Three Rivers is a city in Live Oak County, Texas, in the mesquite and brush country of South Texas, near the point where the Nueces, Frio, and Atascosa rivers converge. The 2020 census recorded 1,474 residents. The town was founded in 1913 about ten miles east of what is now Choke Canyon State Park, and was originally called Hamiltonburg before being renamed for the three rivers that define its geography. The economy of Three Rivers has long rested on ranching and energy. The surrounding Live Oak County countryside is cattle country, and oil and gas production has been central since the early twentieth century, when the first wells were drilled on area ranches. A large Valero refinery has dominated the local skyline for decades, giving the town a working, industrial character alongside its agricultural roots. The Bureau of Reclamation's Nueces River Project, which created Choke Canyon Reservoir, opened its project office in Three Rivers in 1976, linking the town to the region's water infrastructure. Choke Canyon Reservoir and State Park are the area's principal recreation assets, drawing anglers, boaters, and birders to the lake just west of town. Three Rivers Independent School District serves local students from a compact set of campuses. The town sits along Interstate 37, the main route between San Antonio and Corpus Christi, placing it about an hour from both cities. For residents, Three Rivers offers a small-town South Texas setting with a genuine working economy, convenient freeway access, and a major lake and state park at the edge of town — a practical base for those connected to ranching, energy, or the region's two coastal cities. It blends brush-country heritage with the reach of the interstate and the water.