Houston County, Texas
Encyclopedia

Houston County is a county located in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. As of 2000, the population was 23,185. Its county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 is Crockett
Crockett, Texas
Crockett is a city in Houston County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 7,141. It is the county seat of Houston County.- History :...

. Houston County is named for Samuel Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...

, a president of the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...

 and Governor of Texas. Houston County was one of forty-six prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

 or entirely dry counties in the state of Texas, until voters in a November 2007 special election legalized the sale of alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

 in the county.

Houston County was the first new county created under the 9-year Republic of Texas on June 12, 1837. The original boundaries of Houston County also included all of present-day Anderson and Trinity Counties, and portions of present-day Henderson and Polk Counties. Houston County bears no relationship, save its namesake, with the City of Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, which is located approximately 150 miles (241.4 km) to the south, in Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...

. A county historical
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

 is located in a former railroad depot
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

 at 303 S. First Street in Crockett.

Early Houston County settlers

Samuel Cartmill Hiroms (1836–1920) was born in present-day Polk County, his parents having been among Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...

's "Old 300" families. Hiroms was an educator and a surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

 who served in the Confederate Army
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

. He and his second wife, the former Emily Ann Johnston (1853–1948), settled in the Creek Community of Houston County. Their homestead was adjacent to what is now the Austonio Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 Church on State Highway 21 in Austonio, Texas.

Collin Aldrich (1801–1842) was a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto
Battle of San Jacinto
The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen...

 and was the first judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

 in Houston County, having served during the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...

 from 1837-1841.

Eli Coltharp established his Coltharp Hill in Houston County near Kennard
Kennard, Texas
Kennard is a city in Houston County, Texas, United States. The population was 317 at the 2000 census.The First Baptist Church of Kennard, established in 1903, has over the years been involved in anti-liquor and anti-gambling campaigns.-Geography:...

. The store, post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

, gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...

, cotton gin
Cotton gin
A cotton gin is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, a job formerly performed painstakingly by hand...

, blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

 shop, and millinery shop were located on the stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...

 route west of Nacogcoches
Nacogdoches, Texas
Nacogdoches is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the city's population to be 32,996. It is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and is situated in East Texas. Nacogdoches is a sister city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.Nacogdoches is the home of...

 in Houston County. When the railroad bypassed the Contharp Community, many of the residents relocated to work at a nearby sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

.

James Murphy Hager of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 and his wife, the former Nacoma Clark, established the Hagerville Community in the 1840s. Hager was a farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...

, cabinet maker, and blacksmith. The stagecoach from Nacogdoches to Navasota
Navasota, Texas
Navasota is a city in Grimes County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,789 at the 2000 census. In 2005, the Texas Legislature named the city "The Blues Capital of Texas," in honor of the late Mance Lipscomb, a Navasota native and blues musician....

, ran beside the Hagers' log home. One of the Hager sons donated land for a church and a school. There was a post office at Hagerville from 1891-1905.

The Four C Mill operated in Houston County during the first two decade
Decade
A decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....

s of the 20th century. R.M. Keith, agent of the Central Coal and Coke Company in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

, began buying virgin timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...

 in the fall of 1899. Lumber to construct the new mill was cut by a small sawmill purchased in early 1901 from J.H. Ratcliff. Keith organized the Louisiana and Texas Lumber Company to operate the Four C. The mill was producing a staggering 300,000 board feet of lumber per daily by June 1902. Ratcliff Lake, now a United States Department of Interior recreational site, was the millpond for the Four C. The Texas Southeastern Railroad laid track from Lufkin
Lufkin, Texas
Lufkin is a city in Angelina County, Texas, United States. Founded in 1882, the population was 35,067 in 2010. It is the county seat of Angelina County, and is situated in Deep East Texas.-History:...

 to haul out the lumber. The town of Ratcliff
Ratcliff, Texas
Ratcliff is an unincorporated community in Houston County in east Texas, United States. Founded in the early 1900s, Ratliff had a population of more than five thousand, with most working at a sawmill operated by the Louisiana and Texas Lumber Company. This Four C Mill used the lake that is the...

 was separated from the Four C by a fence, built to discourage the mill workers from spending their money outside the company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...

