Titus County, Texas
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Surnames/tags: Titus_County US History texas
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Formed From
- 1846--Titus County was created 11 May 1846 and organized from Bowie and Red River Counties. Named for pioneer settler A.J. Titus[1]
History/Timeline
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| Hay bales |
- 5000 B.C.-A.D.- 500 Humans have lived here since Archaic period according to artifacts recovered. site of human habitation for several thousand years, although not continuously. [2]
- 1542 - Moscoso expedition traveled through or near Titus county.[2]
- 1700s Caddo Indians, an agricultural people with a highly developed culture were here..[2]
- 1719 Le Poste des Cadodaquious was occupied by the French for 50 years.[2]
- 1820-1830s settlers in other areas caused Creeks Choctaws, Cherokees to settle here.. [2]
- 1835 -Kendall Lewis moved into the county with his wife, a Creek Indian. [2]
- Feb 1842-46 - Lewis's land grant was patented, first land surveyed on Swauano Creek. Problems with Indians caused the Lewises to leave the state..[2]
- 1846 the First Legislature of the state of Texas established Titus County, (the area consisted of its territory and Morris and Franklin counties. )The county was named for Andrew Jackson Titus, an early Red River County settler. Mount Pleasant was established as the county seat.[2]
- 1847 population was 2,440. Settlers from Southern States, brought some slaves with then. Population of slaves increased more than Anglo population. Economy was rural based with corn, and cotton as a cash crop.[2]
- 1848-50s County farmers also reported 6,838 cattle, 1,014 sheep, and 12,315 hogs that year. [2]
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- 1859 tax roll had included 1,923 slaves valued at $1,142,850. (47% of county tax base. )[2]
- 1860 Titus county elected Joshua F Johnson (1 of 8 delegates who {{red}opposed secession}})!!. He gave a speech and signed the "Address to the People of Texas" which urged Texans to reject secession. However Texas supported secession by a vote of 411 to 285. [2]
- 1861-65- Civil War, -the county supported the Confederate cause unanimously. 1,500 Titus County men served in the Confederate or state units during the war.[2]
- 1866-1915 For 70+ years after the Civil War, Titus County was rural. Its economy relied on agriculture. [2]
- 1866-70 End of slavery gave freedom to the African Americans and caused economic loss to the slaveholders and loss of capital and confidence. [2]
- 1867 a chaotic economic situation was increased by almost total failure of cotton crop. and part failure of the corn crop. [2]
- 1867- Maj. Samuel Henry Starr commanded 2 companies of the Sixth United States Cavalry that were stationed in Titus County in May of that year.
- Starr automatically became agent of the Freedmen's Bureau
- Nov 1867 Starr recommended in report that the freedmen to moved to save them from slaughter.
- 1867-1870 - 3 years the sheriff and a commissioner, were filled by military appointments.
- March 1868 Starr and his men were ordered to Fort Richardson in Jack County, but military intervention in the affairs of Titus County had not ended.
- Nov 1867 Gen. Joseph J. Reynolds removed the county judge from office as an "impediment to Reconstruction" and replaced him with a military appointee.
- 1869- the county returned to Democratic control at the first election after the passage of the Constitution of 1869. [2]
- 1870- Sheriff position was filled with a military sergeant, and later by a corporal of the United States Army. Military control of the county was galling to the settlers, but provided protection for the freedmen.
- 1870-1890s Titus County was solidly Democratic
- 1876-78- Railway The Tyler Tap Railroad crossed the county. East Line and Red River had built across the SE corner
- 1875 Franklin and Morris counties were formed, which reduced this county to its present size.[2]
- 1880 15 manufacturing establishments were located near the rich iron ore deposits.[2]
- 1866 through the Great Depression of the 1930s, every census recorded 2/3 to 90% land was planted in corn and cotton. Cotton and corn remained the principal crops in the county until the 1950s.[2]
- Sept 1895--Courthouse and all county records were destroyed by fire.
