Van Zandt County Library in Canton, TX IMG 5617

Van Zandt County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the U.S. state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, in the northeastern part of the state. As of the 2020 census, its population was 59,541. 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 ...

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

. The county is named for

Isaac Van Zandt Isaac Van Zandt (July 10, 1813 – October 11, 1847) was a political leader in the Republic of Texas. Van Zandt County, Texas, was named in his honor. Early life Van Zandt was born on July 10, 1813 in Franklin County, Tennessee to Jacob and ...

(1813–1847), a member of the Congress of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Me ...

History

Van Zandt County is commonly known as the Free State of Van Zandt. The title was particularly prevalent through the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

, but is still in use today. Many versions of the county's history may account for this moniker, and historians, even within the county and throughout its existence, do not agree how exactly it became known as the Free State. One story of how the Free State of Van Zandt came to be originates with the county's formation. In 1848, Henderson County was split into three counties:

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, Texas, ...

, Van Zandt, and what remained as Henderson County.Elvis Allen, "Building A County: One Hundred Fifty Years of Van Zandt County"(http://vanzandttx.org/History.htm), updated April 22, 2009, accessed May 25, 2015 Henderson County had been deeply in debt, yet the new Van Zandt County was founded without any obligations.Gerald F. Kozlowski, "FREE STATE OF VAN ZANDT," Handbook of Texas Online (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/pdf01), accessed May 21, 2015. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. Many believed that this was a mistake on the state's part,William Samuel Mills, "History of Van Zandt County", Canton, Texas, 1950 and bitter citizens and politicians from Henderson County referred to the new county as the Free State. Van Zandt County tried on two distinct occasions to separate itself from Texas. The first was in 1861 when Texas seceded from the United States. About 350 citizens of Van Zandt County met to protest the secession. The practice of slavery was infrequent in the county. Slave owners, worried about losing their slaves in the Civil War, refused to bring their slaves to Van Zandt, because slavery was so uncommon there. The majority of Van Zandt wanted to stay with the Union, and reasoned that if Texas could secede from the United States, they could secede from Texas, and began organizing a government until they were threatened with military intervention.Canton Texas, History (http://www.cantontx.gov/about/history ), 2010, accessed May 25, 2015 Although the secession was unsuccessful, the title of "Free State" stuck. After Texas re-entered the Union after the Civil War, Van Zandt County again tried to secede from Texas, the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

, and the United States. A convention was held in 1867 in which the citizens elected delegates, and the delegates voted for secession, and penned a Declaration of Independence modeled after the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ( ...

.Thomas Ayres, "That's Not in My American History Book: A Compilation of Little-known Events and Forgotten Heroes", Taylor Trade Publishing, 2000, pg 40-42 The event was seen as a rebellion by the nation, and when word reached General Sheridan, he dispatched a cavalry unit to quell it. The citizens of Van Zandt called an emergency meeting that ended with the delegates declaring war on the United States. The wooded landscape at the time made moving difficult for horses, so the citizens of Van Zandt, familiar with the area, were able to ambush the unit, until they retreated. The citizens, elated with their victory, celebrated with an excess of alcohol. During their celebration, they were surrounded by Sheridan's troops, and were put in anklets and in a rough prison of wooden posts. Two ex-Confederate soldiers, W.A. Allen and Hardy Allen, were in the group, and W.A. Allen used a hidden knife to wear down the anklets. A combination of the beginning of the rainy season and a decreasing of the guard to one man allowed the prisoners to easily escape. After that, not much action on the part of Van Zandt or the United States was taken in the issue. Arrest warrants were sent, but none was carried out, and none of the prisoners went to trial.

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 (2.0%) are covered by water. Van Zandt County is unique in topography. The western and northwestern parts of the county are in the eastern edge of the Texas Blackland Prairies, the central part of the county is located in the post oak belt of Northeast Texas, and the eastern part of the county stretches into the

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that comprises most of 41 counties. It is primarily divided into Northeast and Southeast Texas. Most of the region co ...

Piney Woods. Two major rivers, the Neches and the Sabine, flow through Van Zandt County. Van Zandt County is referred to as the "Gateway to East Texas" due to its diverse topography.

Major highways

Interstate 20 * US 80

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 ...

