Trinity County, Texas: History and Information

Trinity County is a county located in the state of Texas. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 14,585. Its county seat is Groveton. The county is named for the Trinity River.

Trinity County is included in the Huntsville, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Houston-The Woodlands, TX Combined Statistical Area

Etymology - Origin of Trinity County Name

Demographics:

Trinity County History

Trinity County is a county located in the US state of Texas. Its county seat is Groveton. The county is named for the Trinity River.

Handbook of Texas Online
In 1837 the Congress of the Republic of Texas established Houston County, which included all of the area of present Trinity County. The first recorded permanent white settler was a Jesse James, who settled on Alabama Creek in 1844, near a large Indian settlement. In 1845 John Gallion moved into the settlement and purchased the Indians' livestock and improvements. Though the subsequent fate of the area's Indian population is unknown, they seem to have moved to the Indian Territory. The earliest white settlers in the area lived primarily by hunting, eating the meat of their prey and sending pelts to eastern markets for whatever cash they would bring. On February 11, 1850, the Texas legislature established Trinity County. Jesse James, Benjamin B. Ellis, Solomon Adams, James Marsh, Henry Ward, John Gallion, and M. Duke Hornsby were appointed "to ascertain the centre of the county, to select two sites within five miles of the center suitable for site of the County Seat, [and] to hold an election to determine which would receive the most votes." In 1854 Sumpter, a primitive village, was declared county seat, and a small courthouse and jail were built; that same year the county's first post office was established there. By the late 1850s Trinity County was a thriving frontier area that profited from the steamboat traffic on the Trinity River. Though most of the county's inhabitants supported themselves through hunting and subsistence agriculture, plantation agriculture was becoming increasingly important to the local economy. By 1857 a number of wealthy slaveholders, including C. C. Tallifero, George Reese, and C. O. Wagnon, had moved into the area and established large plantations on which cotton and corn were grown. A saw and grist mill was built at Indian Camp Springs in 1857, providing lumber for frame houses and other structures. By 1860 there were 4,392 people, including 791 slaves and a free black, living in Trinity County. Farms covered 63,000 acres in the county, and almost 12,000 acres were classified as "improved"; that year 94,834 bushels of corn, 2,945 bales of cotton, and 210 pounds of tobacco were produced in Trinity County, along with other crops such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beans. Over 10,300 cattle were reported in the county, along with 1,465 sheep. Meanwhile Sumpter, the county seat, had grown to include three hotels, a grocery story, and a saloon. The Trinity Valley, a weekly newspaper, was being published there More at
John Leffler and Christopher Long, "TRINITY COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hct09), accessed January 24, 2016. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Modified on February 1, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 714 square miles (1,849 km²), of which, 693 square miles (1,794 km²) of it is land and 21 square miles (55 km²) of it (2.96%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Education

The following school districts serve Trinity County: Apple Springs Independent School District, Groveton Independent School District, Trinity Independent School District, and Centerville Independent School District

A small portion of Kennard ISD, located in neighboring Houston County, goes into Trinity County.

Texas State

Texas Counties