In 1822, a group of Stephen F. Austin's colonists, headed by William Travis, built a fort at the present site of Richmond.

After a few murders were committed, the political feud culminated in a gun battle at the courthouse on August 16, 1889, when several more people were killed and the Woodpeckers were routed from the county seat.

With his support, the Jaybirds ordered a list of certain Blacks and Woodpecker officials out of the county, overthrowing the local government.

[9] This device lasted until 1950, when Willie Melton and Arizona Fleming won a lawsuit against the practice in United States District Court, though it was overturned on appeal.

[12] Another was First Colony in Sugar Land, a 9,700-acre development commenced in the 1970s by Houston developer Gerald D. Hines that eventually became the southwest Greater Houston area's main retail hub, anchored by First Colony Mall and Sugar Land Town Square.

[14] In addition to continued development in the eastern part of the county around Sugar Land and Missouri City, the Greater Katy area began to experience rapid growth and expansion into Fort Bend County in the 1990s, led by the development of Cinco Ranch.

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused significant flooding in Fort Bend County, leading to the evacuation of 200,000 residents and over 10,000 rescues.

Fort Bend County has the highest percentage of Asian-American residents in the Southern United States; the largest groups are of Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, and Filipino ancestry.

By 2011, Fort Bend was ranked the fourth-most racially diverse county in the United States by USA Today.

The newspaper based the ranking on calculating the probability that two persons selected at random would be of different ethnic groups or races.

Eschbach explained, "[a]s a large minority middle class started to emerge, Fort Bend was virgin territory that all groups could move to.

[29] Fort Bend County also has the highest percentage of Filipino Americans in the Greater Houston area and in state of Texas.

This development, along with the shift of conservative white Democrats towards the Republican Party in the wake of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, led to increased support for the GOP in the following years.

In 1976, conservative physician Ron Paul of Brazoria County, noted for his opposition to most government programs, which earned him the nickname "Dr. No", captured the 22nd district in the United States House of Representatives in a special election, before narrowly losing re-election in the November election in which Gerald Ford also won Fort Bend, despite losing Texas to Jimmy Carter.

That same year, Paul was returned to Congress, while businessman Tom DeLay captured the county's seat in the Texas House of Representatives.

In 1984 DeLay succeeded Paul in Congress after the latter ran an unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign, and became House majority leader by 2002.

As of 2019, five of Fort Bend County's eight countywide offices, including two precinct-level positions, are held by Republicans.

With growing populations of minorities and more socially moderate suburban voters who often break Republican on fiscal and economic issues, Fort Bend County has recently become more competitive.

In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama came very close to winning the county, with 48.6% of the vote to Republican John McCain's 50.9%.

[38][39] In 2018, significant enthusiasm for U.S. Senate candidate Beto O' Rourke and strong Democratic infrastructure resulted in Democratic control of the commissioners' court (including county judge) and a number of countywide administrative and judicial posts, with Fort Bend Independent School District board trustee K.P.

[51] In contrast to greater Houston in general, Fort Bend County's economy is more diverse, with numerous service-sector jobs in healthcare, energy, education, hospitality, and other areas.

Major companies with a presence in the county include Schlumberger, Minute Maid, Fluor, and Sunoco's logistics operations in Sugar Land.

The Houston Business Journal reported in 2010 that the diversity of industries promoted decades of rapid population growth.

[53] Compared to Montgomery County, which has experienced rapid growth in corporate employment following ExxonMobil's decision to move its greater Houston operations to an area directly south of The Woodlands, Fort Bend County has yet to experience significant corporate growth, though Schlumberger recently announced plans to move its North American headquarters to Sugar Land.

The daily Fort Bend Herald and Texas Coaster focuses on news coverage in the Richmond-Rosenberg area.

Fort Bend County is also within the primary service area of George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

[61] Fort Bend County officially created a department of public transportation in 2005 that provides commuter buses to Uptown, Greenway Plaza, and Texas Medical Center.

It also provides demand-and-response buses to senior citizens and the general public that travel only in Fort Bend County.