Houston County, Texas
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Surnames/tags: houston_county us_history texas
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| Houston County Railroad Depot/Museum |
Contents |
Formed From
June 12, 1837 Houston County was the first new county created under the 9-year Republic of Texas on June 12, 1837. Houston county was organized in 1837. . The county was named to honor General Sam Houston. Crockett, Texas, the county seat was named in honor of Davy Crockett, Alamo Defender. [1][2][3]. Of note, Houston, Texas is not in Houston County, Texas, but is in Harris county.
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| General Sam Houston |
Adjacent counties
| Northwest |
North Anderson County |
Northeast "Neches River" Cherokee County |
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| West "Trinity River" Leon County |
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Houston County, Texas |  |
East "Neches River" Angelina County |
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| Southwest "Trinity River" Madison County |
South Walker County |
Southeast Trinity County |
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| Empresario colonies of Mexican Texas |
History/Timeline
Samuel Cartmill Hiroms (1836–1920) was born in present-day Polk County, his parents having been among Stephen F. Austin's "Old 300" families. Hiroms was an educator and a surveyor who served in the Confederate Army. 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 Church on State Highway 21 in Austonio, Texas
Collin Aldrich (1801–1842) was a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto and was the first judge in Houston County, having served during the Republic of Texas from 1837-1841.
- Slavery Slavery movement
Eli Coltharp established his Coltharp Hill in Houston County near Kennard. The store, post office, gristmill, cotton gin, blacksmith shop, and millinery shop were located on the stagecoach route west of Nacogcoches in Houston County. When the railroad bypassed the Contharp Community, many of the residents relocated to work at a nearby sawmill.
James Murphy Hager of Kentucky and his wife, the former Nacoma Clark, established the Hagerville Community in the 1840s. Hager was a farmer, cabinet maker, and blacksmith. The stagecoach from Nacogdoches to Navasota, 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 decades of the 20th century. R.M. Keith, agent of the Central Coal and Coke Company in Kansas City, Missouri, began buying virgin timber 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 to haul out the lumber.
The town of Ratcliff was separated from the Four C by a fence, built to discourage the mill workers from spending their money outside the company town. The 120,000 acres were in time exhausted, and by 1920, the mill shut down.
Government Offices
Houston County has had 5 courthouses: 1838, 1851, 1869, 1883 and the current 1939 courthouse. [4]
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| 1883 Painting of Courthouse,Tx Escapes. |
The Commissioner’s Court of Houston County sold their 1883-vintage courthouse for $1.00 in 1939. It was stipulated that the new owner of the structure must tear it down immediately so make room for construction of a new courthouse. The county found a buyer, who presumably recouped his investment by selling material salvaged from the building, and the building was razed. [4] ALAS.
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| Houston county Courthouse In 1939 |
Geography
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| Location In Texas. |
Houston County is located in the "Piney Woods" area of East Texas and is the Gateway to the Texas Forest Country. The county has a total area of 1,237 square miles, of which 1,231 square miles is land and 5.7 square miles is water. The land is a rolling terrain with half of the land being forested, draining northeast to the Neches River with the southwest and west draining to the Trinity River, Highest elevation in the county is the Houston Mound, west of Percilla, at 552 feet above sea level.
Airports
- Houston County Airport, Crockett
Hospitals
- East Texas Medical Center, Crockett
- Houston County Medical Center, Crockett
- Renaissance Surgery Center of Crockett, Crockett
Lakes
- Houston County Lake
- Ratcliff Lake
Major Highways
- U.S. Highway 287
- State Highway 7
- State Highway 19
- State Highway 21
- State Highway Loop 304 circles the city of Crockett.
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.
Local Resources
Agriculture
- Beef Cattle
- Cotton
- Hay
- Hunting Leases
- Timber
- Watermelons
Minerals
- Gravel
- Natural Gas
- Oil
Protected areas
- Davy Crockett National Forest (part)
- Mission Tejas State Park
- Caddo Mounds State Historic Site
Demographics
In 2000 there were 23,185 people, 8,259 households, and 5,756 families residing in the county. The population density 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. 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, 27.93% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 2.17% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 7.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino 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 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. About 15.60% of families and 21.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.20% of those age 65 or over
Cities and Town
Population estimates as of Jan 1, 2014 shown in parenthesis. None indicated if population was small.
| Communities | Communities | Communities |
|---|---|---|
Events/Festivals
- Black Expo in February. Crockett
- Fiddlers Festival in June, Crockett
- Labor Day Bluegrass Festival in September. Salmon Lake Park.
- Lovefest in February, Lovelady
- Myrtis Dightmant Rodeo at Porth-Ag Arena,
National Register of Historic Places
- Downes-Aldrich House, Crockett
- Houston County Courthouse, Crockett
- Mary Allen Seminary for Colored Girls, Administration Building(cavant), Crockett
- Monroe-Crook House (vacant) , Crockett
- Westerman Mound (Cerremonial and Village Site), Kennard
Schools
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| Rockin Schoolhouse |
There are 13 public schools and 1 private school in Houston County.
Public-Listed by Category within Independent School District.
Crockett ISD Mascot=Bulldog
- Early Childhood Center, Crockett - PreK-K
- Elementary, Crockett - 1st=5th
- Junior High School, Crockett|Junior High, Crockett - 6th-8th
- High, Crockett - 9th-12th
- Pinetwoods/AEC, Crockett - 9th-12th
Groveton ISD
- Elementary, Groveton
- Junior-Senior High, Groveton
Kennard ISD
- Elementary, Kennard
- High School, Kennard|High, Kennard
Latexo ISD
- Elementary, Latexo
Lovelady ISD
- Elementary/Middle, Lovelady
- JuniorHigh/High, Lovelady
Private
- The Jordan School, Crockett
Cemeteries
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Historical Census
- 1850 -- 2,721 —
- 1860 -- 8,058 196.1%
- 1870 -- 8,147 1.1%
- 1880 -- 16,702 105.0%
- 1890 -- 19,360 15.9%
- 1900 -- 25,452 31.5%
- 1910 -- 29,564 16.2%
- 1920 -- 28,601 −3.3%
- 1930 -- 30,017 5.0%
- 1940 -- 31,137 3.7%
- 1950 -- 22,825 −26.7%
- 1960 -- 19,276 −15.5%
- 1970 -- 17,855 −7.4%
- 1980 -- 22,299 24.9%
- 1990 -- 21,375 −4.1%
- 2000 -- 23,185 8.5%
- 2010 -- 23,732 2.4%
- Est. 2014 -- 22,741 −4.2%
County Notables
- David H. McNerney (1931–2010), 1st Sergeant U.S. Army, Medal of Honor, Vietnam 1967
- Kenny R Rogers ' - Country music singer
County Resources
- Lakes
- timber
Sources
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crockett,_Texas#Notable_people
- ↑ https://texasalmanac.com/topics/government/houston-county
- ↑ http://www.genealogytrails.com/tex/state/countynamedafter.html
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://www.texasescapes.com/EastTexasTowns/Crockett-Texas-Houston-County-Courthouse.htm
- Houston County, Texas - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_County,_Texas
- The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas - http://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/
- Texas Almanac 2016 - 2017, Copyright (c) 2016 by Texas State Historical Association, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. All Rights Reserved - https://shoptsha.com/products/12459/Books/Texas-Almanac-2016-2017
- Texas Highways, published by the Texas Department of Transportation, Austin, Texas, Copyright (c) 2016, All Rights Reserved - http://www.texashighways.com
- Personal Knowledge and Recollection of Robert Jason "Bob" Branham, Jun 2016.
- ”The Handy Texas Answer Book” by James L Haley
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