. The 120,000 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

s were in time exhausted, and by 1920, the mill shut down.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the county has a total area of 1237 square miles (3,203.8 km²), of which 1231 square miles (3,188.3 km²) is land and 6 square miles (15.5 km²) (0.48%) is water.

Major Highways

  • U.S. Highway 287
  • State Highway 7
    State Highway 7 (Texas)
    State Highway 7 is an east–west state highway that runs from Interstate 35 south of Waco to U.S. Highway 84 about 3 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana state line...

  • State Highway 19
    State Highway 19 (Texas)
    State Highway 19, or SH 19, runs from Huntsville to Paris in east Texas. It is a two-lane freeway near Huntsville.-History:SH 19 was one of the original 26 Texas state highways proposed in 1917. The original proposal was for it to run from the Texas/Oklahoma border north of Paris to Houston. By...

  • State Highway 21
    State Highway 21 (Texas)
    State Highway 21, or SH 21, runs from the Texas-Louisiana boundary east of San Augustine to San Marcos in east and central Texas.-History:...


Adjacent counties

  • Anderson County
    Anderson County, Texas
    Anderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 55,109. Its county seat is Palestine. Anderson county was organized in 1846, and is named in honor of Kenneth L. Anderson who had been Vice President of the Republic of Texas.-Geography:According to the...

      (north)
  • Cherokee County
    Cherokee County, Texas
    As of the census of 2000, there were 46,659 people, 16,651 households, and 12,105 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile . There were 19,173 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile...

      (northeast)
  • Angelina County
    Angelina County, Texas
    Angelina County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Angelina County was formed in 1846 from Nacogdoches County. As of 2000, the population was 80,130. Its county seat is Lufkin. Angelina is named for a Hainai Native American woman who assisted early Spanish missionaries and was named...

      (east)
  • Trinity County  (southeast)
  • Walker County
    Walker County, Texas
    Walker County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 67,861. Its county seat is Huntsville.Initially, Walker County was named for Robert J. Walker, a legislator from Mississippi who introduced into the United States Congress the resolution to annex Texas...

      (south)
  • Madison County  (southwest)
  • Leon County  (west)

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 23,185 people, 8,259 households, and 5,756 families residing in the county. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 19 people per square mile (7/km²); it had the second lowest population density for all counties in Deep East Texas, behind only Newton County
Newton County, Texas
Newton County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. In of 2000, its population was 15,072. Its county seat is Newton. Newton county is named for John Newton, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War...

. There were 10,730 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.57% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 27.93% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.26% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.25% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.06% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 2.17% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.76% from two or more races. 7.50% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 of any race.

There were 8,259 households out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.90% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 14.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.30% were non-families. 27.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.20% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 18.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 114.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,119, and the median income for a family was $35,033. Males had a median income of $29,143 versus $19,885 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the county was $14,525. About 15.60% of families and 21.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.30% of those under age 18 and 18.20% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

  • Crockett
    Crockett, Texas
    Crockett is a city in Houston County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 7,141. It is the county seat of Houston County.- History :...

  • Grapeland
    Grapeland, Texas
    Grapeland is a city in Houston County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,451 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Grapeland is located at ....

  • Kennard
    Kennard, Texas
    Kennard is a city in Houston County, Texas, United States. The population was 317 at the 2000 census.The First Baptist Church of Kennard, established in 1903, has over the years been involved in anti-liquor and anti-gambling campaigns.-Geography:...

  • Latexo
    Latexo, Texas
    Latexo is a city in Houston County, Texas, United States. The population was 331 at the 2010 census.-History:Just after 1900 the Louisiana Texas Orchard Company purchased surrounding the settlement and platted a town named Latexo, an acronym of the company's name.There have been five schools built...

  • Lovelady
    Lovelady, Texas
    Lovelady is a city in Houston County, Texas, United States. The population was 608 at the 2000 census.-History:Lovelady was founded by investors of the Houston & Great Northern Railroad as a railway line was built through a land grant of Cyrus Lovelady, near the communities of Nevil's Prairie,...


Unincorporated areas

  • Austonio
    Austonio, Texas
    Austonio was a city and is an unincorporated area currently in Houston County, Texas.The community, originally named Pearville, had been established before 1900. In 1930 the community sponsored a contest, asking participants to select a new name for the community...

