Orange County, Texas

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For other uses, see Orange County (disambiguation).
Orange County, Texas
250px
The Orange County Courthouse in Orange
Seal of Orange County, Texas
Seal
Map of Texas highlighting Orange County
Location in the U.S. state of Texas
Map of the United States highlighting Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded January 5, 1852
Named for Orange fruit
Seat Orange
Largest city Orange
Area
 • Total 380 sq mi (984 km2)
 • Land 334 sq mi (865 km2)
 • Water 46 sq mi (119 km2), 12%
Population
 • (2010) 81,837
 • Density 245/sq mi (95/km²)
Congressional district 36th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.co.orange.tx.us

Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 81,837.[1] The county seat is Orange.[2]

Orange County is included in the Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located in the very southeastern corner of Texas, with a boundary with Louisiana, within the Golden Triangle of Texas.

History

Orange County was formed in 1852 from portions of Jefferson County.[3] It was named after the orange fruit, the common citrus fruit grown by the early settlers of this County near the mouth of the Sabine River.[4] Due to periodic spells of quite cold winter weather (frosts) in Orange County, it is no longer the home of orange trees and citrus orchards. The production of those fruits in Texas long ago was moved a long way southwest into the Rio Grande Valley, where the weather is almost always warm all winter long. Citrus trees produce their fruit in the wintertime, which makes them especially vulnerable to frost and icy weather.

A similar thing has happened in Florida, where orchards of citrus trees no longer exist in either Citrus County or Orange County because of bad winter freezes in some years. In both Florida and Texas, the citrus agriculture has been moved farther south in search of milder winters, and away from the periodic frosts.

During World War II, Orange County was the home of a large amount of shipbuilding for the navies the United States and allied countries. The major shipbuilder, the Consolidated Steel Corporation was located in the town of Orange, and among the warships that it built were the USS Aulick (DD-569) (1942), the first warship built there, the USS Pope (DE-134) (1943), and the USS Carpenter (DD-825) (1945–46), the last warship built there. During the war, the Consolidate Steel Corporation employed as many as 20,000 people at its shipyard in Orange, Texas.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 380 square miles (980 km2), of which 334 square miles (870 km2) is land and 46 square miles (120 km2) (12%) is water.[5]

Orange County is bordered on its east by the Sabine River, on its southeast by Sabine Lake, and on the northwest by the Neches River.

The geography of Orange County varies relatively little, with an elevation that reaches 33 feet (10 meters) above sea level at very few points within the county. Orange County is very flat, and its soil is quite sandy, as could be expected in a county along the Gulf of Mexico. (Sandy soil is also common in southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and in western and southern Florida.) There are saltwater marshes in much of the southeastern part of Orange County that borders the Sabine River. There are piney woods (sometimes capitalized) in the northern part of the county.

Adjacent counties and parishes

National protected area

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1860 1,916 —
1870 1,255 −34.5%
1880 2,938 134.1%
1890 4,770 62.4%
1900 5,905 23.8%
1910 9,528 61.4%
1920 15,379 61.4%
1930 15,149 −1.5%
1940 17,382 14.7%
1950 40,567 133.4%
1960 60,357 48.8%
1970 71,170 17.9%
1980 83,838 17.8%
1990 80,509 −4.0%
2000 84,966 5.5%
2010 81,837 −3.7%
Est. 2014 83,433 [6] 2.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
1850–2010[8] 2010–2014[1]

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 84,966 people, 31,642 households, and 23,794 families residing in the county. The population density was 238 people per square mile (92/km²). There were 34,781 housing units at an average density of 98 per square mile (38/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.98% White, 8.38% Black or African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.12% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. 3.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 31,642 households out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.80% were married couples living together, 12.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.80% were non-families. 21.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.30% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,586, and the median income for a family was $44,152. Males had a median income of $40,185 versus $21,859 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,554. About 11.40% of families and 13.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.50% of those under age 18 and 12.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The Orange County Courthouse serves as the court for the region.

Orange County lies in Texas House District 21, represented beginning in 2015 by the Republican Dade Phelan of Beaumont.

Economy

Primary economic activities in Orange County are the petroleum refining industry, paper milling, rice farming, and shrimping.

Orange County was formerly a center for the building of warships, and there is still a large U.S. Navy ghost fleet (reserve fleet) in Jefferson County - from which currently, many old warships are being cleaned of water pollution sources and then scrapped for their metals. Thus, there is still employment for residents of Orange County in shipbreaking.

Transportation

Airports

Orange County Airport operates general aviation flights.

Nearby Southeast Texas Regional Airport (Port Arthur) operates commercial flights.

Major highways

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Main article: List of highways in Orange County, Texas

Education

The county is served by 5 school districts:[10]

West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District

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Main article: West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District

The district's Superintendent of Schools is James Colbert Jr.

  • M B North Early Learning Center/Head Start (seeking, Principal)
  • West Orange-Stark Elementary (Bennie Smith, Principal)
  • West Orange-Stark Middle (seeking, Principal)
  • West Orange-Stark High School (Hutcherson Hill, Principal)
  • West Orange-Cove Academic Alternative Center (Rodney Anderson, Director)

Bridge City ISD

The Superintendent is Jamey Harrison.[11] It includes:[12]

  • Hatton Elementary School (Principal:Norman Gaspard[13])
  • Sims Elementary School (Principal:Kent Broussard[14])
  • Bridge City Intermediate School (Principal:Tara Fountain[15])
  • Bridge City Middle School (Principal:Kevin Jones[16])
  • Bridge City High School (Principal:Richard Briggs[17]).

Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated ISD

The Superintendent is Dr. Pauline Hargrove.[18] It includes:[18]

  • Mauriceville Elementary School
  • Little Cypress Elementary School
  • Mauriceville Middle School
  • Little Cypress Intermediate School
  • Mauriceville Middle School
  • Little Cypress Junior High School
  • Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

See also

References

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  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Handbook of Texas Online - ORANGE COUNTY
  4. ↑ History of Orange, TX
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  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

 Hardin County Jasper County and Newton County
Jefferson County Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana
  Orange County, Texas  
Jefferson County Cameron Parish, Louisiana

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