Biohazard Cleanup Near Benjamin Historic District Benjamin, TX

Benjamin is a city in central Knox County, Texas, and the county seat, located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 82 and State Highway 6.

Benjamin was founded in 1884 by Hilory G. Bedford, president and controlling stockholder of the Wichita and Brazos Stock Company, who promoted settlement by offering stockholders a 50-acre tract and setting aside 40 more acres for a town square.

Bedford named the town for his son Benjamin, who had been killed by lightning.

Benjamin was designed as the Knox County seat when the county was organized in 1886, and a school opened there the same year.

Benjamin's jail, built in 1887, still stands as a private residence, and the old bank building stands next to the sheriff's office.

The town's courthouse was built in the late 1930s and its school building in 1942, both constructed with Works Projects Administration labor.

Benjamin was incorporated in 1928, and its population peaked at 599 in the 1940 census.

The 2020 census counted just 196 residents in Benjamin, making it one of the least-populated county seats in Texas.

The Knox County Museum, located in the county courthouse, features a barbed wire exhibit and numerous other frontier artifacts.

Benjamin's income has long come mainly from farming, ranching, and oil, and the town sits on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad line.