Newton County

Newton County, Texas

Newton County, Texas

Map showing Newton County. Map Credit: Map showing Newton County, Texas, 1907 postal map, #2090, Courtesy of the Texas General Land Office via TexasEscapes.com.
Newton County, Texas

Newton County, Texas

Map of Newton County, Texas. Map Credit: Robert Plocheck.

Newton County is in southeastern Texas on the Louisiana border. Newton, the geographic center and largest town of the county, is seventy miles northeast of Beaumont at 30°51' north latitude and 93°45' west longitude. Newton County comprises 950 square miles of the lower regions of the East Texas timber belt. Common trees include longleaf and shortleaf pines, oak, magnolia, hickory, and cypress. The rolling terrain, dominated by loamy topsoils, ranges from 30 to 300 feet above sea level. The Sabine River forms the county's eastern boundary. Major tributaries in the county include, from north to south, Little Cow Creek, Quicksand Creek, Big Cow Creek, and Big Cypress Creek. Oil and gas dominate the county's mineral resources. Temperatures range from an average high in July of 93° F to an average January low of 40° F. Rainfall averages just over fifty-four inches annually, the highest for any county in the state. The growing season extends for 228 days per year. Indians were the earliest human inhabitants of Newton County. Artifacts attributed to members of the Caddo confederacies have been located in present-day Newton County. The Atakapans, whose name means "man-eaters" in Choctaw, occupied the coastal regions around the Sabine River and may also have ventured into Newton County. The Coushattas, who migrated to lower East Texas during the early 1800s, also came through the county. In fact, one of the earliest trails through the area was known as the Coushatta Trace. The lands which eventually comprised Newton County were included in Lorenzo de Zavala's 1829 grant from the Mexican government. At least twenty-one settlers received title to land now in the county in 1834 and 1835. Most of the area of present-day Newton County was part of the Municipality of Liberty from 1831 to 1834 and the Municipality of Bevil, which later became Jasper County, from 1834 to 1846. The area north of the Little Cow Creek, which includes one-fifth of the present county, was within the Municipality of San Augustine in 1834–35 and the Municipality of Sabine from 1835 to 1837, before becoming part of Jasper County in 1837. The state legislature marked off Newton County on April 22, 1846, from the eastern half of Jasper County and named it in honor of John Newton, a veteran of the American Revolution. The county's boundaries have remained unchanged since that time save for a small cession along the western border to Jasper in 1852.

The issue of the location of the courthouse dominated Newton County's early history. Electors originally voted to place the seat at the center of the county, and the first commissioners' court meetings convened near Quicksand Creek as a result. However, citizens of Burkeville successfully petitioned the Texas legislature to make their town the county seat in 1848. Voters narrowly approved the new location the following year. In 1853 a dispute concerning land titles, followed by yet another election, resulted in the move of offices to Newton, a newly established community at the geographic center of the county. Burkeville citizens refused to give up the struggle, and an 1855 plebiscite favored Burkeville by a small majority. County officials refused to leave Newton, however, convincing the legislature to recognize that city as the proper seat of government, where it has since remained. By 1860 settlers in Newton County had established a mixed agricultural economy based on corn, potatoes, cattle, hogs, sheep, and horses. Cotton production had jumped from 152 bales in 1850 to 2,091 bales in 1860. Although there were few large planters, the number of slaves was also growing and in 1860 reached 1,103, 34 percent of the county's population. From a very early date Baptist and Methodists dominated the county's religious life.

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Robert Wooster | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Newton County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

10 ft – 568 ft

Size

Land area does not include water surface area, whereas total area does

  • Land Area: 933.7 mi²
  • Total Area: 939.7 mi²

Temperature

January mean minimum: 36.5°F
July mean maximum: 93.1°F

Rainfall, 2019

54.9 inches

Population Count, 2019

13,595

Civilian Labor Count, 2019

4,953

Unemployment, 2019

12.3%

Property Values, 2019

$2,226,290,841 USD

Per-Capita Income, 2019

$33,350 USD

Retail Sales, 2019

$32,958,484 USD

Wages, 2019

$12,113,232 USD

Newton County

Highlighted:
  • Newton County
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Place Type Population (Year/Source) Currently Exists
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Town 20 (2009) Yes
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Town 75 (2009) Yes
Town 450 (2009) Yes
Town 375 (2009) Yes
Town 80 (2009) Yes
Town 90 (2009) Yes
Town 603 (2009) Yes
Town 493 (2009) Yes
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Town 519 (2021) Yes
Town 152 (2009) Yes
Town 183 (2009) Yes
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Town 893 (2009) Yes
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Town 7 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 196 (2009) Yes
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Town 357 (2009) Yes
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Town 128 (2009) Yes
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Town 50 (2009) Yes
Town
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Town 1,991 (2021) Yes
Town
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Town 180 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
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Town
Town
Town 50 (2009) Yes
Town
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Town 218 (2009) Yes
Town
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Town 25 (2011) Yes
Town 35 (2009) Yes
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Town 337 (2021) Yes
Town
Town 20 (2009) Yes
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Lake Yes
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Town 70 (2009) Yes
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Town 350 (2009) Yes
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Town

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