Sabine County, Texas

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History/Timeline

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• Sabine County was one of the original 23 Texas counties formed by the Republic of Texas in 1836 and organized in 1837 Its name means cypress in Spanish. ^[1] It is bound by and named for the Sabine River, which separates the state from Louisiana. ^[2]

1540s First Europeans in the area were members of the Moscoso expedition. ^[3]

Pre 1700 Originally, the Ais tribe of the Caddo Indians lived in the area. ^[2]

1700s Louis Juchereau de St. Denis led 3 expeditions into Texas, one of which took him through N Sabine Co., along the Old San Antonio Road. ^[3]

1794 -largest land grant to Juan Ignacio Pifermo encompassed 17,713 acres near the site of Geneva.

1790s Jack Cedars, first Anglo settler on part of the Pifermo grant. Concha is thought to have lived along Palo Gaucho Bayou, and Watman settled on Patroon Bayou. ^[3]

pre 1796 A ferry across the Sabine River was established in the N part of Sabine County. This ferry is thought to have been called El Paso de Chalan until 1796, when Michael Crow established Crow's Ferry. ^[4]

1812 Ferry across Sabine River was purchased by James Gaines and renamed Gaines Ferry. Gaines ferry helped communities begin in the region as the Ferry shuttled horses, wagons and settlers across the river near Pendleton.^[4]

1824 Gaines served as alcalde of the Sabine District of the Municipality of Nacogdoches. Other settlers at this time included Donald McDonald, James Hines, Isaac Lindsey, and Elbert Hines, who was alcalde of the Sabine District in 1826.^[4]

1825 Mexican government had established the district of Sabine, which became an entry point for U.S. Settlers immigrating into Texas, including Stephen F. Austin. ^[2]

Milam, and beginning of Old San Antonio Road (El Camino Real).

'1828 Milam was formed in the northern part of the future Sabine County. Lorenzo de Zavala was given a settlement land grant. A section of his grant was in an area forbidden to foreign settlers, they did not receive title to their land until 1835. Population of the Municipality of Sabine was 1,240. Today, at the same site, a modern three-mile bridge stretches across Toledo Bend Reservoir. ^[3][4]

1832-35 The area was part of the Municipality of Nacogdoches. It belonged to the Municipality of San Augustine, when it became the Municipality of Sabine. Benjamin Holt, Jesse Parker, and Absalom Hier served as delegates from the Sabine District to the Convention of 1832 in San Felipe de Austin. ^[3]

1835 Sabine county became a port of entry for new settlers arriving from the United States. After the victory at the battle of San Jacinto in 1836, the government of the Republic of Texas began to organize.^[4]

1836 - Mathew Caldwell and William Clark, Jr., served as delegates to the Convention of 1836 and were signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. ^[3]

1836 Mid-March During the Runaway Scrape Texans fled to Louisiana across Gaines Ferry. Benjamin F. Bryant, responding to Sam Houston's call for troops, organized the volunteer Sabine Company, which served at the battle of San Jacinto.^[3]

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Dec 14, 1837 Republic of Texas defined the boundaries of Sabine County and defined its boundaries, Sabine County boundaries have remained unchanged since its creation; known as the Municipality of Sabine, it included parts of present-day San Augustine, Jasper and Newton Counties. County Seat was Milam, later Hemphill, in honor of John Hemphill, a Texas Supreme Court Justice, and United States Senator.^[4][3]

1840s Sabine County, Texas was located near the controversial Neutral Ground. The Sabine River was determined as boundary.^[5][https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jcf01 http://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=ethj

1850 Settlers requested a centrally located county seat on the grounds that Milam was over five miles from geographic center of the county. Hemphill was established.^[3][2]

1854 Public schools were established. Milam Masonic Institute opened, closed 1859. ^[3]

August 1858 an election was held, and 160 out of 260 votes were cast to relocate. Election was invalidated because there was not an official survey to prove Milam was outside the five-mile limit for a county Seat. ^[3]

1858 Sabine Baptist College opened in Milam, closed during the war, reopened in 1868, closed permanently in 1870. ^[3]

Nov 11, 1858 a survey found Milam to be six 6 3/4 miles from center of county, another election was held, and a majority again voted for relocation.The new town was named Hemphill, in honor of John Hemphill, a former Texas Supreme Court justice, who at the time was serving as a United States senator.

