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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 1931Wood County, Texas
Wood County Education, Geography, and History
Wood County is a county located in the state of Texas. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 41,964. Its county seat is Quitman. The county was named for George T. Wood, governor of Texas from 1847 to 1849.
Etymology - Origin of Wood County Name
George Tyler Wood, the second Governor of Texas (coincidentally, the county is located in heavily timbered East Texas)
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Wood County History
Wood County is a county located in the US state of Texas. Its county seat is Quitman
Handbook of Texas Online
Caddo Indians lived in the East Texas timberlands centuries before the first Europeans entered the area. The area
of Wood County was first explored in 1788 when Pedro Vial made his way from
Natchitoches, Louisiana, to San Antonio. Several Spanish land grants were issued for land in the county, but they
are relatively unimportant since the county was not extensively settled until after the Texas Revolution.
One of the first white men to settle permanently in Wood County was Martin Varner,
who lived southeast of the site of present Hainesville by 1824. Webster, the first real community in the area, was
established by 1845. In 1850 Wood County was demarked from Van Zandt County and organized. Quitman was established
to serve as the county seat. The county was named for George T. Wood, governor
of Texas from 1847 to 1849. In 1870 the new Rains County took a section of western Wood County. Wood County was
predominantly settled by people who came from the southern United States. These settlers brought slaves with them
and began to reestablish the kind of slaveholding, cotton-plantation society they had known in their former homes.
In 1850 Wood County had seventeen slaves. By 1860 it had a white population of 3,963 and 923 slaves (roughly 20
percent of the total population) and produced 1,108 bales of cotton. The coming of secession
and the Civil War showed the mixed feelings that many citizens of Wood County
had toward both subjects. In 1861 the county voted in favor of secession by a majority of 70 percent, yet the two
men elected by the county to serve as its delegates to the Secession Convention,
John D. Rains and A. P. Shuford, both voted against the secession ordinance. Emory Rains,
state senator from Wood County, was one of the signers of the public address asking the citizens of Texas to vote
against secession. After the Civil War began Wood County supported the Confederacy with men and material goods.
Defeat brought military government and Reconstruction to the county.
Reconstruction was effectively ended in 1873 with the election of men from the Democratic party
on both the county and state level. More at
David W. Gilbreath, "WOOD COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcw15),
accessed January 24, 2016. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Geography: Land and Water
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 696 square miles (1,802 km2), of which, 650
square miles (1,684 km2) of it is land and 46 square miles (118 km2) of it (6.55%) is water.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- Hopkins County (north)
- Franklin County (northeast)
- Camp County (northeast)
- Upshur County (east)
- Smith County (south)
- Van Zandt County (southwest)
- Rains County (west)
Education
Jarvis Christian College is located in unincorporated Wood County, near Hawkins.
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