Orange County is one of 254
counties of the State of Texas and its
county seatA county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
is the city of
Orange, TexasOrange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...
. In the year 2000, the population of Orange County was about 85,000. Orange County is the county in the very southeastern corner of Texas, with a boundary with
LouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and a seacoast on the
Gulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. Orange County is located in the general
Golden Triangle of TexasThe Golden Triangle is an area of Southeast Texas between the cities of Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange. The "golden" refers to the wealth that came from the Spindletop oil strike in Beaumont in 1901...
- the Jefferson County - Orange County area.
Orange County is bordered on its east by the
Sabine RiverThe Sabine River is a river, long, in the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. In its lower course, it forms part of the boundary between the two states and empties into Sabine Lake, an estuary of the Gulf of Mexico. The river formed part of the United States-Mexican international boundary during...
- the border with Louisiana, on its southeast by the Gulf of Mexico, on its west by Jefferson County - its parent county, and on its north by three different counties of Texas. Also on its northwestern border is the
Neches RiverThe Neches River flows for through east Texas to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs, Lake Palestine and B. A. Steinhagen Reservoir are located on the Neches. Several cities are located along the Neches River Basin, including Evadale, Tyler, Lufkin, Silsbee,...
.
The biggest building in Orange County is the West Orange-Stark Elementary School, built in 2010. See
West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School DistrictThe West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District is a public school district in Orange County, Texas .The district serves the cities of West Orange and Pinehurst as well as portions of Orange, including the majority of Orange below I-10, and the Old Peveto area...
.
The geography of Orange County varies relatively little, with an elevation that reaches 33 feet (10 meters) above
sea levelMean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
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,
MississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, and
AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, and in western and southern
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.) There are saltwater marshes in much of the southeastern part of Orange County that borders the Sabine River. There are
piney woodsThe Piney Woods is a temperate coniferous forest terrestrial ecoregion in the Southern United States covering of East Texas, southern Arkansas, western Louisiana, and southeastern Oklahoma. These coniferous forests are dominated by several species of pine as well as hardwoods including hickory and...
(sometimes capitalized) in the northern part of the county.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Orange County has a total area of 380 square miles (984.2 km²), of which 356 square miles (922 km²) is land and 23 square miles (59.6 km²) (6.10%) is water.
The main highways of Orange County
Interstate 10
U.S. Highway 90
State Highway 12State Highway 12 is an east–west state highway that runs from I-10 in Vidor to Deweyville on the Texas-Louisiana boundary in east Texas. The route was designated in 1959 as a renumbering of SH 235 to smooth the travel transition with Louisiana Highway 12, with which it connects.-Route...
State Highway 62-Route description:Highway 62 begins at SH 73 and SH 87 between Orange and Bridge City. SH 73 is concurrent with SH 62 from the southern terminus to the intersection with Interstate 10 and U.S. Highway 90, where SH 73 ends. SH 62 continues its northward journey past this point...
State Highway 73State Highway 73 or SH 73 is a Texas state highway that runs from Winnie through Port Arthur to near Orange.In September 2008, Hurricane Ike forced the closure of SH 73. Among other road debris left by the storm were two 200 ton barges...
State Highway 87State Highway 87 or SH 87 runs for between Galveston, Texas to U.S. Highway 59 and U.S. Highway 84 in Timpson, Texas....
See List of Highways in Orange County for more roadways in Orange County.
Adjacent counties and parishes
- Jasper County (north)
- Newton County
Newton County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. In of 2000, its population was 15,072. Its county seat is Newton. Newton county is named for John Newton, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War...
(north)
- Hardin County (northwest)
- Jefferson County
Jefferson County is a county located in the state of Texas, United States. As of 2000, the population was 252,051. Its county seat is Beaumont, and it is named for the former U.S...
(west)
- Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana
Calcasieu Parish[p] is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lake Charles. As of 2010, the parish population was 192,768...
(east)
- Cameron Parish, Louisiana
Cameron Parish is the parish with the most land area in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Cameron and as of 2010, the population was 6,839...
