HARRISON County, TX

Harrison County is a county on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 68,839. The county seat is Marshall. The county was created in 1839 and organized in 1842. It is named for Jonas Harrison, a lawyer and Texas revolutionary.

Harrison County comprises the Marshall micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Longview-Marshall combined statistical area. It is located in the Ark-La-Tex region.

The county is represented in the Texas House of Representatives by Republican Chris Paddie, a former mayor of Marshall.

History

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Early history

Settlement by immigrants from the United States (US) began during the 1830s in the territory of present-day Harrison County. In 1835, the Mexican authorities granted a dozen land grants to U.S. immigrants. After the Texas Revolution, the Congress of the Texas Republic established Harrison County in 1839, formed from Shelby County. Harrison County was named for Texas revolutionary Jonas Harrison. The county was organized in 1842.

The county's area was reduced in 1846, as territory was taken to establish Panola and Upshur counties. Marshall was founded in 1841, and was designated as the county seat in 1842.

The area was settled predominately by planters from the Southern United States, who developed this area for cotton plantations and brought enslaved African Americans with them for labor, or purchased them at regional markets. The planters repeated much of their culture and society here. East Texas was the location of most of the cotton plantations in the state and, correspondingly, of most of the enslaved African Americans. Most of the fourteen black-majority, plantation counties were located here. By 1850, landowners in Harrison County held more slaves than in any other county in Texas until the end of the Civil War. The census of 1860 counted 8,746 slaves in Harrison County, 59% of the county's total population.

In 1861, the county's voters (who were exclusively white males and mostly upper class) overwhelmingly supported secession from the United States.

Reconstruction era to present

Following defeat at the end of the American Civil War, the county was part of an area occupied by Federal troops under Reconstruction. The white minority in the county bitterly resented federal authority and the constitutional amendment granting the franchise to freedmen. A majority in the county, they elected a bi-racial county government dominated by Republican Party officeholders. Republican dominance in local offices continued in the county until 1880, but the conservative whites of the Democratic Party regained control of the state government before the official end of Reconstruction. In 1880, the Citizen's Party of Harrison County, amid charges of fraud and coercion, gained control of elected positions in the county government after winning on a technicality, which involved hiding a key ballot box. They retained such control of the county into the 1950s, aided by the state's disenfranchisement of blacks at the turn of the century by a variety of laws, including those to permit white primaries.

In the 1870s the county's non-agricultural sector increased when the Texas and Pacific Railway located its headquarters and shops in Marshall. It stimulated other industry and manufacturing in the county, and also aided the transportation to market of the important cotton commodity crop.

But from 1880 to 1930, Harrison County remained primarily agricultural and rural. It had a 60 percent black majority through 1930. During this period, most of the African Americans worked as tenant farmers and sharecroppers. White violence against blacks rose during this period, as the minority struggled to maintain social dominance and white supremacy.

in 1870, this was the period of the most lynchings of African Americans throughout the South. Harrison County had a total of 14 such lynchings. Most were committed in the early 20th century, particularly in the 1910s when the county suffered economic hard times. Whites "did not lynch in lieu of ineffective courts, but instead demonstrated to the black majority that legal protection and rights were inaccessible to blacks". Blacks accused of violence against law enforcement or who were from outside the county were particularly at risk.

The Texas legislature disenfranchised most blacks in 1901 by requiring poll taxes and authorizing white primaries (after various iterations, the latter were overturned by a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1944). This disenfranchisement extended into the late 1960s, until after national civil rights legislation was passed to enforce these citizens' civil rights.

In 1928, oil was discovered in the county. Its exploitation and processing made a significant contribution to the economy.

The Great Depression of the 1930s hit the county hard, decimating the agricultural sector. World War II brought an end to the depression. As the defense industry built up in major cities and on the West Coast, from 1940 to 1970, a total of more than 4.5 million blacks migrated from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and other southern states. They moved to the West Coast in the second wave of the Great Migration, attracted to new jobs in the expanding defense industry.

The population of the county declined until 1980, when the trend reversed. White migration from other areas has resulted in a majority-white population. In the realignment of parties in the South since the late 20th century, white conservative voters in Texas have become overwhelmingly affiliated with the Republican Party.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.7%) is water. The northern and eastern parts of the county are drained to the Red River in Louisiana by Little Cypress Creek, Cypress Bayou, and Caddo Lake. The other third of the county is drained by the Sabine River, which forms a part of its southern boundary. These waterways were critical to early transportation in the county.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

The TTC-69 component (recommended preferred) of the once-planned Trans-Texas Corridor went through Harrison County.

National protected area

Demographics

2020 census

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2000-2010

As of the census of 2000, there were 62,110 people, 23,087 households, and 16,945 families residing in the county. The population density was 69 people per square mile (27/km²). There were 26,271 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile (11/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.35% White, 24.03% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.86% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. 5.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 23,087 households, out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.00% were married couples living together, 13.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.60% were non-families. 23.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.80% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 27.10% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,520, and the median income for a family was $41,112. Males had a median income of $32,451 versus $20,913 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,702. 16.70% of the population and 12.90% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 21.80% of those under the age of 18 and 14.60% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

The largest ancestry groups in Harrison County as of 2010 are: English (41%), Black or African American (24%), Irish (8%), German (3%), Scotch-Irish (3%), Scottish (2%), Dutch (1%), Italian (1%), French or French Canadian (except Basque) (1%), Mexican (1%), and Polish (1%).

2018

As of July 2018's estimates by the United States Census Bureau, Harrison County had a population of 66,726. There were 28,726 households and 23,217 families residing in the county. The racial makeup of Harrison County was 63.2% non-Hispanic white, 21.1% Black or African American, 1.2% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latin Americans of any race made up 13.6% of the populace.

25.3% of the county was under the age of 18 and 16.1% were aged 65 and older. 51.1% of the county was female. Approximately 6.5% of Harrison County were foreign-born persons.

The median household income was $51,202 and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line. The median gross rent in the county was $779 from 2014 to 2018, and the median house monthly owner costs without mortgage were $403. The median with a mortgage was $1,266.

84.9% of Harrison County were high school graduates and 19.1% had a bachelor's degree or higher.

Education

The following school districts serve Harrison County:

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Politics