Smith County, Texas

Smith County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 209,714. Its county seat is Tyler. Smith County is named for James Smith, a general during the Texas Revolution.

Smith County is part of the Tyler metropolitan statistical area as well as the Tyler–Jacksonville combined statistical area.

History 

For thousands of years, indigenous peoples occupied this area of present-day Texas. The first known inhabitants of the area now known as Smith County were the Caddo Indians, who were recorded here until 1819. That year a band of Cherokee Indians, led by The Bowl (also known as Chief Bowels), migrated from Georgia and settled in what are now Smith and Rusk counties. The Treaty of Bowles Village on February 23, 1836, between the Republic of Texas and the Cherokee and twelve affiliated tribes, gave all of Smith and Cherokees counties as well as parts of western Rusk County, southern Gregg (formed from Rusk County in 1873) along with southeastern Van Zandt counties to the tribes. The Native Americans remained on these lands until the Cherokee War in the summer of 1839, as part of conflicts with Native Americans in Texas. The Cherokee were driven out of Smith County, as others of their kin were forced from the Southeast United States during Indian Removal.

After 1845 some Cherokee returned when Benjamin Franklin Thompson, a white man married to a Cherokee, purchased  10,000 aces of land in Rusk County. The Mount Tabor Indian Community developed here, some six miles south of present-day Kilgore. The Community later grew and incorporated areas near Overton, Arp and Troup, Texas.

In July 1846 Smith County separated from the Nacogdoches District and was named for James Smith, a General of the Texas Revolution. At this time Tyler was designated as the county seat.

Camp Ford was the largest Confederate prisoner-of-war camp west of the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. Here Sheriff Jim Reed of Collin County and Judge McReynolds, former chief justice of the district, were seized and lynched by "Regulators." The original site of the Camp stockade is now a public historic park, owned by Smith County, and managed by the Smith County Historical Society. The park contains a kiosk, paved trail, interpretive signage, a cabin reconstruction, and a picnic area. It is located on Highway 271, 0.8 miles north of Loop 323.

20th century to present
The Smith County Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was founded in 1959 by individuals and business firms dedicated to discovering, collecting and preserving data, records and other items relating to the history of Smith County, Texas. More information can be found at the Smith County Historical Society Website.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which  is land and  (3.0%) is water.

The county infrastructure includes some  of two lane county road.

Major highways

 Interstate 20
 U.S. Highway 69
 U.S. Highway 80
 U.S. Highway 271
 State Highway 31
 State Highway 57
 State Highway 64
 State Highway 110
 State Highway 135
 State Highway 155
 Loop 49
 Loop 323

Adjacent counties
Wood County (north)
Upshur County (northeast)
Gregg County (east)
Rusk County (southeast)
Cherokee County (south)
Henderson County (southwest)
Van Zandt County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 209,714 people and 76,427 households residing in the county. The population density was 227.6 people per square mile (73/km²). There were 87,309 housing units. The racial makeup of the county was 70.1% White, 17.9% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% Asian, and 2.0% persons reporting two or more races. 17.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 76,427 households, out of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of a householder living alone. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.13.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,139. The per capita income for the county was $25,374. About 15.4% of families and 13.80% of the population were below the poverty line.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.60% under the age of 18, 9.80% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.90 males.

Politics
Conservative whites in Smith County began to ally with the Republican Party in 1964, making it one of three East Texas counties, along with Panola and Gregg, to vote for Barry Goldwater in 1964, when native son Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson won re-election. At that time most blacks and Latinos in the county were still disenfranchised due to the state's discriminatory use of certain barriers. The last Democrat to carry Smith County was incumbent President Harry S. Truman in 1948. No Democrat has gained 30 percent of the county’s vote in the past five elections. The last Democrat to gain more than 40 percent was Jimmy Carter from Georgia in 1976.

Smith County is represented in the Texas House of Representatives by Matt Schaefer (R) of Tyler and the Texas Senate by Senator Bryan Hughes (politician) (R). Its U.S. representative is Louie Gohmert (R).

Government and infrastructure
The county is governed by a Commissioners Court, made up of four members elected from single-member districts and a County Judge elected at-large. 

Smith County ranks 10th in the State of Texas for road miles. The county has 1,170 miles – about the distance from Tyler, Texas to Paradise, Nevada -- of roads it maintains. The Smith County Road & Bridge Department maintains the county’s bridges and roads, including mowing the rights of way.

The $39.5 million Smith County Road Bond passed with 73 percent of the vote on November 7, 2017. The issuance of bonds are for road and bridge construction and major improvements. Road work around the county is well underway. For a list of road projects in the two-phase, six-year bond program, visit www.smith-county.com.

Officials
A total of twenty-eight elected officials serve Smith County citizens (County Auditor is not an elected position):

Education
The following school districts serve school-age children in Smith County:
Arp Independent School District
Bullard Independent School District (also partially in Cherokee County)
Chapel Hill Independent School District
Gladewater Independent School District (also partially in Gregg County and Upshur County)
Lindale Independent School District (also partially in Van Zandt County)
Troup Independent School District (also partially in Cherokee County)
Tyler Independent School District
Van Independent School District (also partially in Van Zandt County)
Whitehouse Independent School District
Winona Independent School District

Those wishing to attend institutions of higher learning in the area can attend:
Tyler Junior College
Texas College
University of Texas at Tyler
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler

Media
Smith County is part of the Tyler/Longview/Jacksonville DMA. Local media outlets are:  KLTV, KTRE-TV, KYTX-TV, KFXK-TV, KCEB-TV, and KETK-TV.

KTBB, an AM radio station based in Tyler, provides a news-talk format to the area.

The daily Tyler Morning Telegraph is the primary newspaper in the county, based in Tyler.  Coverage of the area can also be found in the Longview News-Journal, published in Longview, in Gregg County.

Communities

Cities

Arp
Hideaway
Lindale
New Chapel Hill
Noonday
Overton (mostly in Rusk County)
Troup (small part in Cherokee County)
Tyler (county seat)
Whitehouse

Towns
Bullard (small part in Cherokee County)
Winona

Census-designated place
Emerald Bay

Unincorporated communities

Antioch
Bascom
Blackjack
Bostick
Browning
Carroll
Chapel Hill
Copeland
Dogwood City
Elberta
Flint
Garden Valley
Gresham
Jamestown
Lee Spring
Midway
Mount Sylvan
New Harmony
New Hope
Omen
Owentown
Pine Springs
Pine Trail Estates
Red Springs
Salem
Sand Flat
Shady Grove
Sinclair City
Starrville
Swan
Teaselville
Thedford
Walnut Grove
Waters Bluff
Wood Springs
Wright City

Ghost towns
Burning Bush
Douglas
Utica

See also

Caldwell Zoo
Carnegie History Center
Cotton Belt Depot Train Museum
Goodman-LeGrand House
List of museums in East Texas
National Register of Historic Places listings in Smith County, Texas
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Smith County
Texas Rose Festival
Tyler Museum of Art
Whitaker-McClendon House
Mount Tabor Indian Community

References

External links
Smith County official website
Smith County Historical Society

 
Category:1846 establishments in Texas
Category:Populated places established in 1846