1862-65 Civil War --cattle were driven along the Confederate supply trail ( the same trail cattle were driven to Natchez, Mississippi. The war's had a drastic toll on the civilian population resulting in assistance by the Confederate government to families of those serving in the army.. The toll on the civilian population resulted in assistance by the Confederate government to families of those serving in the army.^[3]

Feb 1864 Chief Justice Whittelsey compiled a list of 334 people eligible for relief, needing assistance from the Confederate government.. ^[3]

Slavery Slavery movement

1876 Educational efforts in Sabine County began shortly before the Civil War. Sabine Valley University was established in Hemphill, sponsored by Mount Zion Baptist and Bethlehem Baptist associations. ^[3]

1880 Timber harvesting and production has been the primary industry in heavily-forested Sabine County. At that time, logs were floated down the Sabine River to large saw mills in Orange County. ^[2]

1883 newspaper, Sabine County Reporter began publication in Hemphill, merged with the San Augustine Rambler as the Sabine County Reporter and the Rambler. ^[3]

1890 there were 51 rural community schools in the county.^[3]

1900s Hemphill Reporter, the Hemphill Sabine County Reporter, Sabine County Citizen began.

1900 There were 25 white students' community schools and 5 African American students' community schools. The independent school district established at Geneva, was discontinued in 1942. The Bronson and Pineland school districts, established in the early 1900s, were consolidated into the West Sabine Independent School District in 1961. Hemphill Independent School District was established in 1918 and remained in operation in the 1990s.^[3]

1903 The railroads arrived: the Gulf, Beaumont & Great Northern Railroad Company operated a railway segment in Sabine County. ^[2][3]

1904 The old Sabine County Jail, built was used until 1982. It is one of two jails in Texas that had a hanging rope. The old jail is now a museum and library. On the corner of the Sabine County Courthouse square domino players regularly gather beneath an ancient cedar tree.^[4]

1907 Bronson State Bank was established, merged with Peoples State Bank of Bronson in 1921.

1910-1930 The population steadily increased until the Great Depression, which had a long-lasting effect on the area. ^[2]

1911 Telephone service from the Sabine Valley Telephone Company was available between Bronson and Hemphill.^[3]

1916 Lufkin, Hemphill and Gulf Railway reached Hemphill then was abandoned in 1938.

1920 The county had eighteen manufacturing establishments.^[3]

1930s two Civilian Conservation Corps camps, Pineland and Milam, helped the Texas Forest Service build fire watchtowers and roads and assisted in the planting of pine seedlings in Sabine National Forest and construct Red Hills Recreation Area. Another New Deal project, the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, was established in Hemphill to implement crop and livestock programs to help reduce excess production.^[3]

1931- This bank was closed due to insolvency, as well as Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Hemphill later became First National Bank.. ^[3]

1931- 1944 Sabine County was without a local bank until September 1944, when the First State Bank at Hemphill was established. Pineland State Bank was established in May 1957. ^[3]

1933-1944 Sabine County was without banking service. Many families moved from the county to search for jobs, leading to steep decline in population. ^[2]

1937 the bridge was completed, destroyed by a flood, replaced in 1967 by a second bridge. ^[3]

1938 Electricity was brought to Sabine County by Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative.

Community schools, 25 for white students and 5 for black. ^[3]

1948 the railroad was leased to the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, which merged with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe in 1965. ^[3]

1960s, work began on the Toledo Bend Reservoir, one of the largest man-made lakes in the U.S.Completion of the reservoir in the late 1960s led to a boost in the county’s population. ^[2]

2010 approximately 10,000 residents lived in historic Sabine County.^[2]

Government Offices

1858 election called for Sabine County offices to be moved from Milam (7 mi. N) to this more central location. E.P. Beddoe drew the assignment of finding the right spot and platting a town there. They named it Hemphill in honor of John Hemphill, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas and of the State of Texas." - by Archie P. McDonald, PhD. The new county seat, Hemphill, was named for former Texas Supreme Court Justice John Hemphill. The first courthouse at this site burned in 1875 and was replaced by a larger frame structure. The present building was started in 1906 by N. A. Dawson under the direction of James Barney Lewis. The two two floors were rebuilt following a fire in 1909 and a remodeling of the structure was completed in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration.^[6]

1st Courthouse, 1860 burned in 1875. All county records and courthouse were destroyed Nov., 1875^[7][6]

2nd Courthouse Replaced 1876- larger frame building.