- 1900-1930 49% of the county's farmers were tenants, majority of those farmed on shares.[2]
- 1929 -Construction of a milk-processing plant began in Mount Pleasant in the summer of 1929, and the completion of the plant provided owners of dairy cattle a market. Only a few farmers could afford Dairy cows. [2]
- 1930sFarmers suffered before the Depression. depression brought more difficulty to residents living in poverty. Values of farms dropped even lower. Farmers suffered during the 1920s, even before the onset of the Great Depression. Most residents of the county were already living in poverty. [2]
- Feb 1936 northwest Titus County oil was discovered in what became the Talco oilfield. Shortly after the initial wells were drilled geologists estimated that the field contained approximately 160,000,000 barrels of oil, or a fifteen to twenty year supply at contemporary production levels. Geologists had assumed the field was one large pool of oil, when actually it contained several smaller pools. [2]
- 1985 the oil field was still producing, yielding a total of more than 266,000,000 barrels. Two other fields, the Trix-Liz and the Prewitt Ranch, were also in production in 1985. The initial discovery turned Talco into an oil boom town and made a few dozen farmers wealthy men. [2]
Government Offices
Titus County has had five courthouses. Four of them were built prior to 1870. #5 courthouse is technically the fifth (and current) courthouse with a date of 1895.. [3]
This looks like something from the late 1990s and is described as a cross between the Battleship Texas and and a geometrically-challenged Mexican pyramid, the Titus County Courthouse is one you'll never forget, however everyone likes to read a little gossip. people love an ugly-duckling story (even if it's in reverse). [3]
(A )1895 Courthouse The building started out as a rather above-average building when it was first built in 1895. If you think of courthouses as schoolgirls, this was similar to "was the girl next door. Pretty, but not fancy. It was a composite of typical contemporary designs. It was not a "wedding-cake" courthouse nor ostentatious. [3]
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| Original 1895 courthouse. |
The building had structural and leakage problems with the towers and bad weather. It is needed to keep juries dry. Most counties got smart and voluntarily dismantled them before disaster struck. [3]
(B) 1895 -Courthouse Remodel ALAS 1940 the courthouse received the first of several facelifts. It was new and shiny and people thought they would get used to it.[3]
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| 1895 Courthouse Remodel (B). |
(C) 1895 Courthouse Remodel 1962 Another Bad plastic surgery. Windows were removed.. Most people would not know this is one of the older courthouses.. It is known as THE UGLIEST COURTHOUSE in TEXAS'" Now it looked like a box.[3]
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| 1895 courthouse remodel, 1962 |
(D) 1895 Courthouse Remodel, 1990 --to correct bad plastic surgery. A third remodeling was done in 1990 and by then this architectural Frankenstein was gaining a statewide reputation.- An ugly courthouse.[3]
Geography
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hct06
- Location -Titus County is NE Texas, one county removed from the state's N boundary and two counties removed from the state's E boundary.
- CountySeat - Mount Pleasant and the county's largest town, is located 60 miles SW of Texarkana and 105 miles NE of Dallas.
Center of the county - 33°14' north latitude and 94°57' west longitude.
- Highways - U.S. Hwy 67 and U.S. Hwy 30, cross the county from E to W. U.S. Hwy 271 crosses the county from north to south.
- Railroads , Union Pacific and Texas Utilities cross the county..
- Size - 412 square miles of the East Texas timberlands
- Trees vegetation-heavily forested -softwoods and hardwoods, pine, cypress, and oak.
- Terrain ranges from nearly level to rolling; most of the county is gently undulating to rolling.
- Elevation 250 to 450 feet above mean sea level.
- Temperatures -high of 95° F in July to low of 35° in January.
- Rainfall averages -forty-six inches per year
- Growing season extends for an average of 233 days.
- Creeks/Rivers - N half drains into Sulphur River, S half drains into Big Cypress Creek.
- Soils - light colored and loamy, subsoils are reddish and clayey.
- Prime Farmland 21 - 30% of the land is considered prime farmland.
- Mineral resources include ceramic clay, lignite coal, industrial sand, oil, and gas.
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hct06
Adjacent Counties
- Red River County (north)
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- Morris County (east)
- Camp County (south)
- Franklin County (west)
Formed From
- 1846--Titus County was created 11 May 1846 from Bowie and Red River Counties.
