Brownsboro is a city in Henderson 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 1,212 at the 2020 census, up from 1,039 at the 2010 census. The city is on Texas State Highway 31.

History

Brownsboro was first settled in 1849 by John "Red" Brown, who operated a toll bridge across Kickapoo Creek on the road to Jordan's Saline and Tyler. He had received a state issued license to operate a bridge near the town of Old Normandy. By 1860, Henry Cade had erected a sawmill and a

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...

. With the construction of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway through the county in 1880, the town moved to the railroad. The town of Old Normandy was near the site of present-day Brownsboro. It was established in 1845 by Johan Reinert Reiersen of

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Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, who urged Norwegian immigrants to settle in the new community. In the summer of 1847, a number of settlers died and many of the Norwegian immigrants moved to Four Mile Prairie in Van Zandt County and Prairieville in Kaufman County, also established by Reiersen. A Norwegian

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church and cemetery were established in Normandy in 1853, but after that the community merged into the Brownsboro settlement. A nearby Lutheran church served as the chapel for the cemetery until the 1920s.Texas Historical Commission, Historical markers, Texas State Highway 31 in Brownsboro

Geography

Brownsboro is located in northeastern Henderson County. Texas State Highway 31 passes through the city, leading east to Tyler and southwest 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 ...

, the Henderson

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 ...

. 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 ...

, Brownsboro has a total area of , all land. The city is on the south side of the valley of Kickapoo Creek, an eastward-flowing tributary of 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 ...

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,212 people, 506 households, and 421 families residing in the city. 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 2010, there were 1,039 people, 291 households, and 220 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 323 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.73%

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 ...

, 1.38%

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 ...

, 0.50% Native American, 0.88% from other races, and 1.51% 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 5.28% of the population. There were 291 households, out of which 44.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% 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, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.15. In the city, the population was spread out, with 33.0% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,542, and the median income for a family was $29,844. Males had a median income of $25,729 versus $21,125 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 city was $14,851. About 20.8% of families and 22.0% 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 27.5% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The city is served by the Brownsboro Independent School District.

References

External links

City of Brownsboro official website
{{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Henderson County, Texas 1849 establishments in Texas