Kaufman County, Texas

Kaufman County, Texas
Kaufman County is a county in the northeastern area of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 145,310. Its county seat is Kaufman. Both the county, established in 1848, and the city were named for David S. Kaufman, a U.S. Representative and diplomat from Texas. Kaufman County is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan statistical area.
Western artist Frank Reaugh moved from Illinois 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 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
U.S. Highway 80
U.S. Highway 175
State Highway 34
State Highway 205
State Highway 243
State Highway 274
Spur 557
Adjacent counties
Hunt County (north)
Van Zandt County (east)
Henderson County (south)
Ellis County (southwest)
Dallas County (west)
Rockwall County (northwest)
Communities
Cities (multiple counties)
Combine (partly in Dallas County)
Dallas (mostly in Dallas County with small parts in Collin, Denton, Rockwall and Kaufman counties)
Heath (mostly in Rockwall County)
Mesquite (mostly in Dallas County)
Poetry (partly in Hunt County)
Seagoville (mostly in Dallas County)
Seven Points (mostly in Henderson County)
Cities
Cottonwood
Crandall
Forney
Kaufman (county seat)
Kemp
Terrell
Towns
Mabank (partly in Henderson County)
Oak Grove
Oak Ridge
Post Oak Bend City
Scurry
Talty
Villages
Grays Prairie
Rosser
Census-designated places
Elmo
Heartland
Travis Ranch
Unincorporated communities
Ables Springs
Abner
Cobb
College Mound
Colquitt
Gastonia
Hiram
Lawrence
Markout
McCoy
Ola
Prairieville
Styx
Tolosa
Warsaw
Ghost towns
Cedar Grove
Cedarvale
Jiba
Peeltown
Stubbs
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 of 2000, 71,313 people, 24,367 households, and 19,225 families were residing in the county. The population density was . Its 26,133 housing units averaged . 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, KXAS-TV, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV, KTXA-TV, KDFI-TV, KDAF-TV, KFWD-TV, and KDTX-TV. Other nearby stations that provide coverage for Kaufman County come from the Tyler/Longview/Jacksonville market and they include KLTV, KYTX-TV, KFXK-TV, and KETK-TV.
Kaufman County is served by three newspapers, the Terrell Tribune, the Kaufman Herald, and the Forney Messenger. Forney, Texas, 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 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, for law-enforcement duties.
Kaufman County murders
In December 2012, Texas officials issued a statewide bulletin warning that the Aryan Brotherhood 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 Mike McLelland, along with his wife, were found shot and killed in their home. On April 13, 2013, ex-justice of the peace 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 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's two Republican opponents managed a majority despite winning the county due to Ross Perot's strong third-party candidacy.
Education
School districts in the county include:
Crandall Independent School District
Forney Independent School District
Kaufman Independent School District
Kemp Independent School District
Mabank Independent School District
Quinlan Independent School District
Rockwall Independent School District
Scurry-Rosser Independent School District
Terrell Independent School District
Wills Point Independent School District
It is in the service area for Trinity Valley Community College.
See also
List of museums in North Texas
National Register of Historic Places listings in Kaufman County, Texas
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 Online
Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
1848 establishments in Texas
Populated places established in 1848