San Jacinto County

San Jacinto County is in southeastern Texas on the Trinity River. Shepherd, the largest town, is fifty miles north of Houston on U.S. Highway 59. The county's center is at 30°41' north latitude and 95°00' west longitude. San Jacinto County comprises 628 square miles of the East Texas Timberlands and is heavily wooded with longleaf and loblolly pine, cedar, oak, walnut, hickory, gum, ash, and pecan. Sixty percent of the county is in the Sam Houston National Forest. Gently rolling hills characterize the area, and the soils are reddish with a loamy surface and mostly clayey subsoils that are high in iron. Along the Trinity River, there are dark loamy to cracking clayey subsoils. Between 20 and 30 percent of the land is considered prime farmland. The Trinity River serves as the eastern boundary of the county. The San Jacinto River, Big Creek, Winter Bayou, and Stephen Creek also flow through the county, and Peach Creek flows along the southwestern boundary. The elevation ranges from 374 to 386 feet. Average annual precipitation is forty-eight inches, and the temperature ranges from an average low of 36° F in January to an average high of 94° in July. The average growing season extends 261 days.

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.