Angelina County, Texas

Angelina County
Angelina County
County
	The Angelina County Courthouse in Lufkin
	Location within the U.S. state of Texas
	Texas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 31°16′N 94°37′W / 31.26°N 94.61°W
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1846
Named for	A Hasinai woman who assisted early Spanish missionaries and was called Angelina by them
Seat	Lufkin
Largest city	Lufkin
Area
• Total	865 sq mi (2,240 km2)
• Land	798 sq mi (2,070 km2)
• Water	67 sq mi (170 km2) 7.7%
Population (2020)
• Total	86,395
• Density	100/sq mi (39/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	17th
Website	www.angelinacounty.net

Angelina County (/ˌændʒəˈliːnə/ AN-jə-LEE-nə) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in East Texas and its county seat is Lufkin.^[1]

As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,395.^[2]^[3] The Lufkin, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Angelina County.

It was formed in 1846 from Nacogdoches County. It is named for a Hasinai Native American woman who assisted early Spanish missionaries and was called Angelina by them.^[4]

History

The county's first Anglo settlers were what John Nova Lomax described as "Scotch-Irish backwoods folk."^[5] Cotton farmers and slaves did not come to Angelina County because it had poor soil. Lomax added that "Culturally, the county was less moonlight-and-magnolias Dixie than a little pocket of Appalachia, where pioneers, often from similarly hardscrabble areas of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, wanted nothing more than to carve homesteads out of the Piney Woods and river thickets, farm a little, maybe raise a scraggly herd of tough cattle to drive to market in New Orleans."^[5] Lomax added that "[t]hey also wanted to brew up a little whiskey and subsist on the bass, catfish and perch they hauled from the Neches and Angelina rivers and whatever they could trap and shoot on dry land."^[5]

Settlement was still thin when Texas won its independence. Angelina County was organized on April 22, 1846, when Nacogdoches County was divided. The first permanent settler after the county was formed is thought to have been George W. Collins. The population increased quickly thereafter due to the good farming land and to the rivers, which made steamboat transportation possible. The population reached 1,165, of whom 196 were slaves, in 1850. The first county seat was Marion; successively, Jonesville became county seat in 1854, Homer in 1858, and Lufkin in 1892. Lufkin was favored by the route of the Houston, East and West Texas Railway (now the Southern Pacific), which had been built in 1882 from Houston to Shreveport.

Angelina County was settled predominantly by natives of the southern United States, some of them slaveowners who established plantations in their new Texas home. Large plantations were owned by the Stearns, Oates, Kalty, Stovall, and Ewing families. However, many Angelina County farmers were relatively poor men who owned no slaves. In 1847 slaves numbered 154, out of a total population of 834. In 1859 the number of slaves had grown to 427, valued at $269,550, and the total population was 4,271. Cotton culture, however, occupied only 2,048 acres of county land in 1858, a relatively small area for East Texas. Between 1850 and 1860 improved land in the county increased from about 3,000 to about 16,000 acres.

In 1861 Angelina County was the only county in East Texas, and one of only a handful of other Texas counties, to reject secession. This election result was startling when compared with that of Angelina County's neighbor to the immediate south, Tyler County, which supported secession by a 99 percent vote. Angelina County had also given the Constitutional Union party candidate, John Bell, a strong minority vote in the 1860 election. Two companies of county men were organized to fight in the Civil War, but they saw only limited action; only nineteen Angelina County men lost their lives in the war, and no Union soldiers entered the county before 1866.^[6]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 865 square miles (2,240 km²), of which 798 square miles (2,070 km²) is land and 67 square miles (170 km²) (7.7%) is water.^[7]

Adjacent counties

Nacogdoches County (north)
San Augustine County (northeast)
Jasper County (southeast)
Tyler County (south)
Polk County (southwest)
Trinity County (west)
Houston County (west)
Cherokee County (northwest)

National protected area

Angelina National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	1,165	—
1860	4,271	266.6%
1870	3,985	−6.7%
1880	5,239	31.5%
1890	6,306	20.4%
1900	13,481	113.8%
1910	17,705	31.3%
1920	22,287	25.9%
1930	27,803	24.7%
1940	32,201	15.8%
1950	36,032	11.9%
1960	39,814	10.5%
1970	49,349	23.9%
1980	64,172	30.0%
1990	69,884	8.9%
2000	80,130	14.7%
2010	86,771	8.3%
2020	86,395	−0.4%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8] 1850–2010^[9] 2010^[10] 2020^[11]

