HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Kaufman County is a
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
in the northeast area of the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. As of the 2020 census, its population was 145,310. Its
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
is
Kaufman Kaufman or Kauffman may refer to: People * Kaufmann (surname) ''Includes Kaufman, Kauffman, Kauffmann'' Places * Kaufman, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Madison Count * Kaufman, Texas, a city in Kaufman County * Kaufman County, Texa ...
. Both the county, established in 1848, and the city were named for David S. Kaufman, a
U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
and
diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
from Texas. Kaufman County is part of the
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
-
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
- Arlington
metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
.
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
artist
Frank Reaugh Charles Franklin Reaugh (December 29, 1860 – May 6, 1945), known as Frank Reaugh, was an American artist, photographer, inventor, patron of the arts, and teacher, who was called the "Dean of Texas Painters". Born and raised in Illinois, he move ...
moved from
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
to Kaufman County in 1876. There he was directly inspired for such paintings as ''The Approaching Herd'' (1902).


Geography

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (3.3%) are covered by water. Located in the northeast portion of Texas, it is bounded on the southwest by the Trinity River, and drained by the east fork of that stream.


Major highways

*
Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with Interstate 10, I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with Interstate 95, I-95 in Flo ...
*
U.S. Highway 80 U.S. Route 80 or U.S. Highway 80 (US 80) is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway in the Southern United States, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the rou ...
*
U.S. Highway 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 sho ...
* State Highway 34 * State Highway 205 * State Highway 243 * State Highway 274 * Spur 557


Adjacent counties

*
Hunt County Hunt County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 99,956. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is named for Memucan Hunt, Jr., the first Republic of Texas Minister to the United States from 18 ...
(north) *
Van Zandt County Van Zandt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, in the northeastern part of the state. As of the 2020 census, its population was 59,541. Its county seat is Canton. The county is named for Isaac Van Zandt (1813–1847), a mem ...
(east) * Henderson County (south) * Ellis County (southwest) *
Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...
(west) * Rockwall County (northwest)


Communities


Cities (multiple counties)

* Combine (partly in
Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...
) *
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
(mostly in
Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...
with small parts in Collin, Denton, Rockwall and Kaufman counties) *
Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
(mostly in Rockwall County) *
Mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus ''Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under grou ...
(mostly in
Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...
) *
Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
(partly in
Hunt County Hunt County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 99,956. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is named for Memucan Hunt, Jr., the first Republic of Texas Minister to the United States from 18 ...
) * Seagoville (mostly in
Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...
) * Seven Points (mostly in Henderson County)


Cities

* Cottonwood * Crandall * Forney *
Kaufman Kaufman or Kauffman may refer to: People * Kaufmann (surname) ''Includes Kaufman, Kauffman, Kauffmann'' Places * Kaufman, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Madison Count * Kaufman, Texas, a city in Kaufman County * Kaufman County, Texa ...
(county seat) * Kemp *
Terrell Terrell, Terell, Terrel, or Terrelle may refer to: Places United States *Terrell, Georgia, unincorporated community *Terrell, North Carolina, unincorporated community in Catawba County, North Carolina, United States *Terrell, Texas, city in Kau ...


Towns

* Mabank (partly in Henderson County) * Oak Grove * Oak Ridge * Post Oak Bend City * Scurry * Talty


Villages

* Grays Prairie * Rosser


Census-designated places

*
Elmo Elmo is a red Muppet monster character on the long-running PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who has a falsetto voice and illeism, he hosts the last full five-minute segment (fifteen minutes prio ...
*
Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...
* Travis Ranch


Unincorporated communities

* Ables Springs * Abner *
Becker Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany it can also derive from the ...
* Cobb * College Mound * Colquitt *
Frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
* Gastonia * Hiram *
Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...
* Lively * Lone Star * Markout * McCoy * Ola * Prairieville *
Rand The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is finan ...
* Tolosa * Union Valley *
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
* Wilson