State Highway 19 * Texas 64

State Highway 64 * Texas 110

State Highway 110 * Texas 198

State Highway 198

Adjacent counties

* Rains County (north) * Wood County (northeast) * Smith County (east) * Henderson County (south) * Kaufman County (west) *

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 ...

(northwest)

Communities

Cities

(county seat) * Edgewood * Grand Saline *

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

* Wills Point

Towns

* Edom * Fruitvale

Census-designated places

* Ben Wheeler * Callender Lake * Myrtle Springs

Other unincorporated communities

* Alsa * Colfax * Martin's Mill * Midway *

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

* Phalba * Primrose * Silver Lake *

Tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...

Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada * Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdo ...

* Wentworth * Wise

Ghost towns

Cana Cana of Galilee ( grc, Κανὰ τῆς Γαλιλαίας; ar, قانا الجليل , translit= Qana al-Jalil , lit=Qana of the Galilee) is the location of the Marriage at Cana, at which the miracle of turning water into wine took place in ...

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People * Clifton (surname) * Clifton (given name) Places Australia *Clifton, Queensland, a town ** Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong * Clifton, Western Australia Canada * Clifton, Nova Sc ...

* Clower *

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...

* Denman Crossroads * Elwood * Four Mile Prairie * Holly Springs *

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

* Jones * Lawrence Springs *

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

* Odom * Owlet Green * Pruitt * Redland *

Roddy Roddy is a surname and a masculine given name, often a short form of Roderick. People Given name * Roddy Beaubois (born 1988), French basketball player * Roddy Blackjack (c. 1927-2013), Canadian Chief of the Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nat ...

* Sand Flat *

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sask ...

Small Small may refer to: Science and technology * SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language * Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back * ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication * <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text ...

Wallace Wallace may refer to: People * Clan Wallace in Scotland * Wallace (given name) * Wallace (surname) * Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back * Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...

* Watkins * Whitton

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.'' As of 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 inc ...

of 2000, 48,140 people, 18,195 households, and 13,664 families resided 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 RosenberPopu ...

was 57 people per square mile (22/km²). The 20,896 housing units averaged 25 per square mile (10/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 91.96% White, 2.94% African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 2.74% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. About 6.65% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 18,195 households, 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.60% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.90% were not families. Around 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.01. In the county, the population was distributed as 25.50% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 25.20% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 17.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,029, and for a family was $41,175. Males had a median income of $31,887 versus $21,344 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $16,930. About 10.30% of families and 13.30% 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 15.90% of those under age 18 and 12.10% of those age 65 or over.

Media

The only radio station licensed to Van Zandt County is KWJB broadcasting on 1510 AM and 95.1 FM. Van Zandt County receives outlying signals on the outer signal edges of

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

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. Accord ...

DMA. Local media outlets are: KDFW-TV,

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 by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongs ...

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,

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). Bo ...

KDFI-TV KDFI (channel 27), branded on-air as Fox 4 More or More 27, is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, broadcasting MyNetworkTV to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations along ...

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 nearb ...

, and

KFWD-TV KFWD, virtual channel 52 (VHF digital channel 9), is a ShopHQ- affiliated television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States and serving the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. The station is owned by Rye Brook, New York-based WRNN-T ...

. Other nearby stations that provide coverage for Van Zandt 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) ...

KCEB-TV KCEB (channel 54) is a television station in Longview, Texas, United States. It is broadcasting public domain movies, interspersed with Infomercials, and is owned by Innovate Corp. alongside Tyler-licensed low-power station KPKN-LD, both of ...

, 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 ...

Newspapers and publications

* ''Canton Herald'' * ''Van Banner'' * ''Wills Point Chronicle'' * ''Canton Guide'' * ''Van Zandt County News'' * ''East Texas Homes and Farms'' * ''Grand Saline Sun''

Government and politics

County commissioners

County officials

Transportation

Airports

* Van Zandt County Regional Airport (Wills Point) * Canton-Hackney Airport (Canton)

References

Sources

* Clausen, C. A. ed., ''The Lady with the Pen: Elise Wærenskjold in Texas'' (Northfield, Minnesota: Norwegian-American Historical Association, 1961) * Hall, Margaret Elizabeth ''A History of Van Zandt County'' (Austin, Texas: Jenkins, 1976)

External links

Van Zandt County government's website

KWJB RADIO the only broadcasting station in Van Zandt County

Van Zandt County News
* {{coord, 32.56, -95.84, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1848 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1848