Nacogdoches County, Texas

Nacogdoches County (pronounced Nack-uh doe-shus), in the center of the pine belt of East Texas, is surrounded on the west and south by the Angelina River and on the east by Attoyac Bayou. It borders on five counties, Shelby County and San Augustine County on the east, Angelina County on the south and west, Cherokee County on the west, and Rusk County on the north. The county seat and largest town is Nacogdoches, which is 140 miles northeast of Houston and 58 miles southeast of Tyler.

Cities, Towns & Communities

Appleby | Central Heights | Chireno | Cushing | Douglass | Etoile | Flournoy’s | Garrison | Harmony | Kingtown | Lilbert | Martinsville (Martin City) | Melrose | Nacogdoches – county seat | Oil Springs | Sacul | Trawick | Woden

History

Nacogdoches 1935. Nacogdoches.—The old Spanish military post and villageof Nacogdoches, is situated in the eastern section of Texas, in latitude 31o 40’, sixty miles west of the Sabine river, In 1819 or 1820, it was totally broken up by the revolution and abandoned. Its inhabitants were driven away by the Spanish troops and compelled to seek a refuge in Louisiana, near Natchitoches, exiles from their native country and dependent, in most instances, on the hospitality of strangers..

Nacogdoches remained without population un­til the year 1822-3, when many of the emigrants who left the United States with the view of join­ing Austin’s colony, stopped at this place. A num­ber of the ancient inhabitants, also, returned to their former possessions, and thus the town has been gradually repeopled and is now a respecta­ble village. A garrison of Mexican troops, before the late war for independence, was stationed here under the command of a colonel of the army. There is, also, a custom house establishment, for the collection of duties on the inland trade from Louisiana. The country on the road between this place and the Sabine, is thinly settled by emi­grants from the United States. This place is the great thoroughfare of emigrants to Texas. – Texasby Holley, Mary Austin; Austin, Texas, 1935, page 112

The Department of Nacogdoches covered most of present East Texas, extending from Anahuac and the Trinity River in the south and west, to the Red River in the north, and east to Louisiana. In July 1821, when Stephen F. Austin passed through the town, he described it as a ruin of a village, consisting of a church, the stone house, and six other dwellings. Immediately after the Texas Revolution the municipalities within the Nacogdoches Department, Liberty, Jefferson, Jasper, Sabine, San Augustine, and Shelby, were established as counties of the Republic of Texas. The remaining area east of the Trinity River was designated Nacogdoches County on March 17, 1836. In April 1846 the county was further subdivided into what would eventually become all or part of twenty other counties: Anderson, Angelina, Camp, Cherokee, Dallas, Delta, Gregg, Henderson, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, Rockwall, Rusk, Smith, Trinity, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood.

County Histories

The Book of Nacogdoches County, Texas, 1927, compiled by Nugent E. Brown

Nacogdoches, Gateway to Texas: A Biographical Directory, 2 vols., 1974, 1987, by Carolyn Reeves Ericson.

The History of Nacogdoches County, Texas, 1880, by Richard W. Haltom

The Postoffices and Post Masters of Nacogdoches County, Texas, 1845-1930, 1964, by J. B. Sanders.

Location

Nacogdoches, TX 31° 36′ 12.6468″ N, 94° 39′ 19.7532″ W

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