Thornton, Texas
Thornton is a small town in southwestern Limestone County, in the Central Texas farm country about 35 miles east of Waco. It grew up around a stop on the Houston and Texas Central Railway in the years after the Civil War and served the surrounding land as a shipping point for cotton, with cotton gins and a mercantile trade supporting the early community. Fine white kaolin clay found in the area was once used locally to make ceramics, and the town retains the quiet character of a rural rail-line settlement.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- Town
- July 2025 population
- 429
- Change from 2020 base
- +2.9%
- Land area
- 1 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Limestone County
Place type, county footprint, and land area use the Census Bureau's January 1, 2025 geography. Population uses Vintage 2025 estimates through July 1, 2025; change compares that estimate with the April 1, 2020 estimates base. Geography file | Population file
Property here runs through the appraisal district and tax office for Limestone County. The homestead exemption, appraisal cap, protests, and any MUD, PID, or special districts all sit at the parcel level.
Official routes
Use the office for the parcel address; a mailing city is not always the governing city.
County context
What to know around Thornton
County lines carry much of the property, land, water, and outdoors context around Thornton.
Local History
Why Groesbeck Became the County Seat (and Springfield Disappeared)
Limestone County was formed in 1846 with Springfield as its seat, but the railroad era moved power to Groesbeck by 1873.
Property Tax
How to Lower Your Property Tax Bill in Limestone County
If you live in the home you own, you can file for a homestead exemption that cuts your taxable property value.
Texas History
Fort Parker and Cynthia Ann Parker: A Pivotal Texas Story
In 1836, a Comanche and Kiowa raid on Fort Parker in what is now Limestone County changed Texas history and the life of Cynthia Ann Parker.
Nearby
Places near Thornton
Nearby counties
Local notes for nearby counties
Next steps for Thornton
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