Eastland County is a small rural county in North Central Texas — about halfway between Weatherford and Abilene. The economy is predominantly ranching, with some light manufacturing. The population is small and getting smaller. Young people leave because there's nothing to stay for.
The standard solutions — solar farms, data centers, industrial parks — require land, infrastructure, and capital that takes years to materialize, if it materializes at all. And they rarely produce the kind of career-ladder employment that keeps young families planted.
Software companies don't need land. They need office space, reliable electricity, and broadband internet. Eastland County has all three.
More importantly, the same low cost of living that makes Eastland a hard place to build a career also makes it a place where competitive salaries go a long way. Technology talent grown locally and paid fairly can compete in a global information economy — without anyone having to move to Austin or Dallas to do it.
That's the thesis. Digital Prairie Enterprises is the test.
