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Henderson County
	Henderson County, Texas
	Map
	; Location in the state of Texas
	; Texas's location in the U.S.
	Statistics
Founded	April 27, 1846
Seat	Athens
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 949 sq mi (2,458 km²); 874 sq mi (2,264 km²); 75 sq mi (194 km²), 7.88%
Population; - (2000); - Density	; 73,277; 83/sq mi (32/km²)
	Website: www.co.henderson.tx.us

Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 73,277. It is named in honor of James Pinckney Henderson, the first Attorney General of the Republic of Texas, and later Secretary of State. The seat of the county is Athens.^[1]

[edit] County Officials

County Judge: David Holstein
Commissioner 1: Joe Hall
Commissioner 2: Wade McKinney
Commissioner 3: Ronny Lawrence
Commissioner 4: Jerry West
County Clerk: Gwen Moffiet
District Clerk: Becky Hanks
County Attorney: Clint Davis
District Attorney: R. Scott McKee
County Auditor: Ann Marie Lee
County Treasurer: Michael Bynum
County Court at Law Judge: Matt Livingston
County Court at Law 2 Judge: Nancy Perryman
3rd District Judge: Mark Calhoon
173rd District Judge: Dan Moore
392nd District Judge: Carter Tarrance
JP 1: Henry Ashford
Constable 1: Daryl Graham
JP 2: Dale Blaylock
Constable 2: Norman Terry
JP 3: Sue Starnes
Constable 3: David Grubbs
JP 4: Sue Tarrant
Constable 4: Rick Stewart
JP 5: Tommy Barnett
Constable 5: Brad Miers
JP 6: Milton Adams
Constable 6: Mike Warren
Sheriff: Ray Nutt
Tax Assessor/Collector: Milburn Chaney
Elections Administrator: Denise Hernandez
Emergency Management Coordinator: Joy Kimborough
Fire Marshal: John Holcomb

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 949 square miles (2,458 km²), of which, 874 square miles (2,264 km²) of it is land and 75 square miles (194 km²) of it (7.88%) is water.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent counties

Kaufman County (north)
Van Zandt County (north)
Smith County (east)
Cherokee County (southeast)
Anderson County (south)
Freestone County (southwest)
Navarro County (west)
Ellis County (northwest)

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1900	19,970	—
1910	20,131	0.8%
1920	28,327	40.7%
1930	30,583	8.0%
1940	31,822	4.1%
1950	23,405	−26.5%
1960	21,786	−6.9%
1970	26,466	21.5%
1980	42,606	61.0%
1990	58,543	37.4%
2000	73,277	25.2%
Est. 2006	80,222	9.5%

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 73,277 people, 28,804 households, and 20,969 families residing in the county. The population density was 84 people per square mile (32/km²). There were 35,935 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.50% White, 6.61% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.72% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. 6.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 28,804 households out of which 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.70% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.20% were non-families. 23.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 25.00% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 18.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,533, and the median income for a family was $38,255. Males had a median income of $31,847 versus $21,650 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,772. About 11.70% of families and 15.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.60% of those under age 18 and 11.80% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Local media

Henderson County is part of the Tyler/Longview/Jacksonville Television media market in Eastern Texas. Local News media outlets are: KLTV, KYTX, KLPN-LP, KFXK, and KETK-TV. Although they are provided satellite television services, residents of Henderson County are only allowed to view the Dallas/Fort Worth market stations, forcing some area residents to use television antennas to get local news and information. In the cities of Henderson County Cable Television continues to offer most of the Tyler/Longview/Jacksonville DMA channels.

[edit] Crime

Paul Knight of the Houston Press said in a 2009 article that some people blamed the development of the artificial Cedar Creek Lake, which opened in 1965, and development of the area surrounding the lake for the initial influx of crime and recreational drugs into the county and the East Texas region. Carroll Dyson, a retired pilot and Henderson County resident interviewed by the Houston Press, said in 2009 that the lake attracted "white flight" from metropolitan areas.^[3] Dyson added, "When all your rich people from Dallas and Houston move out here, the thieves are just drawn to them. Thieves are just wired that way. You used to not have to lock your door in Henderson County." Ray Nutt, the sheriff of Henderson County, said in the same article that when the lake first opened, there was no zoning and "a lot of elderly people bought a mobile home and moved in; it was nice. Then they passed away and family members sold them off or just let them go down." Nutt added that the area around the lake has "a lot of good people," yet it also where "a lot of criminals tend to flow."^[4]