Marion County, Texas

Marion County is a county in Texas, United States, in the state’s northeast corner directly on
the Louisiana border. It had a population of 9,725 at the 2020 census, an estimated 9,896 by
2024, and covers 420 square miles (1,100 km2) centred near 32°48′N 94°22′W.

Jefferson is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated city; its postal code is 75657.
The county holds 1 incorporated city and 14 unincorporated communities, and it runs on
Central Time.

Towns & Villages in Marion County

Marion County has 15 named places on record: 1 incorporated city and 14 unincorporated
communities with no local government of their own. Unincorp. covers rural settlements and
former post-office stops with no formal municipal boundary.

ZIP Codes

• 75657 — Jefferson, the county’s only established ZIP code

Berea, Gethsemane, Gray, Hartzo, Jackson, Kellyville, Lassater, Lodi, Lodwich, Orrs, Potters
Point, Prospect, Smithland, Sunview and Warlock have no ZIP code of their own; Marion County has
no post office outside Jefferson, so mail across the county is delivered under the 75657 code.

Geography

Marion County sits in Texas’s northeast corner, in the Piney Woods region along the
Louisiana state line. Of its 420 square miles, 381 are land and 39 are water, about 9.4 percent
— unusually high for East Texas, reflecting the county’s reservoirs. Big Cypress Bayou
crosses the county and feeds Lake o’ the Pines, an 18,680-acre reservoir behind the Ferrells
Bridge Dam, completed in 1959, that Marion County shares with Camp, Upshur and Morris counties.
Caddo Lake lies just east of the county, straddling the Louisiana line.

Cass County lies to the north, Caddo Parish, Louisiana to the east, Harrison County to the
south, Upshur County to the west, and Morris County to the northwest. Cass County, Caddo Parish, Harrison County, Upshur County and Morris County all border Marion
directly.

Demographics

Marion County had 9,725 residents at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the county
near 9,896. Jefferson, the only incorporated place, holds about 1,875 of those residents; the
rest live across the county’s unincorporated communities and rural routes. Median household
income runs $39,093 (2020 ACS), well below Texas’s statewide figure of $75,780 (2023 ACS).
Population density works out to roughly 26 people per square mile of land, among the lowest in
East Texas. The county’s median age was 52.6 in 2020, and residents 65 and older made up 27.0
percent of the population, both signs of a small, aging population.

Economy & Local Life

Marion County’s economy today runs on historic-preservation tourism, timber and small-scale
agriculture. Jefferson’s downtown historic district, with restored 19th-century storefronts
and homes, draws visitors year-round and anchors the county’s hospitality and retail trade.
The Pulpwood Queens Book Club has held its annual conference in Jefferson every January since
2000, drawing authors and readers from across the country. Jefferson, Avinger and Ore City
independent school districts serve the county’s students and rank among its largest
employers, alongside county government. Outside Jefferson, cattle ranching and pine timber
production continue on rural land that once carried cotton plantations.

History

The Texas Legislature created Marion County in 1860, carving it out of Cass County. The county
is named for Francis Marion, the Revolutionary War general from South Carolina nicknamed the
“Swamp Fox.” Jefferson, founded around 1841 on land ceded by the Caddo, became one of
the busiest inland ports in Texas between 1845 and 1872 — a log jam on the Red River, known
as the Great Raft, backed water up high enough for steamboats to reach the town via Big Cypress
Bayou and Caddo Lake. In 1873 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cleared the raft with
nitroglycerin, water levels fell, and Jefferson’s riverboat trade collapsed within a few
years.

In 1869, the steamboat Mittie Stephens caught fire on Caddo Lake near Jefferson; sixty-one
people died, most from the fire or the boat’s paddlewheel, in one of the deadliest steamboat
disasters on an inland Texas waterway. The county courthouse in Jefferson, designed by architect
Elmer George Withers, was built in 1914 and still houses county government.

Getting There

U.S. Highway 59 is the county’s main route, running through Jefferson; Interstate 369 is
under construction along the same corridor. State Highways 43, 49 and 155 cross the county along
with several Farm-to-Market roads.

• Marshall — about 15 miles south
• Longview — about 35 miles southwest
• Shreveport, Louisiana — about 55 miles east
• Texarkana — about 60 miles north

East Texas Regional Airport, in Longview about 35 miles southwest of Jefferson, is the nearest
commercial airport. Amtrak’s Texas Eagle stops in Marshall, about 15 miles south of Jefferson,
connecting to Dallas and Chicago.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Marion County located?
It sits in Texas’s northeast corner along the Louisiana state line, bordered by Cass, Harrison,
Upshur and Morris counties and Caddo Parish, Louisiana.

What is the population of Marion County?
9,725 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 9,896 by 2024.

How big is Marion County?
420 square miles (1,100 km2), of which 381 square miles are land and 39 square miles are water.

What is the county seat of Marion County?
Jefferson is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated city.

How many towns are in Marion County?
One incorporated city, Jefferson, plus 14 unincorporated communities: Berea, Gethsemane, Gray,
Hartzo, Jackson, Kellyville, Lassater, Lodi, Lodwich, Orrs, Potters Point, Prospect, Smithland,
Sunview and Warlock.

What ZIP code does Marion County use?
75657, Jefferson’s post office code, covers the whole county.

What is Marion County known for?
Jefferson’s riverboat-era historic district and its 19th-century role as one of Texas’s
busiest inland ports, before an 1873 river-clearing operation ended the trade.

More counties in this state: Towns and
villages in Texas.