According to the Handbook of Texas, "McLennan County is 1,031 square miles of flat to rolling terrain at elevations ranging from 400 feet to 850 feet above sea level. It is located in east central Texas, 230 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico" (Smyrl 430). Created from Milam County in 1850, McLennan County is bordered by Bosque and Hill Counties to the north and northwest, Limestone and Falls Counties to the east and southeast, and Bell and Coryell Counties to the west and southwest. The Balcones Fault bisects the county from southeast to northwest, situating it partially in the Grand Prairie and partially in the Blackland Prairie (Smyrl 430). This bisection is evident in the counties soil composition. "The land in the western section of the county has varied terrain surfaced by shallow, stony soils that support mountain cedar and oak. The eastern section is generally low rolling to flat, with black, waxy soils made up of clay and sand loams that support mesquite, scrub brush, and grasses" (Smyrl 430). "McLennan County consists of very deep, strongly sloping or moderately steep, well-drained, clayey soils on uplands. These soils formed in clay or claystone that is interbedded with flaggy limestone and is of Upper Cretaceous age. Slopes range from 8 to 15 percent from the intersection of Texas Highway 317 and Farm Road 107 in Moody, 2.8 miles north on Texas Highway 317 to its intersection with an unpaved county road, 2.0 miles north on the county road and 150 feet west of road , in an area of pasture" (Texas Department of Geology 1). "Among the counties mineral resources are limestone, sand, gravel, oil, and gas. The lands of the Brazos basin, are fertile and the growing season is long almost 253 days" (Smyrl 431). These conditions are excellent for cultivating crops such as cotton, corn, wheat, and beans.
             Two main rivers flow through McLennan County, the Brazos River and Bosqu...