Tom Green County, Texas: History
The county was established by the state legislature on March 13, 1874, and named after Thomas Green, a Texas revolutionary and a Confederate brigadier general. It originally comprised an area over 60,000 sq mi (160,000 km2).
The original county seat was the town of Ben Ficklin. In 1882, flood waters of the Concho River destroyed the town and drowned 65 people. The county seat was moved to Santa Angela. In 1883, the town's name was officially changed to San Angelo by the United States Post Office. Following completion of the Santa Fe Railway in September 1888, the county increased its cattle production to an estimated export of 3,500 to 5,000 railroad cars. In 1889, San Angelo became incorporated to a city, and Fort Concho shut down after 22 years of operation.
Tom Green County has a long, narrow strip of land extending to the west. This unusual feature is because Reagan County to the west used to be part of Tom Green County, and the state of Texas required that all counties have a contiguous land route to their county seat. The small strip of land served to connect the two main regions. In 1903, the residents of the western section voted to form Reagan County, while the same vote decided that the connecting strip would remain part of Tom Green County.
In 2021, during Winter Storm Uri, the city of San Angelo endured 152 hours at or below freezing temperatures. Hurricanes and tropical storms that have hit Tom Green include:
Matagorda hurricane (1942)
Tropical Storm Delia (1973)
Hurricane Gilbert (1988)
Tropical Storm Erin (2007)
Tropical Storm Hermine (2010)