About Bell County
Bell County is located in Central Texas between Waco and Austin. The county is divided by Interstate 35 with the Blackland Prairie on the East and the Edwards Plateau in the West. The Blackland primarily involves farming endeavors with the Edwards Plateau being utilized for mostly ranching.
Bell County was chartered January 22, 1850 and named for the newly elected governor, Peter Hansborough Bell. Belton, now the county seat, was first a village called Nolanville and the name “Belton” was adopted April 22, 1852. Settlement and development of Bell County was a part of the Mexican grant to the Moses Austin Colony with settlers making their way up the Brazos River from the coast and following the Little River and Leon River. Some towns in Bell County include Temple, Belton, Killeen, Salado, Rogers, Troy, Little River-Academy, and Holland.
Extension agents serve in a variety of outreach educational roles including Agriculture, Natural Resources, Family and Community Health, 4-H and Youth Development and the Cooperative Extension Program of Prairie View A&M University. Current issues in these areas are addressed through educational community programs.
