Groesbeck

History

The Tawakoni, who are part of the Wichita people, are attested to be living between the Trinity and Brazos Rivers since at least 1768. Limestone County was a part of the empresario grants given out by the government of Coahuila y Tejas, with Haden Edwards given permission to settle an area including most of Limestone County in 1825, but the Mexican government legally forbade Anglo-Americans from settling into Mexican Texas after the Law of April 6, 1830. Settlement continued, however, including in 1833, when a group of Anglos from Illinois settled Fort Parker, the earliest known European settlement in the vicinity. and ongoing violence in between settlers and natives in Limestone County, the newly established Republic of Texas forbade new settlement until the Treaty of Tehuacana Creek in 1844. In the mid-1840s, two more towns were founded before on April 11, 1846, Limestone County was formed from Robertson's Colony, with Springfield being named county seat. As of 1860, its population was 3,464 Whites, 1,072 slaves, and a free Black woman. In 1861, 98% of voters in Limestone County voted to secede and join the Confederate States of America. Fort Parker State Park, located north of Groesbeck, is preserved to tell the story of Cynthia Ann Parker, who was captured by Comanches, and became the mother of Quanah Parker, the last Comanche chief. After the Civil War, in June 1865, the Emancipation Proclamation was read from the front porch of the largest slaveholder in the county, Logan Stroud, who held over 150 people in bondage. Four future African-American Texas legislators were freed in Limestone County that day, Ralph Long, Sheppard Mullins, and David Medlock Jr., and Giles Cotton, who were freed from Stroud's estate. :"Ecstasy! Banjos twanged as couples danced and…

Geography

Groesbeck is located at (31.522907, –96.532125). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , almost all land (0.27% covered by water). The community is located at the junction of State Highways 14 and 164. Groesbeck is the closest town to historic Old Fort Parker. The fort holds an annual Christmas event at the site every December. The original fort has been rebuilt on the original site to the original specifications.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  622
• Black Vulture

  Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793) · Aves
  539
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  524
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  493
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  482
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  467
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  408
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  398

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2026-06-04
  7 km NE of Marquez, Texas
• M 3.4 — 2026-06-04
  8 km ENE of Marquez, Texas
• M 2.7 — 2011-06-12
  4 km NNW of Plum Grove, Texas
• M 2.7 — 2007-09-15
  11 km ENE of Milano, Texas