Runnels County's 

Runnels County's county seat is Ballinger. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1880. It is named for Hiram G Runnels, a Texas state legislator. 

Prohibition was a hard-fought election issue that, time after time, split the county. The passage of the Volstead Act in 1919 forbidding the sale of alcohol nationwide ended the debate. Runnels County remained dry until 1959.

As of the 2020 census, its population was 9,900.

‍