Orange County, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Orange County
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The Orange County Courthouse in Orange
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Location within the U.S. state of Texas
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 Texas's location within the U.S. |
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| Country |  United States |
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| State |  Texas |
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| Founded | January 5, 1852 | ||
| Named for | Orange fruit | ||
| Seat | Orange | ||
| Largest city | Orange | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 380 sq mi (1,000 km2) | ||
| • Land | 334 sq mi (870 km2) | ||
| • Water | 46 sq mi (120 km2) 12%% | ||
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 84,808 | ||
| • Density | 223.2/sq mi (86.2/km2) | ||
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) | ||
| Congressional district | 36th | ||
Orange County is a county located in the very southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Texas, sharing a boundary with Louisiana, within the Golden Triangle of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 84,808. The county seat is the city of Orange, and it falls within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area.
Contents
History
Orange County was formed in 1852 from portions of Jefferson County. It was named after the orange fruit, the common citrus fruit grown by the early settlers of this County near the mouth of the Sabine River. Due to periodic spells of quite cold winter weather (frosts) in Orange County, it is no longer the home of orange trees and citrus orchards. The production of those fruits in Texas long ago was moved a long way southwest into the Rio Grande Valley, where the weather is almost always warm all winter long. Citrus trees produce their fruit in the wintertime, which makes them especially vulnerable to frost and icy weather.
A similar thing has happened in Florida, where orchards of citrus trees no longer exist in either Citrus County or Orange County because of bad winter freezes in some years. In both Florida and Texas, the citrus agriculture has been moved farther south in search of milder winters, and away from the periodic frosts.
During World War II, Orange County was the home of a large amount of shipbuilding for the navies the United States and allied countries. The major shipbuilder, the Consolidated Steel Corporation was located in the town of Orange, and among the warships that it built were the USS Aulick (DD-569) (1942), the first warship built there, the USS Pope (DE-134) (1943), and the USS Carpenter (DD-825) (1945–46), the last warship built there. During the war, the Consolidate Steel Corporation employed as many as 20,000 people at its shipyard in Orange, Texas.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 380 square miles (980 km2), of which 334 square miles (870 km2) is land and 46 square miles (120 km2) (12%) is water.
Orange County is bordered on its east by the Sabine River, on its southeast by Sabine Lake, and on the northwest by the Neches River.
The geography of Orange County varies relatively little, with an elevation that reaches 33 feet (10 meters) above sea level at very few points within the county. Orange County is very flat, and its soil is quite sandy, as could be expected in a county along the Gulf of Mexico. (Sandy soil is also common in southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and in western and southern Florida.) There are saltwater marshes in much of the southeastern part of Orange County that borders the Sabine River. There are piney woods (sometimes capitalized) in the northern part of the county.
Adjacent counties and parishes
- Jasper County (north)
- Newton County (north)
- Hardin County (northwest)
- Jefferson County (west)
- Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana (east)
- Cameron Parish, Louisiana (southeast)
National protected area
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 1,916 | — | |
| 1870 | 1,255 | −34.5% | |
| 1880 | 2,938 | 134.1% | |
| 1890 | 4,770 | 62.4% | |
| 1900 | 5,905 | 23.8% | |
| 1910 | 9,528 | 61.4% | |
| 1920 | 15,379 | 61.4% | |
| 1930 | 15,149 | −1.5% | |
| 1940 | 17,382 | 14.7% | |
| 1950 | 40,567 | 133.4% | |
| 1960 | 60,357 | 48.8% | |
| 1970 | 71,170 | 17.9% | |
| 1980 | 83,838 | 17.8% | |
| 1990 | 80,509 | −4.0% | |
| 2000 | 84,966 | 5.5% | |
| 2010 | 81,837 | −3.7% | |
| 2020 | 84,808 | 3.6% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census 1850–2010 2010–2020 |
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2020 census
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 67,895 | 64,935 | 82.96% | 76.57% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 6,922 | 7,981 | 8.46% | 9.41% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 340 | 343 | 0.42% | 0.40% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 797 | 1,108 | 0.97% | 1.31% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 38 | 13 | 0.05% | 0.02% |
| Some Other Race alone (NH) | 73 | 196 | 0.09% | 0.23% |
| Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH) | 1,006 | 2,967 | 1.23% | 3.50% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 4,766 | 7,265 | 5.82% | 8.57% |
| Total | 81,837 | 84,808 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
Transportation
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Airports
Orange County Airport operates general-aviation flights.
Nearby Southeast Texas Regional Airport (Port Arthur) operates commercial flights.
Major highways
Interstate 10
U.S. Highway 90
State Highway 12
State Highway 62
State Highway 73
State Highway 87
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Communities
Cities
- Bridge City
- Orange (county seat)
- Pine Forest
- Pinehurst
- Port Arthur (mostly in Jefferson County)
- Rose City
- Vidor
- West Orange
Census-designated place
Unincorporated communities
Ghost towns
Economy
Primary economic activities in Orange County are the petroleum refining industry, paper milling, rice farming, and shrimping.
Orange County was formerly a center for the building of warships, and a large U.S. Navy ghost fleet (reserve fleet) still exists in Jefferson County - from which currently, many old warships are being cleaned of water pollution sources and then scrapped for their metals, thus employment for residents of Orange County in shipbreaking.
Newspapers published in the county include the twice-weekly Orange Leader and weeklies including the Bridge City-based Penny Record, County Record, and Vidor Vidorian.
Education
The county is served by five school districts: Bridge City ISD, Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated ISD, Orangefield ISD, Vidor ISD, and West Orange-Cove Consolidated ISD.
See also
- In Spanish: Condado de Orange (Texas)