Ghost towns

* Cedar Grove * Cedarvale * Jiba * Peeltown * Stubbs * Styx


Demographics

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' According to the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, 71,313 people, 24,367 households, and 19,225 families were residing in the county. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 91/sq mi (35/km2). Its 26,133 housing units averaged 33/sq mi (13/km2). In 2020, the population was 145,310. According to the 2000 census, the racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 81.10% White, 10.53% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 5.68% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. About 11.11% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. By the 2020 census, its racial and ethnic makeup was 54.11% non-Hispanic white, 14.82% African American, 0.43% Native American, 1.45% Asian American, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.30% some other race, 3.95% multiracial, and 24.89% Hispanic or Latino American of any race.


Media

Kaufman County is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth DMA. Local media outlets include
KDFW-TV KDFW (channel 4) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, broadcasting the Fox network to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNe ...
,
KXAS-TV KXAS-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States, broadcasting NBC programming to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Televis ...
,
WFAA-TV WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur-licensed Estrella TV affiliate KMPX (channel 29) ...
, KTVT-TV,
KERA-TV KERA-TV (channel 13) is a PBS member television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. Owned by North Texas Public Broadcasting, Inc., it is sister to National Public Radio (NPR) member statio ...
,
KTXA-TV KTXA (channel 21) is an independent television station in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside Fort Worth–based CBS station KTVT (channel 11). ...
,
KDFI-TV KDFI (channel 27), branded on-air as Fox 4 More or More 27, is a television station licensed to Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States, broadcasting MyNetworkTV to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and opera ...
,
KDAF-TV KDAF (channel 33) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex with programming from The CW. It is owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Group (based in near ...
, KFWD-TV, and
KDTX-TV KDTX-TV, virtual channel 58 (UHF digital channel 21), is a Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) owned-and-operated television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, and serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The station's studios ar ...
. Other nearby stations that provide coverage for Kaufman County come from the
Tyler Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...
/ Longview/
Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
market and they include
KLTV KLTV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Tyler, Texas, United States, serving East Texas as an affiliate of ABC and Telemundo. K31PR-D (channel 31) is a digital translator, also licensed to Tyler, in full simulcast with the primary ...
, KYTX-TV,
KFXK-TV KFXK-TV (channel 51) is a television station licensed to Longview, Texas, United States, serving East Texas as an affiliate of the Fox network. It is owned by White Knight Broadcasting, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) ...
, and
KETK-TV KETK-TV (channel 56) is a television station licensed to Jacksonville, Texas, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for East Texas. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Tyler, Texas, Tyler-licensed low-power broadcasting#Televisi ...
. Kaufman County is served by three newspapers, the ''Terrell Tribune'', the ''Kaufman Herald'', and the ''Forney Messenger''.
Forney, Texas Forney is a city in Kaufman County, Texas, United States, and has been named by the Texas Legislature as the "Antique Capital of Texas". It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 14,661 at the 2010 census, up from 5,5 ...
, is also served by online news media outlet inForney.com, which covers breaking news for the county. A quarterly magazine called ''Kaufman County Life'' is produced by the ''Terrell Tribune''. The Kemp and Mabank areas are included in coverage by ''The Monitor'' and ''
Athens Daily Review The ''Athens Daily Review'' is a three-time weekly newspaper in Athens, Texas, published mornings on Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday, and distributed throughout Henderson County. It is owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., which acquired the ...
'' newspapers.


Law enforcement

The Kaufman County Sheriff's Office is Kaufman County's main police force. Smaller cities depend on the sheriff's office, along with the
Texas Highway Patrol The Texas Highway Patrol is a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety and is the largest state-level law enforcement agency in the U.S. state of Texas. The patrol's primary duties are enforcement of state traffic laws and commercial veh ...
, for law-enforcement duties.


