Panola County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 22,491, with its

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 ...

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

. Located in East Texas and originally developed for cotton plantations, the county's name is derived from a

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

word for

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

. Until 2013, Panola County was one of about 30 entirely dry counties in Texas: the sale of alcohol was restricted or prohibited.

History

Jonathon Anderson, a migrant from the United States and founder of Panola County, donated nearly 100 acres of land in the 1800s to get the county started. Panola County was formed in 1846 from sections of Harrison and Shelby counties. Developed for cotton plantations, it was named after a Choctaw/

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...

word for cotton. In the antebellum years, planters used enslaved African Americans as workers on their large plantations. After the Civil War, freedmen worked largely as tenant farmers and sharecroppers in this area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (2.4%) are covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 59 ** Interstate 369 is currently under construction and will follow the current route of U.S. 59 in most places. * U.S. Highway 79 * State Highway 43 * State Highway 149 * State Highway 315 * Farm to Market Road 10 * Farm to Market Road 31 * Farm to Market Road 124 * Farm to Market Road 1970 The TTC-69 component (recommended preferred) of the once-planned Trans-Texas Corridor went through Panola County.

Adjacent counties and parishes

* Harrison County (north) *

Caddo Parish, Louisiana Caddo Parish () () is a Parish (administrative division), parish located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the parish had a population of 237,848. The paris ...

(northeast) *

De Soto Parish, Louisiana DeSoto Parish (; French: ''Paroisse DeSoto'') is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1843. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 26,812. Its parish seat and most populous municipality is Mansfiel ...

(east) * Shelby County (south) * Rusk County (west)

Communities

Cities

* Beckville *

(county seat) * Tatum (mostly in Rusk County)

Town

* Gary City

Unincorporated communities

* Grand Bluff *

Bethany Bethany (,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac language, Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā''), locally called in Palestinian Arabic, Arabic Al-Eizariya or al-Aizariya (, "Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba,

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

of Lazarus (name), L ...

(partly in Caddo Parish, LA) * Clayton *

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

* Deadwood * DeBerry *

Galloway Galloway ( ; ; ) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the counties of Scotland, historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council areas of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Gallow ...

* Long Branch * Midyett * Murvaul * Panola * Riderville * Old Center

Ghost towns

* Center Point * Freeman, Texas * Grand Bluff * Mineral Springs * Pulaski

Demographics

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, 22,756 people, 8,821 households, and 6,395 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . The 10,524 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 78.78% White, 17.67% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 1.87% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. About 3.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 8,821 households, 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% 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, 11.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.50% were not families; 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the population was distributed as 25.20% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 25.10% from 25 to 44, 24.60% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,909, and for a family was $37,595. Males had a median income of $31,333 versus $19,017 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 county was $15,439. About 11.60% of families and 14.10% 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 16.50% of those under age 18 and 16.10% of those age 65 or over.

Education

These school districts serve Panola County: * Beckville ISD * Carthage ISD * Elysian Fields ISD (mostly in Harrison County) * Gary ISD * Joaquin ISD (mostly in Shelby County) * Tatum ISD (mostly in Rusk County) * Tenaha ISD (mostly in Shelby County) Panola College, a

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

, has operated in Carthage since 1947. All of Panola County is in the service area of Panola College.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.194. PANOLA COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
See also "Sec. 130.184. KILGORE JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA" which states that the Panola County part of Tatum ISD is not in the Kilgore Junior College district.

Notable residents

* Tex Ritter, country music singer, born in Murvaul * Jim Reeves, country music singer, born in

Points of Interest

* Texas Country Music Hall of Fame and Tex Ritter Museum is located in

Politics

References

External links

Panola County government’s website
*
Dry counties in Texas
from the TABC {{Coord, 32.16, -94.31, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1846 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1846