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.
president, Thomas Jefferson.
The county is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan
Statistical Area.
Jefferson County, on Interstate Highway 10 in the Coastal Plain or
Gulf Prairie region of extreme southeastern Texas, is bounded by
Orange County on the northeast, by Hardin County on the north, by
Liberty and Chambers counties on the west, and by the Gulf of
Mexico on the south. To the east the county line is formed by the
Neches River, Sabine Lake, and Sabine Pass,qqv and to the north by
Pine Island Bayou. A series of lakes extends across the southern
part of the county, and beaches overlook the Gulf. The Port Arthur
ship canal, on the west shore of Sabine Lake, connects with the
Neches and Sabine rivers to provide deepwater ports at Beaumont,
Port Arthur, Nederland, and Port Neches. Deepwater transportation
and petrochemical industries are among the county's economic
mainstays. Beef cattle and rice yield major farm income, and the
majority of wage earners are employed in the petrochemical,
shipbuilding, and rubber industries. The county comprises 937
square miles, mainly of grassy plains, though a dense forest belt
crosses the northwest part. The southern third of the county
consists of marshy saltgrass terrain good for cattle raising, the
middle third is coastal prairie used for grazing and rice culture,
and the northern third is heavily forested with hardwoods and
southern yellow pine. The terrain is low and flat, with altitudes
rising from sea level to about fifty feet. Beach sands and ocean
sediments make up soils along the coast. The northern border is
surfaced by light-colored, loamy soils over deep, reddish clayey or
loamy subsoils with hardened calcium deposits, and the remainder of
the county has light to dark loamy surfaces over clayey subsoils or
gray to black, clayey soils. Geologically, the county is noted for
its Beaumont Clay formation and the Spindletop and Big Hill salt
domes, which contain sulfur and petroleum. The mean annual
temperature is 69° F, and the average annual rainfall is
fifty-three inches. The subtropical, humid climate features warm,
moist summers tempered by Gulf breezes. The growing season averages
225 days a year. Vegetation includes pine, white oak, red oak, pin
oak, ash, beech, magnolia, gum, cypress, bunchgrasses, marsh
millet, seashore saltgrass and cordgrasses. Between 1 and 10
percent of the land is considered prime farmland. Among the
principal streams are Taylor's, Hillebrandt, and Pine Island
bayous. Lake B. A. Steinhagen and Sam Rayburn Reservoirqqv provide
water for municipal use and industry, and the bayous are used for
irrigation by rice growers. Natural resources in the county include
ceramic clays, industrial sand, oil and gas, sulfur, and pine and
hardwood. Four railroad systems-the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe,
Kansas City Southern, Missouri Pacific, and Southern Pacific-serve
the county, and the Neches River provides water transport. The
county seat, Beaumont, an important shipping point, petrochemical
producer, and hospital and nursing home center, is located on the
Neches River at the county's approximate midpoint (at 30°05' N,
94°06' W). Incorporated towns include Beaumont, Bevil Oaks, China,
Groves, Nederland, Nome, Port Arthur, and Port Neches. Beaumont,
Port Arthur, and neighboring Orange, cities of the "Golden
Triangle," have been the principal cities of the Sabine area and
major manufacturing centers.
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