Why Groesbeck Became the County Seat (and Springfield Disappeared)

Limestone County was carved out of Robertson County on April 11, 1846. Springfield became the first county seat, growing to five general stores, two hotels, and two schools by the 1850s. But in 1873, the courthouse burned. Worse, the Houston and Texas Central Railway bypassed Springfield. Without the railroad, the town had no future.

Voters moved the county seat to Groesbeck, a new town named for Abram Groesbeeck, a director of the railroad company. The railroad brought cotton commerce and population. By 1890, Limestone County had nearly 22,000 residents and produced over 27,000 bales of cotton a year. Springfield faded into a ghost town. Today Groesbeck remains the county seat.