooded near the Nueces River north of Barksdale.
March 2020HailCarta Vly-A thunderstorm produced one inch diameter hail east of Carta Valley. There was still hail on the ground at 7 am that morning.
March 2020HailRocks Spgs Arpt-A thunderstorm produced one inch diameter hail southeast of Rocksprings.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindRocks Spgs Arpt-A thunderstorm produced wind gusts measured at 60 mph by the AWOS at Edwards County Airport in Rocksprings.

Every populated place in the county

4

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.