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Texas Counties
Texas is divided into two hundred and fifty-four counties, more than any other state. Texas was originally divided into municipalities, a unit of local government under Spanish and Mexican rule. When the Republic of Texas gained its independence in 1836, there were 23 municipalities, which became the original Texas counties. Many of these would later be divided into new counties. The most recent county to be created was Kenedy County in 1921. The most recent county to be organized was Loving County in 1931Jefferson County, Texas
Jefferson County Education, Geography, and History
Jefferson County is a county located in the state of Texas. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 252,273. The county seat of
Jefferson County is Beaumont. The county was established in 1835 as a municipality of Mexico and was organized as a county in 1837. It is
named for US president Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson County is part of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area
Etymology - Origin of Jefferson County Name
Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Jefferson County History
Jefferson County is a county located in the state of Texas, United States. Its county seat is Beaumont, and it is named for the former US president, Thomas Jefferson.
Handbook of Texas Online
Jefferson County, formed in 1836 and organized in 1837, was one of the original counties in the Republic of Texas.
It was named for the municipality that preceded it, which was in turn named for Thomas Jefferson. The county
boundaries, as delineated on December 21, 1837, included all of the future Orange County, a part of what later
became Hardin County, and the extreme eastern part of the future Chambers County. The first county seat, Jefferson,
or Old Jefferson, on the east bank of Cow Bayou, was replaced by Beaumont in 1838 and had disappeared by 1845, when
the site of Orange was surveyed. Orange was first called Jefferson or New Jefferson. In 1836, Claiborne West, a
signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, served as first postmaster and
merchant at Old Jefferson. Another chief town was Sabine Pass, laid out in 1839 with the backing of Sam Houston and
Philip A. Sublett. Early settlers, primarily from the lower South, were joined
by Cajuns in the 1840s and by immigrants from the North and from Europe in the 1850s. The area became an ethnic
conglomerate. The Cajuns settled near Taylor's Bayou, the Germans at midcounty. More at
Diana J. Kleiner, "JEFFERSON COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcj05),
accessed January 24, 2016. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Geography: Land and Water
Jefferson County is located on the plains of the Texas Gulf Coast in the southeastern part of the state. The
county is bounded on the north by Pine Island Bayou, on the northeast by the Neches River, and on the east by Sabine
Lake and the mouth of the Sabine River, a natural outlet called Sabine Pass. The southern part of the county is
largely marshland, much of which is contained within Sea Rim State Park, reaching to the storm-battered beach at the
Gulf of Mexico.
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,111 square miles (2,878 km2), of which, 904
square miles (2,340 km2) of it is land and 208 square miles (538 km2) of it (18.69%) is water.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- Hardin County (north)
- Orange County (northeast)
- Chambers County (southwest)
- Liberty County (northwest)
- Cameron Parish, Louisiana (east)
Education
Beaumont is home to Lamar University, a public research university offering undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degree programs.Port Arthur is home to Lamar State College-Port Arthur, offering two year degrees and one year certifications including associate degrees and technical programs.
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