Early, Texas
20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Brownwood census division. It lies in ZIP code area 76802. The Survey maps it on the Brownwood quadrangle. 3,087 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,414 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresEarly grew from 2,762 to 3,087 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2,762 | |
| 2020 | 3,087 | +325 (+12%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 20 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1889 USGS Brownwood quadrangle1:125000
- 1894 USGS Brownwood quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1925 USGS Brownwood 3-b quadrangle1:48000
- 1928 USGS Zephyr quadrangle1:62500
- 1950 USGS Zephyr quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Brownwood quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1980 USGS Brownwood quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Comanche quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1996 USGS Brownwood quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
What the histories say of this town
477,955 words2 chapters about Early from the published histories of the county, public domain and reproduced complete.
| Chapter | From | Length |
|---|---|---|
| History | A History of Early Methodism in Texas [microform] (1924) | 162,245 words in 11 parts |
| Trail Drivers of Texas : Interesting Sketches of Early Cowboys and The | Trail Drivers of Texas : Interesting Sketches of Early Cowboys and Their Experiences on the Range and on the Trail During the Days That Tried Men's Souls -- True Narratives Related by Real Cow-punchers and Men Who Fathered the Cattle Industry in Texas (1925) | 315,710 words in 20 parts |
Fires near this place
81 since 2005Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 81 fires within 5 miles of Early between 2005 and 2020, burning about 1,413 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 3 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 34 |
| Debris and open burning | 19 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 13 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Natural | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | HUDSON |
| 25 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE279 |
| 25 September 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 4.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | ALDERSGATE ENRICHMENT CENTER |
| 25 September 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 22 September 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 8 August 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | AIRPORT 4659 |
| 5 August 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | BANGS HILL (7136) |
| 27 August 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | SPRING (7156) |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Early: 3 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownwood Pit Plant Texas Brick Co | Clay | Producer | ||
| Brownwood Quarry | Limestone, General | Producer | Sedimentary | |
| White's Mines Brownwood Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this place
26 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Early in 26 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 12 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1994 | Tornado (F0) | Early | $50,000 | A tornado heavily damaged a building on Highway 377. |
| April 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early | $50,000 | Considerable roof damage occurred at the Early High School, and a small plane was destroyed by high winds at a private airport. |
| April 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early | $13,000 | The high winds blew a large tree onto a house and the strong winds downed power lines. |
| April 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds destroyed several outbuildings in the town on Early. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early | $5,000 | Trees were blown down and a railroad crossing barrier snapped off |
| May 2024 | Hail | Early | - | Public reported quarter size hail. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Early | - | The public reported tennis ball size hail 1 mile north of Early. The report was from mping. |
| April 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early | - | Damaging thunderstorm winds peeled a roof off a mobile home and produced minor damage to three other mobile homes. Also, doors were blown out of an airport hangar. |
| October 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early | - | A large tree was blown down onto power lines on County Road 381 near Early. The time was estimated on radar. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Early | - | A trained spotter reported quarter size hail in Early. |
| July 2015 | Flash Flood | Early | - | U.S. Highway 377 just south of Brownwood was shut down because of widespread flooding across the roadway. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early | - | The public estimated a thunderstorm wind gust of 65 mph in Early. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Early | - | A trained spotter reported that the hail lasted about 5 minutes. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early | - | The town of Early experienced widespread wind damage on the east side of town. There were several trees toppled and many limbs were broken off. A few businesses and residences lost their roofs. Most of the debris was oriented from northeast to southwest which is consistent with straight line wind damage. The wind speeds were esitmated between 80 to 85 mph. |
| June 2009 | Flash Flood | Early | - | Flooding was reported near the intersection of US Highways 67 and 377 in Early. |
| June 2004 | Flash Flood | Early | - | The town of Early had to close several roads due to high water. |
| August 2004 | Flash Flood | Early | - | Many farm to market roads across Brown County were reported flooded. FM2273 near Hog Creek had 2 feet of water over the road. |
| June 2001 | Hail | Early | - | Golf ball size hail fell across central Brown County. |
| May 1994 | Hail | Early | - | Power line poles were blown down by thunderstorm winds. |
| April 2019 | Hail | Early | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Hail | Early | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Early | - | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Early | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early | - | no account filed |
| November 2004 | Hail | Early | - | no account filed |
| April 1994 | Hail | Early | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ricker (historical) | 3.2 miles | 20 | |
| Brownwood | 3.3 miles | 20 | |
| Bluff View | 3.7 miles | 14 | |
| Woodland Heights | 4.5 miles | 20 | |
| Delaware Junction | 5.1 miles | 14 | |
| Lake Brownwood | 7.3 miles | 17 | |
| Owens | 7.4 miles | 14 | |
| Tenmile Crossing | 7.8 miles | 20 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Early | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q982657 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1334865. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
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.








