Gillespie County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 26,725. The county seat is Fredericksburg. It is located in the heart of the rural Texas Hill Country in Central Texas. Gillespie is named for Robert Addison Gillespie, a soldier in the Mexican–American War.
The Gillespie County Courthouse in Fredericksburg
The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region forming the crossroads of Central, South and West Texas, United States. It is named in honor of Haden Edwards. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east; the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north; and the Pecos River and Chihuahuan Desert to the west. San Angelo, Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio roughly outline the area. The plateau, especially its southeast portion, is also known as the Texas Hill Country.
Edwards Plateau terrain as seen from U.S. Route 277 between Del Rio and Sonora
Enchanted Rock near Fredericksburg by Hermann Lungkwitz, 1864, oil on canvas
San Saba River near Sloan, San Saba County (9 May 2014)
Wildflowers on ranchland, State Highway 965, Llano County (13 April 2012)