Hood County

Hood County was formed in November 1866 by an Act of the 11th Legislature of Texas, and is named after Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood of the Confederate Army. Before settlement, the area of Hood County was home to Comanche Indians, Lipan Apaches, and Kiowa Indians, among others.

The highest point in Hood County is Comanche Peak which was an important meeting place for local Indians. It is now privately owned and not accessible to the public. The Anglo settlement began approximately 15 years prior to the Civil War. Charles E. Barnard and his family were among the first settlers in Hood County and established Barnard’s Trading Post.

In 1875, there was a controversy surrounding the location of the County Seat and residents in the southern section of the county petitioned for a new county. As a result, in 1875, Somervell County was established by an act of the Texas legislature.

Currently, Hood County embraces 425 square miles and Granbury is the county seat, named after Confederate General Hiram Granbury. Cities of interest include Brazos Bend, Cresson, DeCordova, Granbury (the county seat), Lipan and Tolar

Granbury Ol Opry House: The opera house was the mark of civilization in Small Town, Texas, in the Nineteenth Century. Everyone with the slightest veneer of culture attended the performances and discussed the merits of the performers for weeks afterward (12). When movies began to invade the small towns, the opera houses faded. One of the few surviving today is the beautiful old building on the southeast corner of the square in Granbury, Texas.

Granbury was in an area of Texas still considered the frontier, an area where even in Fort Worth only the hardier troupes made their way. An opera house was built and drama was flourishing in Fort Worth by 1876, a decade before culture reached the smaller settlement of Granbury.

A beautiful water sports area, the Lake at Granbury provides a backdrop for comfort and leisurely lifestyles of luxury and peace.