Eastland, Texas, United States

🇺🇸 Eastland is a city in Eastland County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat of Eastland County. Eastland is located north of the centre of Eastland County. It is 96 miles (154 km) west-south-west of Fort Worth and 55 miles (89 km) east of Abilene. The city is accessed by Interstate 20 between exits 340 to the south and 343 to the east.

History During the 1920s, Eastland, like nearby Cisco, Ranger, and Desdemona, was a petroleum boomtown.

Eastland is known for the legend of "Old Rip", a horned toad that allegedly lived many years sealed in the cornerstone of the previous Eastland courthouse built in 1897. The recession of 1921 exacerbated racial tensions between Anglos and Mexicans. Naturally, unemployment increased in town and Whites attempted to oust Mexicans who were hired during the WWI boom. Masked men ravaged shacks used by Mexicans as living quarters. Whites threatened Mexicans' lives, and fearful, they fled to nearby Fort Worth to seek help from the Mexican Consulate, since local authorities took the side of the Anglo locals.

In 1928, the current courthouse was erected, the prior cornerstone was opened, and "Old Rip" was allegedly found alive. The animal, a kind of lizard, received national publicity. It died in 1929 of pneumonia, and was placed in a glass-front casket on view in the present courthouse.

Geography Eastland is located north of the centre of Eastland County. It is 96 miles (154 km) west-southwest of Fort Worth and 55 miles (89 km) east of Abilene. The city is accessed by Interstate 20 between exits 340 to the south and 343 to the east.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.6 sq mi (9.2 km²), all of it land.