Marlin, TX

Marlin is the Falls County seat in Central Texas, four miles east of the Brazos River and at the junction of State Highways 6 and 7. The 2020 census counted 5,462 residents. The town took shape around a courthouse square after county residents selected the site in 1851, and its name honors pioneer John Marlin. Then, in 1892, a well drilled for water hit hot mineral water, turning Marlin into a health-resort town with bathhouses, hotels, clinics, and visitors arriving for the waters.

That old water story still bubbles up in the city's identity, even though the grand bathhouses are gone. The courthouse, downtown streets, historic marker, and artesian wells keep the spa era close to the present, while the Brazos and the highway crossroads keep Marlin tied to Falls County's farms and towns. The story is still hard to miss. Marlin's local scoop is a Texas county seat where the courthouse square and a surprising underground water story share the same address.