Kaufman County murders

In December 2012, Texas officials issued a statewide bulletin warning that the
Aryan Brotherhood The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as the Brand or the AB, is a neo-Nazi prison gang and an organized crime syndicate which is based in the United States and has an estimated 15,000–20,000 members both inside and outside prisons. The Southern P ...
was "actively planning retaliation against law enforcement officials" who worked to prosecute the gang's leadership. In January 2013, Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse of Kaufman County was assassinated by gunshot outside the Kaufman County courthouse. On March 30, 2013,
District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
Mike McLelland, along with his wife, were found shot and killed in their home. On April 13, 2013, ex-
justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
Eric Williams was arrested for making terrorist threats to county officials by email. Hasse and McLelland had aggressively prosecuted Williams in a theft case. Williams was convicted, and lost his position and his law license as a result. On April 17, 2013, his wife Kim Williams was arrested on capital murder charges in all three deaths. Officials did not link these arrests or events to the Aryan Brotherhood. Eric Williams was convicted at trial and sentenced to death on December 16, 2014. Kim Williams pleaded guilty on December 30, 2014, and received a 40-year sentence.


Politics

Prior to 1952, Kaufman County was a Democratic Party stronghold in presidential elections. From 1952 to 1980, it was still primarily Democratic, though the party's margin of victories were far lower than before. Republican
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
won the county handily in 1972 as part of his national landslide. Starting with the 1984 election, it has become a Republican stronghold, though neither of
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
's two Republican opponents managed a majority despite winning the county due to
Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an inde ...
's strong third-party candidacy.


Education

School districts in the county include: * Crandall Independent School District * Forney Independent School District *
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. In 2009, the school district was rated ...
*
Kemp Independent School District Kemp Independent School District is a public school district based in Kemp, Texas ( USA). In addition to Kemp, the district serves southern Kaufman County and northwest Henderson County, including parts of Seven Points. In 2009, the school ...
* Mabank Independent School District *
Quinlan Independent School District Quinlan Independent School District is a public school district based in Quinlan, Texas, Quinlan, Texas (United States, USA). In addition to Quinlan, the district serves the towns of West Tawakoni, Texas, West Tawakoni and Hawk Cove, Texas, Hawk Co ...
*
Rockwall Independent School District Rockwall Independent School District is a public school district based in Rockwall, Texas (USA). In addition to Rockwall, the district serves the cities of Heath, McLendon-Chisholm, Mobile City, most of Fate, and small portions of Rowlett, ...
*
Scurry-Rosser Independent School District Scurry-Rosser Independent School District is a school district based in Scurry, Texas ( USA). In addition to Scurry, the district serves the towns of Rosser, Cottonwood, and Grays Prairie in southwestern Kaufman County. In 2009, the scho ...
*
Terrell Independent School District Terrell Independent School District is a public school district based in Terrell, Texas, United States. In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the b ...
*
Wills Point Independent School District Wills Point Independent School District is a school district based in Wills Point, Texas, Wills Point, Texas (United States, USA) and covering all of the city of Wills Point as well as the communities of Hiram, Myrtle Springs, Texas, Myrtle Spr ...
It is in the service area for
Trinity Valley Community College Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) is a public community college based in Athens, Texas. It has four campuses serving five counties across the southeast and eastern parts of the state. About TVCC operates four campuses serving the Texas co ...
.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.205. TRINITY VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
/ref>


See also

* List of museums in North Texas *
National Register of Historic Places listings in Kaufman County, Texas This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Kaufman County, Texas. This is intended to be a complete list of properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Kaufman County, Texas. There are eight prope ...
* Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Kaufman County


References


Further reading

* Butler, Robert Richard ''History of Kaufman County, Texas'' (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, 1940) * Keller, Mabel Covington ''History of Kaufman County, Texas'' (M.A. thesis, North Texas State College, 1950) * Clausen, C. A. ed., ''The Lady with the Pen: Elise Wærenskjold in Texas'' (Northfield, Minnesota: Norwegian-American Historical Association, 1961)


External links


Kaufman County government's website

Kaufman County
at the ''
Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...
Online'' {{authority control Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex 1848 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1848