3rd Courthouse, 1906- Beaux arts style.

A fire in 1909 destroyed the building's dome and clock tower and they were never replaced. Architect of the original building - A. N. Dawson. Location - State Hwy 87. The present building was started in 1906 by N. A. Dawson under the direction of James Barney Lewis. The two floors were rebuilt following a fire in 1909 and a remodeling of the structure was completed in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration.^[6]

1906 Courthouse

Geography

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcs01

Sabine County is in East Texas on the Sabine River at the border of Texas and Louisiana, 140 miles NE of Houston.

Center - 31°20' north latitude and 93°50' west longitude.

Size - 546 square miles in the Redlands region, forested

Vegetation - longleaf pine, oak, and hickory forests.

Topography -S part of the county is gently rolling to hilly with loamy surfaces and deep reddish, clayey, iron-rich subsoils. N part has sandy acidic loamy soils with very deep reddish clayey subsoils.

Elevation -150 to 350 feet.

Natural resources include clay, ceramic clay, industrial sand, oil, gas, and glauconite.

Rivers/Creeks - Six major watercourses cross the county. Patroon, Palo Gauche, Housen bayous and Six Mile and Sandy creeks flow east into the Sabine River. Bear Creek flows along the SW edge of the county. :Aquifer -f reshwater source is the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer.

Rainfall - 51.94 inches Temperature - 36° F in January to 93° in July. The record high was 104°, and record low was 8°. Growing season is 236 days.

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcs01

Sabine co. location.

Adjacent counties

• Shelby County (north)

Adjacent counties.

• Sabine Parish, Louisiana (east)
• Newton County (south)
• Jasper County (southwest)
• San Augustine County (west)
  • Sabine County in Texas and Sabine Parish in Louisiana are 2/22 counties or parishes in the United States with the same name to border each other across state lines.

Formed From

• 1835--It was the Sabine District of the Department of Nacogdoches and became the municipality of Sabine in 1835.^[8]

Protected areas

• Sabine National Forest (part)

• Toledo Bend Reservoir

• Arthur Temple, Sr Library

• Indian Mounds

Demographics

In 2000, there were 10,469 people residing in the county giving a population density of 21 people/sq. mi. The racial makeup of the county was 87.85% White, 9.92% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.82% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. 1.81% of the population were Hispanic. The median income for a household in the county was $27,198, and the median income for a family was $32,554. The per capita income for the county was $15,821. About 11.80% of families and 15.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.90% of those under age 18 and 12.70% of those age 65 or over.

Communiction

• 1914 the Sabine Citizens Telephone Company was authorized to build and maintain a telephone service along all public roads and streets.

Indian Mounds Wilderness Area

• In 1984 Congress set aside 9,946 acres for the Indian Mounds Wilderness Area, administered by the Yellow Pines Ranger District of the United States Forest Service, in Hemphill. The district also supervises the operation of the Red Hills, Willow Oak, Indian Mounds, and Lakeview recreation areas.

Education

• Sabine Baptist College opened in Milam in 1858, closed during the war, thenreopened in 1868 under the direction of W. C. Maund and was closed permanently in 1870.
• Sabine Valley University was established in 1876 in Hemphill. It was sponsored by Mount Zion Baptist and Bethlehem Baptist associations.
• By 1890 there were 51 rural community schools in the county.

Current School Districts:

• Brookeland Independent School District (partial)
• Hemphill Independent School District
• Shelbyville Independent School District (partial)
• West Sabine Independent School District

• 2014 71% of residents age twenty-five and older had four years of high school, and almost 10 percent had high school degrees.

• Twenty-five% of the money received from oil and gas royalties and the sale of timber from within the forest went toward the support of the county road and school systems.

