{"id":7991,"date":"2023-09-16T20:31:10","date_gmt":"2023-09-16T20:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=7991"},"modified":"2026-08-15T06:36:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T06:36:41","slug":"hardin-county-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/hardin-county-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Hardin County, Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hardin County is a county in Texas, United States, on the flat coastal plains about 30 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. It had a population of 56,231 at the 2020 census and covers 898 square miles (2,330 km2), of which 891 square miles are land and 7.0 square miles are water, centred near 30\u00b020\u2032N 94\u00b023\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Kountze is the county seat and its postal code is 77625. The county has five incorporated cities, twenty-plus unincorporated communities, no civil townships, and runs on Central time. It sits in the Beaumont&ndash;Port Arthur metropolitan area and holds a large share of the Big Thicket National Preserve.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Hardin County<\/h2>\n<p>Hardin County has five incorporated cities and roughly two dozen unincorporated communities and place names. Unincorp. below covers rural crossroads, former sawmill or oilfield settlements, and small subdivisions with no city government.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Kountze<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>77625<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lumberton<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>13,557<\/td>\n<td>77657<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Silsbee<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>77656<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sour Lake<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>77659<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rose Hill Acres<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>77656<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Batson<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>77519<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bragg<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dies<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Fletcher<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Fresenius<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Gore Landing<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Grayburg<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Hathaway<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Honey Island<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lelavale<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lillard<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Loeb<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Nona<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Pine Ridge<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Pinewood Estates<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rattlesnake Bend<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Saratoga<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>77585<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Seth<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Strain<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Thicket<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>77374<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Village Mills<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>77663<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Votaw<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>77376<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Wildwood<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Woodcrest Acres<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>77625 &mdash; Kountze<\/li>\n<li>77657 &mdash; Lumberton<\/li>\n<li>77656 &mdash; Silsbee (also serves Rose Hill Acres)<\/li>\n<li>77659 &mdash; Sour Lake<\/li>\n<li>77585 &mdash; Saratoga<\/li>\n<li>77519 &mdash; Batson<\/li>\n<li>77663 &mdash; Village Mills<\/li>\n<li>77376 &mdash; Votaw<\/li>\n<li>77374 &mdash; Thicket<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The smaller unincorporated places without their own ZIP are served by the nearest post office town&#8217;s code above.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Hardin County lies on flat coastal-plain terrain in Southeast Texas and is largely covered by the dense forest of the Big Thicket, part of which sits inside the Big Thicket National Preserve. The Neches River forms the county&#8217;s eastern boundary. Hardin County borders <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/tyler-county\/\">Tyler County<\/a> to the north, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/jasper-county-texas\/\">Jasper County<\/a> to the east, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/orange-county-texas\/\">Orange County<\/a> to the southeast, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/jefferson-county-texas\/\">Jefferson County<\/a> to the south, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/liberty-county-texas\/\">Liberty County<\/a> to the southwest, and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/polk-county-texas\/\">Polk County<\/a> to the northwest.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Hardin County had 56,231 residents at the 2020 census. Its two largest communities are Lumberton, with 13,557 people, and Silsbee, the older mill town north of it. Median household income in the county runs below the Texas median of $75,780, reflecting the county&#8217;s rural and small-town economic base outside the Lumberton commuter belt. Population density works out to about 63 people per square mile of land.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Hardin County&#8217;s economy mixes timber and forest products, oil and gas field services tied to the historic Sour Lake and Saratoga fields, and retail and commuter employment linked to nearby Beaumont. Lumberton functions largely as a bedroom community for the Beaumont&ndash;Port Arthur area. Silsbee and Kountze both host public school districts that anchor local employment and community life.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>Hardin County was organized in 1858 and is named for the family of William Hardin, a settler, judge, and postmaster who lived in neighboring Liberty County. The Sour Lake and Saratoga oilfields, discovered in the early 1900s, brought a boom-era wave of settlement and helped shape several of the county&#8217;s smaller unincorporated communities. The current county courthouse in Kountze dates to 1959.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>US Highway 69\/287 runs north&ndash;south through the county connecting Kountze, Lumberton, and Silsbee; State Highway 326 and State Highway 105 provide east&ndash;west links.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Beaumont &mdash; 20 miles south<\/li>\n<li>Woodville &mdash; 25 miles north<\/li>\n<li>Jasper &mdash; 35 miles northeast<\/li>\n<li>Livingston &mdash; 40 miles northwest<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The nearest commercial airport is Southeast Texas Regional Airport in Beaumont.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Hardin County, Texas?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt is in Southeast Texas, about 30 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico and part of the Beaumont&ndash;Port Arthur metropolitan area.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Hardin County?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt had a population of 56,231 at the 2020 census.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Hardin County?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt covers 898 square miles (2,330 km2), including 7.0 square miles of water.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Hardin County?<\/strong><br \/>\nKountze is the county seat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Hardin County?<\/strong><br \/>\nFive incorporated cities &mdash; Kountze, Lumberton, Silsbee, Sour Lake, and Rose Hill Acres &mdash; plus around two dozen unincorporated communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes are in Hardin County?<\/strong><br \/>\nNine ZIP codes serve the county, including 77625 (Kountze), 77657 (Lumberton), and 77656 (Silsbee).<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the Big Thicket National Preserve?<\/strong><br \/>\nA federally protected forest and wetland area whose units cover parts of Hardin County, preserving the dense Big Thicket woodland the county is known for.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/texas\/\">Towns and villages in Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hardin County is a county in Texas, United States, on the flat coastal plains about 30 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. It had a population of 56,231 at the 2020 census and covers 898 square miles (2,330 km2), of which 891 square miles are land and 7.0 square miles are water, centred near [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Hardin County, Texas","_seopress_titles_desc":"Hardin County, Texas: population, ZIP codes, cities (Kountze, Lumberton, Silsbee), Big Thicket geography, history, and bordering counties.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-7991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-texas","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7991"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10065,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7991\/revisions\/10065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}