Protected areas
Demographics
In 2000, there were 28,118 people residing in the county with a population density of 68 people/sq. mi. The racial makeup of the county was 88.8% White, 10.10% Black or African American, 1.10% other. 40.6% of the population were Hispanic. The median income for a household in the county was $32,452, and the median income for a family was $37,390. Males had a median income of $26,466 versus $18,238 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,501. About 14.90% of families and 18.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.10% of those under age 18 and 14.10% of those age 65 or over.[4] Oil discovery began a trend leading to increase in manufacturing. By 1947 the 368 businesses involved in manufacturing. Each census showed more manufacturing workers. In 1982 there were 1,473 involved in manufacturing. Other areas provided jobs and moved the economy away from depending on the farms. Additionally the chief agricultural crop shifted to livestock.. 1940-1982, number farms fell to 778 yet the size of the farms increased to 245 acres. The milk processing plant in Mount Pleasant closed 1982, but there were 1,196 dairy cattle. IMPORTANT - became beef and poultry (broilers) 1940-1970 population dropped by 13% to 16,702. [5]
- Jobs in the larger towns offered better economic opportunities, many rural families moved to the towns. In 1920 1/4 of the county's population lived in the two largest towns, Mount Pleasant, with a population of 4,099, and Winfield, with a population of 629; then by 1960 50% lived in the 2 largest towns, Mount
Pleasant (8,450) and Talco (1,250).
Education -
- 1950 less than a 1/4 of the county's residents age twenty-five or over had graduated from high school. By 1980 50% of the residents age twenty-five or older had a high school diploma. This county is still lower in education by 10% points than the state average. [6]
Politics
Democratic presidential candidates carried the county in every election through 1968. Politics changed in 1972 and Richard Nixon won the county. Democratic presidential candidates won the majorities in 1976, 1980, 1988. With Nixon's win and Ronald Reagon in 1984, sympathies began to change in 1972, however, when Republican Richard Nixon carried the county. Though Democratic presidential candidates won majorities in the county in 1976, 1980, and 1988, Nixon’s win in 1972 and Ronald Reagan’s in 1984 signaled a shift away from the area’s traditional leanings. Democrat Bill Clinton only won pluralities in the county in 1992 and 1996, and Republican George W. Bush won solid majorities in the county in the 2000 and 2004 elections. [7]
Highways:
- I-30 Interstate 30
- U.S. Highway 67
- US Highway 271
- Texas State Highway 11
- Texas State Highway 49
Cities
- Mount Pleasant (county seat)
- Talco
- Winfield
Towns/ Unin Communities
- Miller's Cove -Town
Unincorporated communities
Historic Census
- 1850 --- 3,636 —
- 1860 --- 9,648 165.3%
- 1870 --- 11,339 17.5%
- 1880 --- 5,959 −47.4%
- 1890 --- 8,190 37.4%
- 1900 --- 12,292 50.1%
- 1910 --- 16,422 33.6%
- 1920 --- 18,128 10.4%
- 1930 --- 16,003 −11.7%
- 1940 --- 19,228 20.2%
- 1950 --- 17,302 −10.0%
- 1960 --- 16,785 −3.0%
- 1970 --- 16,702 −0.5%
- 1980 --- 21,442 28.4%
- 1990 --- 24,009 12.0%
- 2000 --- 28,118 17.1%
- 2010 --- 32,334 15.0%
- Est. 2015 --- 32,623
Festivals
- Wranglerfest in October in Mount Pleasant.
Schools
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| Rockin Schoolhouse |
Colleges/Universities
Public Schools
- Chapell Hill Independent School Dist.
- Harts Bluff Independent School Dist
- Mount Pleasant School District
- Reg 8 Education Service Center
- Winfield Independent School district
Private Schools
- Daingerfield-Lone Star ISD (mostly in Morris County)
- Harts Bluff ISD
- Pewitt CISD (mostly in Morris County, small portion in Cass County)
- Rivercrest ISD (partly in Red River County, small portion in Franklin County)
Cemeteries
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- Liberty Hill Cemetery
- East New Hope Cemetery
- Edwards Cemetery
- Forest Lawn Memorial Park
- Gladewater Cemetery
- Masonic Cemetery
- Nevills Chapel Cemetery
- Union Hill Cemetery
- Wilhite Cemetery
- Barrett Cemetery
- Winfield Cemetery
- Center Grove Cemetery
- Coopers Chapel Cemetery
County Resources
- TxGene Resources, Genealogy
- Oil and Gas
- Poultry
- Cattle
- Watermelons
- Hay
- agribusiness,
- lignite mining,
- trailer manufacturing
Land Grants
Sources
- ↑ https://texasalmanac.com/index.php?q=topics/government/titus-county
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hct06
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 http://www.texasescapes.com/EastTexasTowns/Mount-Pleasant-Titus-County-Courthouse-Texas.htm
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_County,_Texas
- ↑ https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hct06
- ↑ https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hct06
- ↑ https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hct06
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