Houston County is a county in Texas, United States, about 120 miles south of Dallas and roughly 120 miles north of the city of Houston — the two are not the same place, and this county’s name predates the city’s growth by decades. It had a population of 22,066 at the 2020 census, an estimated 22,051 by 2024, and covers 1,231 square miles (3,190 km2) centred near 31°19′N 95°26′W.
Crockett is the county seat and its largest city; its postal code is 75835. The county holds 5 incorporated cities and towns and more than two dozen smaller unincorporated communities, and it runs on Central time. Texas has no civil townships, so places here are tracked as cities or unincorporated communities only.
Towns & Villages in Houston County
Houston County has 5 incorporated cities and towns, all under 6,500 residents, plus dozens of unincorporated communities scattered through its pine forest and farmland. The table below covers the incorporated places and the best-known unincorporated communities; Type marks each as City, Town or Unincorp.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crockett | City · seat | 6,332 | 75835 |
| Grapeland | City | 1,465 | 75844 |
| Lovelady | City | 570 | 75851 |
| Kennard | City | 272 | 75847 |
| Latexo | City | 232 | 75849 |
| Ratcliff | Unincorp. | — | 75858 |
| Austonio | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Porter Springs | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Weches | Unincorp. | — | 75847 |
| Pennington | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Belott | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hagerville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Percilla | Unincorp. | — | — |
Do not confuse Houston County with the city of Houston: the city sits in Harris County, about 120 miles south, and has never been part of this county. Houston County is the older name — it was Texas’s first organized county, created in 1837 while Sam Houston, its namesake, was still president of the Republic of Texas, decades before the city of Houston grew into a major metropolis. Four other US states have their own separate Houston County: Alabama (seat Dothan), Georgia (seat Perry), Minnesota (seat Caledonia) and Tennessee (seat Erin) — none of them connected to this one or to each other beyond the shared namesake.
ZIP Codes
- 75835 — Crockett (also serves surrounding rural routes and Austonio)
- 75844 — Grapeland
- 75851 — Lovelady (also serves the Wainwright/Eastham prison unit area)
- 75847 — Kennard (also serves Weches)
- 75849 — Latexo
- 75858 — Ratcliff
Smaller communities such as Porter Springs, Pennington, Belott, Hagerville and Percilla have no post office of their own and share a ZIP with the nearest incorporated town.
Geography
Houston County sits in the Piney Woods of East Texas, a mix of pine-hardwood forest, pasture and bottomland along the Trinity and Neches river systems, which form its western and eastern edges. The Davy Crockett National Forest covers a large block of the county east of Crockett, including the Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area, a man-made lake built during the 1930s.
The county borders Anderson County to the north, Cherokee County to the northeast, Angelina County to the east, Trinity County to the southeast, Walker County to the south, Madison County to the southwest, and Leon County to the west.
Demographics
Houston County had 22,066 residents at the 2020 census, edging down to an estimated 22,051 by 2024. Crockett and Grapeland are the two largest communities, together holding more than a third of the county’s population; the rest is spread across small towns and rural, unincorporated land. Median household income is $56,531, well below the Texas figure of $78,476, and 15% of residents live below the poverty line, above the national rate of 12.5%. With 1,231 square miles of land, the county averages about 18 people per square mile.
Economy & Local Life
Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector (about 1,161 workers), followed by retail trade (806) and manufacturing (728), per Data USA’s latest count. The J. Dale Wainwright Unit — a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison near Lovelady, better known by its former name, the Eastham Unit — is one of the county’s largest single employers, housing more than 2,400 inmates and a comparable staff footprint. Crockett, Lovelady, Kennard, Latexo and Grapeland each run their own independent school district, all of them named for their home town.
History
Houston County was created on June 12, 1837, the first county organized under the Republic of Texas, and named for Sam Houston. Its original boundaries stretched far beyond today’s lines, covering all of present-day Anderson and Trinity counties plus parts of Henderson and Polk counties before those were carved out. Crockett, the county seat, was named for Davy Crockett, who is said to have camped nearby on his way to the Alamo, and was incorporated the same year, making it Texas’s fifth-oldest city.
Timber drove the county’s growth once the railroad reached Crockett in 1872: the Four C sawmill was producing 300,000 board feet of lumber a day by June 1902, before the surrounding pine stands were exhausted and the mill closed around 1920. The county’s prison unit near Lovelady, opened in 1917 as Texas’s first maximum-security facility, later held Bonnie and Clyde gang member Clyde Barrow from 1930 to 1932; Barrow returned in January 1934 to help five prisoners escape.
Getting There
US Highway 287 and State Highways 7, 19 and 21 cross the county; no interstate highway runs through Houston County.
- Houston, TX — about 120 miles south
- Lufkin, TX — about 35 miles east
- Huntsville, TX — about 45 miles south
- Nacogdoches, TX — about 45 miles northeast
Houston County Airport (KDKR), 3 miles east of Crockett, handles general aviation only; the nearest commercial airport is George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, about 120 miles south. Amtrak’s nearest station is also in Houston.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Houston County the same as the city of Houston?
No. The city of Houston is in Harris County, about 120 miles south. Houston County is rural East Texas, seat Crockett, and predates the city as a namesake — it was Texas’s first county, organized in 1837.
What is the population of Houston County, Texas?
22,066 at the 2020 census, an estimated 22,051 as of 2024.
How big is Houston County?
1,231 square miles (3,190 km2) of land.
What is the county seat of Houston County?
Crockett, ZIP code 75835, incorporated in 1837 and named for Davy Crockett.
How many towns are in Houston County?
Five incorporated cities and towns — Crockett, Grapeland, Lovelady, Kennard and Latexo — plus dozens of unincorporated communities including Ratcliff, Austonio and Porter Springs.
What ZIP codes cover Houston County?
75835 (Crockett), 75844 (Grapeland), 75851 (Lovelady), 75847 (Kennard), 75849 (Latexo) and 75858 (Ratcliff).
Are there other Houston Counties in the US?
Yes — Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota and Tennessee each have their own separate Houston County, all named independently and unrelated to this one.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Texas.