Angelina County, Texas

Angelina County, Texas
The Angelina County Courthouse in Lufkin.
Location in the state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1846
Named for	Named for a Hainai woman who assisted early Spanish missionaries and was named Angelina by them.
Seat	Lufkin
Largest city	Lufkin
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	864 sq mi (2,239 km²) 802 sq mi (2,076 km²) 63 sq mi (163 km²), 7.28%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	86,771 100/sq mi (39/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	http://www.angelinacounty.net/

Soldiers Monument at Angelina County Courthouse

Fountain at Angelina County Courthouse

Among numerous rural churches in Angelina County is the Redtown Missionary Baptist Church (pastor Ross Black, 2010) located near the intersection of Texas Highways 103 and 7.

Angelina County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Angelina County was formed in 1846 from Nacogdoches County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 86,771. Its county seat is Lufkin. Angelina is named for a Hainai Native American woman who assisted early Spanish missionaries and was named Angelina by them. (See List of Texas county name etymologies.) Angelina County is a wet county as of November 2006 wet/dry election. In November 2007 the small community of Burke was the only city in Angelina county to return to dry status.

The Lufkin Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Angelina County.

History

The county's first Anglo settlers were what John Nova Lomax described as "Scotch-Irish backwoods folk." Cotton farmers and slaves did not come to Angelina County because it had poor soil. Lomax added that "Culturally, the county was less moonlight-and-magnolias Dixie than a little pocket of Appalachia, where pioneers, often from similarly hardscrabble areas of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, wanted nothing more than to carve homesteads out of the Piney Woods and river thickets, farm a little, maybe raise a scraggly herd of tough cattle to drive to market in New Orleans." Lomax added that "[t]hey also wanted to brew up a little whiskey and subsist on the bass, catfish and perch they hauled from the Neches and Angelina rivers and whatever they could trap and shoot on dry land."

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 864 square miles (2,237.7 km²), of which 802 square miles (2,077.2 km²) is land and 63 square miles (163.2 km²) (7.28%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 59
• U.S. Highway 69
• State Highway 103
• State Highway 94

Adjacent counties

• Nacogdoches County (north)
• San Augustine County (northeast)
• Jasper County (southeast)
• Tyler County (south)
• Polk County (southwest)
• Trinity County (west)
• Houston County (west)
• Cherokee County (northwest)

National protected area

• Angelina National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	1,165		—
1860	4,271		266.6%
1870	3,985		−6.7%
1880	5,239		31.5%
1890	6,306		20.4%
1900	13,481		113.8%
1910	17,705		31.3%
1920	22,287		25.9%
1930	27,803		24.7%
1940	32,201		15.8%
1950	36,032		11.9%
1960	39,814		10.5%
1970	49,349		23.9%
1980	64,172		30.0%
1990	69,884		8.9%
2000	80,130		14.7%
2010	86,771		8.3%
U.S. Decennial Census Texas Almanac: 1850-2010

As of the census of 2000, there were 80,130 people, 28,685 households, and 21,255 families residing in the county. The population density was 100 people per square mile (39/km²). There were 32,435 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 75.10% White, 14.72% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 7.77% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races. 14.35% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 28,685 households out of which 36.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% were married couples living together, 12.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.90% were non-families. 22.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.70% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,806, and the median income for a family was $39,505. Males had a median income of $30,373 versus $20,221 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,876. About 12.40% of families and 15.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.90% of those under age 18 and 12.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The Angelina County Sheriff's Office is the county law enforcement agency. As of 2011 the Angelina County Narcotics Squad consists of Sergeant Allen Hill and Tom Matthews. The division is funded by goods seized from drug dealers; no tax money funds the division.

Politics

John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press said that the residents of Angelina County "were, and are, a self-sufficient breed, good with their hands, bluntly honest and leery of all central authority." In 1861, Angelina County voted against seceding from the United States. It was the only East Texas county to do so. John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press said "[t]heir electoral peculiarity continued through the 20th Century." Angelina County was the seat of power of Charlie Wilson, a politician labeled the "liberal from Lufkin."

Communities

Cities

• Burke
• Diboll
• Hudson
• Huntington
• Lufkin
• Zavalla

Unincorporated areas

• Alco
• Bald Hill
• Beulah
• Cedar Grove
• Central
• Clawson
• Davisville
• Dolan (unincorporated)
• Dunagan
• Durant
• Ewing
• Herty
• Homer
• Jonesville
• Marion
• Moffitt
• Oak Flat
• Peavy
• Platt
• Pollok
• Prairie Grove
• Redland
• Redtown
• Rocky Springs
• Shady Grove
• Shawnee
• Shawnee Prairie
• Thomas Crossing
• Woodlawn

Crime

In previous eras criminals established moonshine stands. Around the 1970s some criminals established marijuana farms. As of 2011 the main drug dealing activity is the methamphetamine trade. Allen Hill of the Angelina County Narcotics Squad said that the local meth trade is doing more damage to the county than drug couriers passing through the county, crack cocaine, and heroin. According to Hill, many Hispanic drug dealers increasingly sold imported "ice"-style meth made by drug cartels instead of crack cocaine or powdered cocaine, because they make more money selling crack. Hill said that many of the drug dealers claim to be affiliated with Mexican drug cartels or gangs like MS-13.

Education

Angelina College serves Angelina County.

Stephen F. Austin State University is located in nearby Nacogdoches.^{[citation needed]}

The following school districts serve Angelina County:

• Central Independent School District
• Colmesneil Independent School District (partly)
• Diboll Independent School District
• Hudson Independent School District
• Huntington Independent School District
• Lufkin Independent School District
• Wells Independent School District (partly)
• Zavalla Independent School District

Transportation

The TTC-69 component (recommended preferred) of the planned Trans-Texas Corridor goes through Angelina County.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Angelina County, Texas

External links

• Angelina County Government
• Angelina County from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Angelina County, TXGenWeb Focuses on genealogical research in Angelina County.
• Angelina County Texas Almanac Page