  • Hopewell
    Hopewell, Houston County, Texas
    Hopewell is an unincorporated community in Houston County, Texas, United States. It lies at an elevation of 335 feet ....

  • Pennington
    Pennington, Texas
    Pennington is an unincorporated community in Houston and Trinity counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Originally known as Tyler or Tyler's Prairie, Pennington is located off of U.S. Highway 287 near the Davy Crockett National Forest.-Education:...

  • Ratcliff
    Ratcliff, Texas
    Ratcliff is an unincorporated community in Houston County in east Texas, United States. Founded in the early 1900s, Ratliff had a population of more than five thousand, with most working at a sawmill operated by the Louisiana and Texas Lumber Company. This Four C Mill used the lake that is the...


Government and infrastructure

Eastham Unit
Eastham Unit
Eastham Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison for men and located in unincorporated Houston County, Texas GPS Coordinates 30.978106, -95.632274. The prison is located at the dead end of Farm to Market Road 230, near Lovelady and west of Trinity...

, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is a department of the government of the state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails and private correctional facilities, funding and certain...

 prison for men, is located in an unincorporated area
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in the county.

The Crockett State School
Crockett State School
The Crockett State School was a Texas Youth Commission juvenile correctional facility in Crockett, Texas. The students at the state school had committed various crimes, including property crimes and crimes against persons...

, a Texas Youth Commission
Texas Youth Commission
The Texas Youth Commission is a Texas state agency which operates juvenile corrections facilities in the state. The commission is headquartered in the Brown-Heatly Building in Austin...

 juvenile correctional facility for boys, is located in Crockett
Crockett, Texas
Crockett is a city in Houston County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 7,141. It is the county seat of Houston County.- History :...

. The TYC announced that the facility will close by August 31, 2011.

Chuck Hopson
Chuck Hopson
Charles L. Hopson, II, known as Chuck Hopson , is a pharmacist and businessman in Jacksonville, Texas, who has been since 2001 a member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 11, which includes Cherokee, Houston, Panola and Rusk counties in the northeastern portion of his...

, a pharmacist from Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Texas
Jacksonville is located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,868 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Jacksonville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Cherokee County and part of the larger Tyler-Jacksonville Combined Statistical...

, is the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 member of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...

 whose District 11 includes Houston County.

Transportation

Ground

Houston County is served by US Highway 287 and State Highways 7, 19 and 21. All of these highways intersect at the Courthouse Square in downtown Crockett. SH 21 follows the 300-year-old route of the El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail.

Rail

Freight rail service is provided by Union Pacific Railroad. The Crockett Depot, built in 1909, has been restored and now serves as the Houston County Museum.

Air

Houston County Airport http://www.airnav.com/airport/KDKR, located 3 miles east of Crockett on SH 7, features a 4,000 runway. On site aircraft services are provided by East Texas Aircraft (telephone 936-544-0656).

Public Transportation Services

Demand and Response public transportation within Houston County is provided by Brazos Transit District. Persons needing transportation should call 1-800-272-0039 to schedule a ride. Greyhound Bus Company also provides service to the cities of Crockett and Grapeland.

County Officials

  • County Judge: Lonnie Hunt
  • Commissioner Precinct 1: Roger Dickey
  • Commissioner Precinct 2: Willie Kitchen
  • Commissioner Precinct 3: Pat Perry
  • Commissioner Precinct 4: Kennon Kellum
  • Sheriff: Darrel Bobbitt
  • Tax Assessor/Collector: Danette Millican
  • Treasurer: Dina Herrera
  • County Clerk: Bridget Lamb
  • District Clerk: Carolyn Rains
  • County Attorney: Daphne Session
  • District Attorney: Donna Gordon Kaspar
  • 3rd District Judge: Mark Calhoon
  • 349th District Judge: Pam Fletcher
  • County Court at Law Judge: Sarah Clark
  • Justice of the Peace Precinct 1: Clyde Black
  • Justice of the Peace Precinct 2: Kathy Bush
  • Constable Precinct 1: Morris Luker
  • Constable Precinct 2: Kenneth "Red" Smith
  • County Auditor: Melissa Mosley
  • Emergency Management/Fire Marshall: David L. Lamb, Sr.
  • County Surveyor: C. R. "Chili" Hodges

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Houston County, Texas
  • Wet counties

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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