Economics/Industry

• 1982 the county produced 58,744,000 cubic feet of gas and 36,244 barrels of oil. The population was 9,586 in 1990. Manufacturing remained steady, while the number of farms decreased to a low of 224. In 1990 the main population centers were Hemphill (population, 1,182), Pineland (882), and Bronson (259). *The economy was based on tourism, livestock and broiler chicken production, and the lumber industry

Highways:

• U.S. Highway 96
• Texas State Highway 21
• Texas State Highway 87
• Texas State Highway 103
• Texas State Highway 184

Politics:
Sabine County voted overwhelmingly for Democratic presidential candidates for most of its history. Before 1900 the only major fluctuation was in the 1890s, when the Populists carried the county in the 1892 and 1896 elections. FDemocratic presidential candidates carried the county in every election from 1900 through 1968. The area’s sympathies began to change in 1972, however, when Republican Richard Nixon carried the county. Nixon’s win in 1972 and Ronald Reagan’s in 1984 marked a shift away from the area’s traditional leanings. Nevertheless, the Democrats continued to dominate area politics for some time, and won majorities in the county in 1976, 1980, and 1988. Democrat Bill Clinton won only a plurality of the county’s votes in 1992 and 1996, however, and Republican George W. Bush won solid majorities in the 2000 and 2004 elections. ^[9]

Cities

• Hemphill (county seat)
• Pineland

Town

• Milam

Milam, Old San Antonio Road.

Unincorporated Communities

Historical Communities

Resources

• Sabine county Genealogy
• FamilySearch Genealogy
• T.L.L. Temple Foundation
• Indian Mounds Wilderness Area

• timber
• tourism
• service businesses

• Sabine National Forest (part)

Census

1850 --- 2,498 —

1860 --- 2,750 10.1%

1870 --- 3,256 18.4%

1880 --- 4,161 27.8%

1890 --- 4,969 19.4%

1900 --- 6,394 28.7%

1910 --- 8,582 34.2%

1920 --- 12,299 43.3%

1930 --- 11,998 −2.4%

1940 --- 10,896 −9.2%

1950 --- 8,568 −21.4%

1960 --- 7,302 −14.8%

1970 --- 7,187 −1.6%

1980 --- 8,702 21.1%

1990 --- 9,586 10.2%

2000 --- 10,469 9.2%

2010 --- 10,834 3.5%

Est. 2015 --- 10,368

Notables

Jack Cedars settled on part of the Pifermo grant

Land Grants

• Original land grants from Spain and Mexico took up 220,000 acres; the largest, made to Juan Ignacio Pifermo in 1794, encompassed 17,713 acres near the site of later Geneva. Other settlers in the 1790s included Jack Cedars, Christobal Concha, and David Watman.
• Jack Cedars, who lived on part of the Pifermo grant, was the first Anglo settler in the region. Concha is thought to have lived along Palo Gaucho Bayou, and Watman settled on Patroon Bayou.

• 1825 Haden Edwards received a land grant to settle 800 families
• Lorenzo de Zavala was given a settlement land grant, but because a section of his grant was in an area forbidden to foreign settlers, they did not receive title to their land until 1835.

Cemeteries

• Abney-Scurlock Cemetery
• Beauchamp Family Cemetery
• McGown Cemetery
• Plainview Cemetery

• Sabine county Cemeteries Gloria Mayfield
• FindaGrave Cemeteries

Sources

1. ↑ https://texasalmanac.com/index.php?q=topics/government/sabine-county
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9} http://www.texasescapes.com/Counties/Sabine-County-Texas.htm
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26} https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcs01
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6} http://genealogytrails.com/tex/pineywoods/sabine/
5. ↑ Sabine River
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} http://www.texasescapes.com/Counties/Sabine-County-Texas.htm
7. ↑ https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Sabine_County,_Texas_Genealogy
8. ↑ https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Sabine_County,_Texas_Genealogy
9. ↑ https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcs01

• http://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=ethj
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabine_County,_Texas
• https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcs01
• http://www.texasescapes.com/Counties/Sabine-County-Texas.htm
• Toledo Bend Reservoir*
• [https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fte40 Arthur Temple, Sr Library *https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/vrt02
• Sabine county Genealogy
• FamilySearch Genealogy
• T.L.L. Temple Foundation
• Indian Mounds Wilderness Area