(southeast)
History of Orange County
Orange County was formed in 1852 from portions of Jefferson County. It was named after the
orange fruitAn orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
, the common citrus fruit grown by the early settlers of this County near the mouth of the
Sabine RiverThe Sabine River is a river, long, in the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. In its lower course, it forms part of the boundary between the two states and empties into Sabine Lake, an estuary of the Gulf of Mexico. The river formed part of the United States-Mexican international boundary during...
.
Due to periodic spells of quite cold winter weather (
frostFrost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air as well as below the freezing point of water. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapour available. Frost is also usually...
s) in Orange County, it is no longer the home of orange trees and
citrusCitrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
orchardAn orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s. The production of those fruits in Texas long ago was moved a long way southwest into the
Rio Grande ValleyThe Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...
, 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 the State of Florida, where orchards of citrus trees no longer exist in either Citrus County or Orange County, Fla. because of bad winter freezes in some years. In both Florida and Texas, the citrus
agricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
has been moved farther south in search of milder winters, and away from the periodic frosts.
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Orange County was the home of a large amount of
shipbuildingShipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
for the navies the United States and allied countries. The major shipbuilder, the
Consolidated Steel CorporationConsolidated Steel Corporation was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas...
was located in the town of Orange, and among the
warshipA warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
s that it built were the (1942), the first warship built there, the (1943), and the (1945–46), the last warship built there. During the war, the Consolidate Steel Corporation employed as many as 20,000 people at its
shipyardShipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
in Orange, Texas.
Demographics
As of the
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 84,966 people, 31,642 households, and 23,794 families residing in the county. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
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%
WhiteRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 8.38%
BlackRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or
African AmericanRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.56%
Native AmericanRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.78%
AsianRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.03%
Pacific IslanderRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 1.12% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.15% from two or more races. 3.62% of the population were
HispanicRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or
LatinoRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
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 couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
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 incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
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.
Education
The county is served by 5 school districts:
- Bridge City ISD
- Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated ISD
- Orangefield ISD
- Vidor ISD
- West Orange-Cove Consolidated ISD
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
West Orange-Stark High School is a College Preparatory High school, and the only high school in the West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District, though some students report to the West Orange-Stark Academic Alternative Center.-History:...
(Hutcherson Hill, Principal)
- West Orange-Cove Academic Alternative Center (Rodney Anderson, Director)
Bridge City ISD
The Superintendent is Jamey Harrison. It includes:
- Hatton Elementary School (Principal:Norman Gaspard)
- Sims Elementary School (Principal:Kent Broussard)
- Bridge City Intermediate School (Principal:Tara Fountain)
- Bridge City Middle School (Principal:Kevin Jones)
- Bridge City High School (Principal:Richard Briggs).
Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated ISD
The Superintendent is Dr. Pauline Hargrove. It includes:
- 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
The economy of Orange County
Primary economic activities in Orange County are the
petroleumPetroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
refining industry,
paperPaper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
milling,
riceRice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
farming, and
shrimpShrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
ing.
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 pollutionWater pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
sources and then scrapped for their metals. Thus, there is still employment for residents of Orange County in shipbreaking.
Government
The
Orange County CourthouseThe Orange County Courthouse is located at 801 West Division Avenue, Orange, Texas, United States. The art deco courthouse was designed by Charles Henry Page of the firm C. H. Page and Brother of Austin, Texas Kelsay and Dyal, The Courthouses of Texas: A Guide, Texas A&M University Press,...
serves as the court for the region.
Cities
- Bridge City
- Orange
- Pine Forest
- Pinehurst
|
Rose City
Vidor
West Orange |
Unincorporated areas
- Forest Heights
- Little Cypress
Little Cypress is a large community in the northern area of Orange, Texas. It is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area...
- Orangefield
Orangefield is an unincorporated town located in Orange County, in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro area, about twelve miles east of Beaumont in Orange County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area....
- Texla
Transportation
Orange County AirportOrange County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located three miles southwest of the central business district of Orange, in Orange County, Texas, United States.Although most U.S...
operates
general aviationGeneral aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
flights.
Nearby
Southeast Texas Regional AirportJack Brooks Regional Airport , is a public airport located near Port Arthur, Texas, United States, nine miles southeast of the central business district of Beaumont and northeast of Port Arthur...
(
Port Arthur-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density was 696.5 people per square mile . There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 298.0 per square mile...
) operates commercial flights.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Orange County, Texas
External links