Lipan is a small city in the northwestern corner of Hood County, Texas, in the rolling ranch country of North Central Texas. It sits at the intersection of Farm Roads 4 and 1189, about 16 miles northwest of the county seat of Granbury, and roughly midway between Weatherford to the east and Stephenville to the west. Its population of about 500 makes it one of the quieter incorporated places in the county, and it remains a distinctly rural community at the western edge of the sprawling Dallas-Fort Worth region. Settlers began moving into the area in the early 1850s, and the community took its name from the Lipan Apache people who had long ranged across the region. Lipan developed as a small agricultural and ranching settlement, with a church, a cemetery, a school, and a handful of businesses serving the surrounding farms. Its population has remained modest across its history, hovering in the few hundreds, which has preserved the town's small, unhurried character even as the Metroplex has grown closer. Today Lipan is best known for its school district. Lipan Independent School District is a small, rural system whose campuses and athletic programs, particularly the Lipan Indians' storied basketball tradition, give the community its identity and draw. Most residents own their homes, and the local economy is tied to ranching, agriculture, and work in the nearby towns of Granbury, Weatherford, and Stephenville. For homebuyers, Lipan offers quiet, spacious country living with a close-knit school community, at a remove from suburban congestion while keeping the amenities of the Fort Worth area within roughly an hour's drive. It suits those seeking a homestead, a rural retirement, or a small-town place to raise a family, with a clear-eyed understanding that daily conveniences lie in the neighboring cities.