Age pyramid as of the 2000 United States Census

**Angelina County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition**
*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 may be of any race.*
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000^[12]	Pop 2010^[10]	Pop 2020^[11]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	55,165	54,889	49,970	69.41%	63.26%	57.84%
Black or African American alone (NH)	11,656	12,840	12,872	14.55%	14.80%	14.90%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	173	255	200	0.22%	0.29%	0.23%
Asian alone (NH)	524	744	891	0.65%	0.86%	1.03%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	15	9	30	0.02%	0.01%	0.03%
Other race alone (NH)	20	94	196	0.02%	0.11%	0.23%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	631	795	2,504	0.79%	0.92%	2.90%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	11,496	17,145	19,732	14.35%	19.76%	22.84%
Total	80,130	86,771	86,395	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census^[13] of 2000, there were 80,130 people, 28,685 households, and 21,255 families residing in the county. The population density was 100 people per square mile (39 people/km²). There were 32,435 housing units at an average density of 40 units per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 75.10% White, 14.72% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 7.77% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races. 14.35% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 28,685 households, out of which 36.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% were married couples living together, 12.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.90% were non-families. 22.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.70% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,806, and the median income for a family was $39,505. Males had a median income of $30,373 versus $20,221 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,876. About 12.40% of families and 15.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.90% of those under age 18 and 12.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The Angelina County Sheriff's Office is the county law enforcement agency. The Sheriff is Tom Selman.^[14]

Angelina County is governed by its Commissioners Court of which Keith Wright presides over as County Judge ^[15]

It is a "partly-wet" county, with beer and wine generally authorized for off-premises consumption.^[16] However, the small community of Burke voted to restrict alcohol sales only to restaurants holding permits.

County government

	Name	Party
County Judge	Keith Wright	Republican
Commissioner, Precinct 1	Kent Walker	Republican
Commissioner, Precinct 2	Kermit Kennedy	Democratic
Commissioner, Precinct 3	Terry Pitts	Republican
Commissioner, Precinct 4	Kenneth Jeffrey	Republican

Politics

United States presidential election results for Angelina County, Texas^[17]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	26,049	75.68%	8,146	23.67%	227	0.66%
2020	25,076	72.40%	9,143	26.40%	416	1.20%
2016	21,668	72.44%	7,538	25.20%	705	2.36%
2012	20,303	71.47%	7,834	27.58%	269	0.95%
2008	19,569	67.13%	9,379	32.17%	205	0.70%
2004	18,932	66.75%	9,302	32.80%	130	0.46%
2000	16,648	61.72%	9,957	36.91%	369	1.37%
1996	11,789	46.38%	11,346	44.63%	2,286	8.99%
1992	9,722	36.99%	10,318	39.26%	6,241	23.75%
1988	12,738	53.40%	10,849	45.48%	265	1.11%
1984	14,685	61.62%	9,054	37.99%	92	0.39%
1980	9,900	48.54%	10,140	49.72%	354	1.74%
1976	7,223	42.21%	9,750	56.98%	139	0.81%
1972	11,453	69.04%	4,970	29.96%	166	1.00%
1968	4,645	29.16%	5,174	32.48%	6,111	38.36%
1964	5,262	39.02%	8,194	60.77%	28	0.21%
1960	5,169	41.32%	7,046	56.32%	295	2.36%
1956	5,274	52.24%	4,781	47.36%	41	0.41%
1952	4,705	43.00%	6,224	56.88%	13	0.12%
1948	1,000	15.78%	4,377	69.05%	962	15.18%
1944	1,001	16.97%	4,387	74.38%	510	8.65%
1940	572	8.70%	5,993	91.19%	7	0.11%
1936	342	7.97%	3,943	91.91%	5	0.12%
1932	287	5.46%	4,962	94.46%	4	0.08%
1928	1,209	34.41%	2,305	65.59%	0	0.00%
1924	333	7.54%	3,914	88.57%	172	3.89%
1920	205	7.67%	1,661	62.16%	806	30.16%
1916	75	4.27%	1,344	76.54%	337	19.19%
1912	45	3.94%	1,068	93.60%	28	2.45%

John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press said that the residents of Angelina County "were, and are, a self-sufficient breed, good with their hands, bluntly honest and leery of all central authority."^[5] (In 1861, Angelina County voted against seceding from the United States, the only East Texas county to do so.) He also said "[t]heir electoral peculiarity continued through the 20th Century."^[5] Angelina County was the seat of power of Charlie Wilson, a politician labeled the "Liberal from Lufkin".^[5]

The current state representative from Angelina County is Republican Trent Ashby, first elected in 2012.

Crime

In earlier days, criminals established moonshine stands. During the 1970s, some criminals established marijuana farms. As of 2011^[update], the main drug dealing activity was the methamphetamine trade. Allen Hill, formerly of the Angelina County Narcotics Squad, said that the local meth trade is doing more damage to the county than drug couriers passing through the county, crack cocaine, and heroin. According to Hill, many Hispanic drug dealers increasingly sold imported "ice"-style meth made by drug cartels instead of crack cocaine or powdered cocaine, because they make more money than they did selling crack. Hill said that many of the drug dealers claim to be affiliated with Mexican drug cartels or gangs like MS-13.^[18]

Education

Abandoned Redland Drive-in Theater off U.S. Highway 59 north of Lufkin prior to demolishment in 2020.

Among numerous rural churches in Angelina County is the Redtown Missionary Baptist Church (pastor Ross Black, 2010) of Pollok, located near the intersection of Texas Highways 103 and 7.