Brackettville is the county seat of Kinney County, in southwest Texas, near the Rio Grande and the border community of Del Rio. Its population was 1,341 at the 2020 census, and it anchors a sparsely populated county of ranchland on the edge of the Texas Hill Country and the South Texas brush country. The city sits on Las Moras Creek, named for the mulberry trees that grow along the spring-fed stream that still runs through the area. The town's origins are closely tied to the frontier military. Founded in 1852 as Las Moras, Brackettville grew as a supply stop on the old San Antonio-El Paso road and as a depot serving the U.S. Army's Fort Clark, established nearby the same year. The fort became one of the region's most enduring posts, and its presence shaped the town's early economy and growth. Over the decades, Brackettville developed as a ranching and trade center for Kinney County, a role reinforced by its status as county seat. Adjacent to Brackettville lies Fort Clark Springs, an unincorporated community occupying the former fort grounds. The historic post has been converted into a residential and resort community, with preserved military buildings, a spring-fed swimming pool, and a golf course, and it is listed as a historic district. The springs that fed the fort remain a defining feature of the area. Today Brackettville is a quiet county-seat town with a deep sense of its frontier past. Ranching, county government, and the Fort Clark Springs community anchor the local economy, and the surrounding countryside remains lightly populated. To the west, Del Rio and Lake Amistad offer larger-town services and recreation on the Rio Grande, while the open ranchland around Brackettville preserves the wide, rural character of southwest Texas.