Hopkins County

Hopkins County, in northeast Texas, is bordered on the north by the South Sulphur River. The county seat, Sulphur Springs, is on Interstate Highway 30, eighty-two miles northeast of Dallas. The approximate center of the county is at 33°10' north latitude, 95°40' west longitude. Hopkins County has an area of 789 square miles, divided between Blackland Prairie in its northern half and southwestern quarter and the claypan of the post oak belt in its southeastern quarter. The Blackland Prairie consists primarily of deep, loamy, moderately well-drained soils. There is little timber, except along the streams, where hardwoods are found. The soils of the claypan area differ mainly in their greater ability to absorb and release moisture. In this area of the county numerous hardwoods, as well as evergreens and pines, grow profusely. The terrain of Hopkins County is level to rolling, and its elevations range from 350 to 650 feet above mean sea level. The higher elevations form a divide east-to-west along what is roughly the center of the county. North of the divide the small streams flow north, and south of the divide, south. The county's major interior stream, White Oak Creek, traverses the east-west center of the county, heading slightly to the northeast. The major lakes-Sulphur Springs (which covers about 1,134 acres), Century (613 acres), and Coleman (49 acres)-are man-made impoundments. The county has deposits of oil, gas, glauconite, phosphorite, lignite, industrial sand, and clay used to produce firebrick. The climate is humid and subtropical, with an average rainfall of 45 inches a year. Temperatures range from an average low of 32° F in January to an average high of 95° F in August. The growing season averages 238 days a year.

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