The seat of
Caldwell County, Lockhart is located northeast of
San Antonio and east of
San Marcos on Hwy 142 where it meets US 183.
It was named for Byrd Lockhart, who in 1831 received the land that later became the Lockhart townsite as partial payment for his surveying work for the Mexican government.
The agricultural nature of the county economy was reflected in the major businesses in Lockhart in the 1940s: cotton gins and compresses, a creamery, a poultry-dressing plant, a peanut shelling and processing plant, and livestock marketing and shipping facilities.
Now part of the Austin-San Marcos, Texas metro area, population was reported at 7,953 in 1980 and at 9,205 in 1990. In the early 1990s, tourist attractions included a reenactment of the battle of Plum Creek during the annual Chisholm Trail Roundup, the Caldwell County Museum, and Lockhart State Park.
