Marion County is located in the timber section of northeast Texas. Its area is 391 square miles; population 10,371; assessed valuation in 1935 exceeding $3,000,000. The altitude is approximately 300 feet, and the average rainfall, 48 inches. Lumbering was the chief industry for many years, and is still important, although much of the virgin timber has been cut. There is now a substantial stand of second growth pine in the uplands, and numerous varieties of hardwoods in the bottom lands.
The principal activity at present is agriculture, and the county has harvested in a single season as much as 11,000 bales of cotton and a hundred thousand bushels of corn, in addition to sweet potatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables. The soil appears well adapted to the raising of fruits and vegetables, and peaches constitute an important crop. Some beef cattle, hogs, and poultry are raised. Dairying is important.
The county seat, Jefferson, listed in the 1930 Federal census at 2,329, has since grown substantially. At one time before the coming of the railroads it was the chief city of Texas, and is credited with having reached a population of from 25,000 to 40,000 people. It was the distributing point for a vast territory west, merchandise being freighted by water from New Orleans to Jefferson, thence by wagon into the interior of Texas.
The State of Texasbook: one hundred years of progress 1937, page 230
32° 45' 26.496" N, 94° 20' 42.684" W
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