Nacogdoches County

Nacogdoches County (nak-uh-DO-chis), in the center of the pine belt of East Texas , is bounded on the west and south by the Angelina River and on the east by Attoyac Bayou. It borders on five counties, Shelby and San Augustine on the east, Angelina on the south and west, Cherokee on the west, and Rusk on the north. The county seat and largest town is Nacogdoches, which is 140 miles northeast of Houston and fifty-eight miles southeast of Tyler. Two major highways serve the county, U.S. Highway 59, which traverses the center of the county from the south through Nacogdoches to the northeastern corner, and U.S. Highway 259, which extends from Nacogdoches north toward Longview. Transportation needs are also served by the Southern Pacific Railroad, which follows a roughly crescent-shaped route from the northwestern corner through Nacogdoches and then parallels U.S. 59 to the south. Nacogdoches County comprises 939 square miles of the East Texas timberlands, an area heavily forested with a great variety of softwoods and hardwoods, especially pine, cypress, and oak. The terrain varies from undulating to rolling with elevation ranging from 150 to 600 feet above mean sea level. The contour is generally broken, a wooded area with plateaus and valleys. The soil varies from gray sandy loams to very deep, reddish clayey subsoils. Between 21 and 30 percent of the land in the county is considered prime farmland. A fertile redland belt from four to six miles wide extends across the county from east to west. Most of the county is drained by the Angelina River, but one-third of the eastern portion is drained by Attoyac Bayou. The climate is moist and mild with temperatures that range from an average high of 94° F in July to an average low of 36° in January and an average annual rainfall of forty-five inches. The growing season extends for an annual average of 245 days. Crops include hay and other feeds, vegetables, and fruits. Beef and dairy cattle, poultry, and hogs are raised. The chief natural resource is pine, and lumbering is among the main industries. The first commercial oilfield in the state was located in the county, and shallow wells continue to have small production.

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.