Kaufman is a city in, and 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 ...

of, Kaufman County, in the State of

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 ...

, USA. Its population was 6,797 at the 2020 census.

History

Kaufman was founded as "Kings Fort", named after Dr. William P. King, who established the fort in 1840 after purchasing of land where the city is now located. The community was renamed "Kingsboro" after five years of growth. In 1852, Kingsboro was renamed "Kaufman" after the newly formed Kaufman County, which in turn was named after David S. Kaufman. Kaufman was the first place that

Bonnie Parker Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut "Champion" Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were American outlaws who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression, committing a ser ...

, of

Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut "Champion" Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were American outlaws who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression, committing a ser ...

, was incarcerated. Nearby Camp Kaufman was used as a German

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...

during World War II.

Geography

U.S. Route 175 U.S. Highway 175 (US 175) is a east-west United States Numbered Highway located completely within the state of Texas. It comes very close to meeting its parent route, US 75, but decommissioning and rerouting in Downtown Dallas leaves it sh ...

, a four-lane limited-access highway, passes through the southwest side of the city, leading northwest to

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

and southeast to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. Texas State Highway 34 passes through the south and east sides of the city, leading north to Terrell and southwest to

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

. State Highway 243 leads east from Kaufman to Canton. 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 ...

, Kaufman has a total area of , of which , or 2.08%, is covered by water.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Kaufman has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, ''Cfa'' on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,797 people, 2,177 households, and 1,427 families residing in the city.

Sports

Kaufman was home to

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

. The 1915 Kaufman Kings played as members of the Class D level Central Texas League before the league disbanded.

Education

Public schools

Kaufman and surrounding portions of Kaufman County are served by the

Kaufman Independent School District Kaufman Independent School District is a public school district based in Kaufman, Texas, United States. In addition to Kaufman, the district serves the cities of Oak Ridge, Oak Grove, and Post Oak Bend. For the 2022–23 school year, the d ...

Private schools

Honors Academy operates the Legacy Academy, a grades 6–12 charter school, in Kaufman. In addition, Kaufman Christian School, a church-run school with classes from prekindergarten to 12th grade, also serves the area.

Colleges and universities

Trinity Valley Community College Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) is a public community college based in Athens, Texas. It has six campuses serving five counties across the southeast and eastern parts of the state. History TVCC was founded in 1946 as Henderson County Jun ...

operates its Health Science Center in Kaufman. (The college offers other nonmedical general-education courses at other TVCC campuses.)

Transport

Hall Airport was a privately owned public use airport located about 6.8 miles southeast of Kaufman's central business district. The airport had one runway, designated "17/35", with a turf surface measuring 2,585 by 40 feet (788 x 12 m).

Notable people

* Craig Birdsong, NFL defensive back for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

Ted Healy Ted Healy (born Charles Ernest Lee Nash; October 1, 1896 – December 21, 1937) was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. Though he is chiefly remembered as the creator of The Three Stooges and the style of slapstick comedy tha ...

, comedian, actor, and discoverer of

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

Sonny Strait Sonny Strait is an American voice actor, ADR director, and writer, known for his work on a number of English versions of Japanese anime series and as an illustrator for the independently published comic book series ''Elfquest.'' Strait has provi ...

, voice actor *

was incarcerated first here

Notes

References

External links

Official website

Kaufman Chamber of Commerce
* {{authority control Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Cities in Texas Cities in Kaufman County, Texas County seats in Texas U.S. Route 175