Our mission: To serve the needs of Houston County youth and adults by leading and conducting quality, relevant and continuing education programs. Houston County is concerned about meeting the educational needs of its youth to prepare them to meet the needs of the 21st century.
County History: Houston County was created on June 12, 1837, and carries the distinction of being the first county established under the Republic of Texas, and was named for its first President, General Sam Houston. The county is made up of five municipalities – Crockett, Grapeland, Lovelady, Latexo, and Kennard – and some 53 identified communities.
The county seat is Crockett, named for David Crockett, who spent considerable time here before going on to San Antonio and the Alamo. Crockett is the fifth oldest Texas town, and is rich with historical sites.
Recreation and tourism are very important because the El Camino Real, Highway 21, transects Houston County from east to west. The county is known as “Paradise in the Pines”. The rolling terrain is heavily forested on the Eastern side and open pastures on the western side. Agriculture products are the major economic generator with annual receipts totaling approximately 70 million dollars. Of that 70 million dollars, beef cattle and timber make up 58.5 million dollars.
Demographically, projects for Houston County in the year 2000 show very little change, in fact there was decrease from the 1980’s to the 1990’s. In 2008, the estimated population of Houston County was 22,698, ranking 105th in the state.
In 2007 Houston County had a per capita personal income (PCPI) of $24,807. This PCPI ranked 205th in the state and was 67 percent of the state average, $37,083, and 64 percent of the national average, $38,615. The 2007 PCPI reflected an increase of 7.9 percent from 2006. The 2006-2007 state change was 5.5 percent and the national change was 4.9 percent. In 1997 the PCPI of Houston was $18,601 and ranked 137th in the state. The 1997-2007 average annual growth rate of PCPI was 2.9 percent. The average annual growth rate for the state was 4.6 percent and for the nation was 4.3 percent.
For more information about Houston County, or any of Texas’ 254 counties, you can access the following: the Texas Almanac; web sites http://govinfo.library.orst.edu/cgi-bin/bfact and http://monarch.tamu.edu, and http://crockett.org. Program Background:
Texas AgriLife Extension Service is a member of the Texas A&M University System. Extension, with some 950 professional educators located at Texas A&M and at 12 district and 250 county offices, operates in a unique partnership with federal, state, and county government to address the needs of people in every community. Extension provides education in food and fiber systems, environment and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, 4-H and youth development, and community and economic development.
