Goldthwaite is the county seat of Mills County, Texas, in the central part of the state. Its population is about 1,700. The town was founded in 1885 with the arrival of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, and it was named for railroad vice president Joe G. Goldthwaite. The community grew quickly as a rail-era trade center for the surrounding ranch country, with three churches, a bank, hotels, cotton gins, and two weekly newspapers by the late 1890s. The population reached about 2,800 by 1928 before drought and economic hardship reduced it during the 1930s, a pattern common to many Central Texas towns. Today Goldthwaite remains the governmental and commercial heart of Mills County, one of the state's smaller and more rural counties. The town's economy is anchored by ranching and agriculture, with the county courthouse and local businesses serving the surrounding farms and ranches. The Colorado River lies nearby, providing fishing and paddling, and the town's position at the crossroads of regional highways keeps it connected to Brownwood, Lampasas, and San Saba. Goldthwaite Consolidated Independent School District serves local students. For residents, the appeal is a quiet, self-reliant Central Texas county seat with deep railroad-era roots, open ranch country in every direction, and the slower rhythms of small-town life. Its courthouse square and historic commercial buildings give the town a classic Texas character. The surrounding Mills County countryside offers hunting, rural recreation, and dark skies, while regional centers are within an easy drive for larger needs. Goldthwaite's identity is inseparable from the railroad that founded it and the ranchland that sustains it, and residents value the town's stability, its walkable courthouse square, and the unhurried pace of a small Central Texas county seat.