Buna ( ) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Jasper County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. The population was 2,137 at the 2020 census.

History

The Beaumont Lumber Company mill in southern Jasper County was first called "Carrolla" for the Carroll family, prominent Beaumont lumbermen and industrialists. The site was subsequently renamed "Buna", however, in honor of one of the family's cousins, Buna Corley.

Geography

Buna is located in southern Jasper County. U.S. Route 96 runs along the west side of the community, leading north to Kirbyville and to

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. US-96 leads southwest from Buna to Evadale and to Beaumont. Texas State Highway 62 leads southeast to Mauriceville. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the Buna CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.08%, are water. The community sits on a low watershed divide, with the west side of town draining to the

Neches River The Neches River () begins in Van Zandt County west of Rhine Lake and flows for through the piney woods of east Texas, defining the boundaries of 14 counties on its way to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs ...

and the east side draining to the Sabine River.

Demographics

First listed as an unincorporated place which included Bessmay in the 1970 U.S. Census and appeared as the Bessmay-Buna

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the

1980 U.S. Census The 1980 United States census, conducted by the United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4% over the 203,184,772 persons Enumeration, enumerated dur ...

. In the 1990 U.S. Census the CDP was renamed the Buna CDP.

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,137 people, 802 households, and 557 families residing in the CDP. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,269 people, 865 households, and 626 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 956 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 86.16%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 11.37%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.44% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.09%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.71% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.50% of the population. There were 865 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.07. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $29,611, and the median income for a family was $33,952. Males had a median income of $29,766 versus $20,848 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $13,999. About 10.2% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Mark Nesler, country music singer-songwriter who grew up in Buna *

Micah Tyler Micah Tyler is an American Christian musician, who primarily plays Christian pop music. He has released four musical works: two studio albums, ''The Story I Tell'' (2013) and ''New Today'' (2020), and two extended plays, ''The Kitchen Sink'' (20 ...

, Christian singer, songwriter

Education

Buna is served by the Buna Independent School District,
Text list
/ref> and is home to the Buna High School Cougars.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Jasper County, Texas Census-designated places in Texas Unincorporated communities in Jasper County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas