The secret of Johnson County is out and the county continues to grow like never before .
“ Johnson County has finally caught the attention of people in the Metroplex and beyond who are realizing what they ’ re missing by not being down here ,” Johnson County Commissioner Jerry Stringer said . “ It ’ s starting to show the growth is exploding right now .
“ We ’ re seeing houses coming in everyday , hundreds and hundreds of houses .”
Despite all that ’ s occurred so far , this is just the beginning and much more is to come , Johnson County and county city officials say .
“ In that regard I think we ’ re well situated because we ’ ve been planning for growth for several years now ,” Johnson County Judge Roger Harmon said . “ We ’ re fortunate to have in place so many departments , agencies and tourism groups all working toward the same goal , which is to make the county a better place for our residents
and an attractive location for tourism , new business and new residents .
“ In that respect we have great chamber presidents and great economic directors from our county economic director to the directors in our cities .”
The major challenge , those same officials say , is how best to plan for and manage that growth .
“ We accept , welcome and are dealing with our growth ,” Stringer said . “ At the same time we don ’ t want to forget where we came from and what and what makes us special . The history of Johnson County made us what we are , and that is what people are coming for . So it ’ s important we move forward and grow without changing that .”
Whereas many Metroplex cities and areas surrounding Fort Worth and Dallas have experienced substantial growth in recent decades , Johnson County remains wide open for both growth and a place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the major metropolitan areas of Tarrant , Dallas and surrounding counties . Economic growth in the form of new business and home building has steadily increased in recent years , Harmon said . All signs point to sustained and increased growth in those areas in the years ahead , Harmon added . And yet , much of the county remains rural , an oasis apart the larger nearby cities of Fort Worth and Dallas , but also easily accessible to those and other area cities thanks to the Chisholm Trail Parkway and U . S . 67 .
Johnson County is one of the fastest-growing counties in Texas , according to official U . S . Bureau numbers , which indicate the county has grown about 21 percent since 2000 .
The county ’ s population in 2016 stood at 159,990 , compared to 150,943 in 2010 , according to Census Bureau estimates .
That growth is expected to continue , and even speed up ,
Cleburne This is Texas 47
especially between Cleburne and Fort Worth because of the Chisholm Trail Parkway , a 27.6- mile toll road , running from Fort Worth to Crowley before continuing through the western side of Johnson County and ending at U . S . 67 in Cleburne .
Johnson County consists of 734 square miles south of Fort Worth , including the county seat , Cleburne , and more than a dozen additional towns .
The county is governed by the Johnson County Commissioners Court , which meets at 9 a . m . on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at the Johnson County Courthouse , 2 N . Main St .
Harmon , who became county judge in 1995 and secured his seventh term in 2018 , is presiding officer of the commissioner ’ s court and judge of the county court .
County commissioners , as of the beginning of 2021 , are Rick Bailey in Precinct 1 , Kenny Howell in Precinct 2 , Mike White in Precinct 3 and Larry Woolley in Precinct 4 .