Baylor County Seat
Welcome to Seymour, the Baylor County seat in the Rolling Plains of North Texas — cattle-ranching country with rodeo heritage and Lake Kemp on the doorstep.
Seymour is a city in and the county seat of Baylor County, Texas, set in the Rolling Plains of North Texas along the Brazos River. Its population was 2,575 in the 2020 census, and it functions as the commercial, governmental, and social center of a sparsely settled ranching county. The town's economy has long been built on agriculture. Cotton, grains, and livestock shaped its early growth, and cattle ranching remains the backbone of the surrounding county, where livestock production dominates agricultural sales and native-grass pasture, mesquite country, and river-bottom cover define the landscape. Oil production added another economic layer in the twentieth century, and the town reached its population peak of nearly 3,800 in 1950 before settling into its present size. Seymour holds a notable place in the region's natural and cultural history. The Permian Red Beds around Baylor County have yielded important fossil discoveries, including Seymouria baylorensis, an extinct amphibian named for the town and county. Culturally, the Old Settlers Reunion and Rodeo, held each July, traces its origins to an 1896 Cowboy Reunion and remains one of the oldest continuously held celebrations of its kind in the region, keeping Seymour's ranching heritage at the center of community life. Lake Kemp, a 15,590-acre reservoir on the Wichita River about eight miles north, is the area's major recreational asset, drawing anglers, boaters, and campers. The Brazos River also runs near town, adding to the outdoor landscape. Seymour appeals to ranching and agricultural families, retirees seeking a quiet county-seat lifestyle, and anyone drawn to the open country, hunting, and lake recreation of North Texas — a community where the courthouse, the school, and the rodeo still define daily life.
Seymour is in Baylor County, in the Rolling Plains of North Texas, and it serves as the county seat. The city sits along the Brazos River, roughly 50 miles southwest of Wichita Falls.
Seymour is known for cattle ranching and agriculture, its Old Settlers Reunion and Rodeo — a July tradition dating to 1896 — and the Permian-era fossils of the surrounding Red Beds, including the amphibian Seymouria baylorensis, named for the town and county.
Seymour Independent School District serves students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade across three campuses, with roughly 600 students. It is a small, rural North Texas district and a central institution in the community.
Lake Kemp, a 15,590-acre reservoir on the Wichita River, lies about eight miles north of Seymour off U.S. 183. It offers fishing, boating, and shoreline recreation at Cara Blanca Park.
Seymour is about 50 miles southwest of Wichita Falls, and roughly 150 miles northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. U.S. Highway 82 and U.S. Highway 183 provide the main highway connections through town.
City Guide
Seymour's housing stock is characteristically small-town Texas. Ranch-style homes and bungalows line its quiet residential streets, with much of the inventory built between the 1930s and 1980s. Lots are typically a quarter- to half-acre, with fenced backyards common, and several older, platted additions such as Miller's First and McLain form the town's traditional neighborhoods. Outside the city limits, the surrounding Baylor County countryside offers ranchland and rural acreage. The market is modestly priced by state standards, and buyers are generally drawn by space, affordability, and the appeal of a county-seat community rather than new tract development.
Seymour is organized around its courthouse square and the grid of residential streets that radiate from it, a classic Texas county-seat layout. Older platted additions, including names like Miller's First Addition and McLain, make up much of the town's housing, with mature trees and established yards. The commercial core clusters near the square and the main highway corridors, while the city's edges give way to farms, ranches, and the Brazos River bottomlands. The school campuses and city parks anchor the neighborhoods, and most homes sit within a short drive — or walk — of downtown services.
Seymour's lifestyle is rooted in small-town North Texas and the ranching culture of the Rolling Plains. The Old Settlers Reunion and Rodeo, held each July since the 1890s, is the community's signature event, drawing families and visitors for rodeo competition and reunions. Daily life revolves around the courthouse square, schools, churches, and agricultural rhythms, with a close-knit, neighborly character captured in the town's "Seymour Strong" spirit. For larger shopping and services, residents travel to Wichita Falls about an hour away. It suits those seeking a quiet, affordable community with deep Western and agricultural traditions.
Seymour Independent School District serves the city and surrounding Baylor County area, operating three campuses that educate roughly 600 students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As a small, rural North Texas district, Seymour ISD emphasizes close relationships and a comprehensive education within a single-town system, and its schools are a central part of community identity. Extracurricular activities, including the Panthers' athletic programs, are a focal point of local life. For higher education, Vernon College has a presence in the region, and Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls is within about an hour's drive.
Seymour sits at the junction of U.S. Highway 82, which runs east toward Wichita Falls and west toward the Panhandle, and U.S. Highway 183, the north-south route toward Vernon and Abilene. U.S. Highway 277 also serves the area, reinforcing the town's role as a regional crossroads of the Rolling Plains. The community is car-dependent, with no passenger rail or fixed-route transit, and daily trips for larger retail and services often mean the roughly hour-long drive to Wichita Falls. The nearest commercial airports are in Wichita Falls and Abilene.
Lake Kemp is Seymour's centerpiece for outdoor recreation. The 15,590-acre reservoir on the Wichita River, about eight miles north off U.S. 183, offers fishing for bass, crappie, and catfish, along with boating and shoreline camping at Cara Blanca Park and other access points. The Brazos River and the surrounding Rolling Plains provide hunting, birding, and wide-open scenery, while the region's Red Beds attract fossil enthusiasts interested in its Permian-era deposits. In town, the July Old Settlers Reunion and Rodeo anchors the social calendar, and city parks offer everyday green space for families.
MARKET SNAPSHOT
How homes have been selling here over the last 90 days.
Market data reflects closed sales over the last 90 days and is provided for informational purposes.
For sale
Handpicked properties hitting the scene in your area.
For sale
Handpicked properties hitting the scene in your area.
For sale
Handpicked properties hitting the scene in your area.
BROWSE BY ZIP
Browse listings by postal code in this area.