Orange County, Texas

For other uses, see Orange County (disambiguation).

Orange County, Texas
Seal
Location in the state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	January 5, 1852
Seat	Orange
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	380 sq mi (984 km²) 356 sq mi (922 km²) 23 sq mi (60 km²), 6.10%
Population  - (2000)  - Density	84,966 238/sq mi (92/km²)
Website	www.co.orange.tx.us

Orange County is one of 254 counties of the State of Texas and its county seat is the city of Orange, Texas. In the year 2000, the population of Orange County was about 85,000. Orange County is the county in the very southeastern corner of Texas, with a boundary with Louisiana and a seacoast on the Gulf of Mexico. Orange County is located in the general Golden Triangle of Texas - the Jefferson County - Orange County area.

Orange County is bordered on its east by the Sabine River - the border with Louisiana, on its southeast by the Gulf of Mexico, on its west by Jefferson County - its parent county, and on its north by three different counties of Texas. Also on its northwestern border is the Neches River.

The biggest building in Orange County is the West Orange-Stark Elementary School, built in 2010. See West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District.

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.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Orange County has a total area of 380 square miles (980 km²), of which 356 square miles (920 km²) is land and 23 square miles (60 km²) (6.10%) is water.

The main highways of Orange County

• Interstate 10
• U.S. Highway 90
• State Highway 12
• State Highway 62
• State Highway 73
• State Highway 87

See List of Highways in Orange County for more roadways in Orange 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

• Big Thicket National Preserve (part)

History of Orange County

Orange County was formed in 1852 from portions of Jefferson County.^[1] 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.^[2] 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 the State of Florida, where orchards of citrus trees no longer exist in either Citrus County or Orange County, Fla. 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.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 84,966 people, 31,642 households, and 23,794 families residing in the county. The population density was 238 people per square mile (92/km²). There were 34,781 housing units at an average density of 98 per square mile (38/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.98% White, 8.38% Black or African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.12% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. 3.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 31,642 households out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.80% were married couples living together, 12.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.80% were non-families. 21.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.30% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,586, and the median income for a family was $44,152. Males had a median income of $40,185 versus $21,859 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,554. About 11.40% of families and 13.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.50% of those under age 18 and 12.40% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The county is served by 5 school districts^[4]:

• Bridge City ISD
• Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated ISD
• Orangefield ISD
• Vidor ISD
• West Orange-Cove Consolidated ISD

West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District

Main article: West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District

The district's Superintendent of Schools is James Colbert Jr.

• M B North Early Learning Center/Head Start (seeking, Principal)
• West Orange-Stark Elementary (Bennie Smith, Principal)
• West Orange-Stark Middle (seeking, Principal)
• West Orange-Stark High School (Hutcherson Hill, Principal)
• West Orange-Cove Academic Alternative Center (Rodney Anderson, Director)

Bridge City ISD

The Superintendent is Jamey Harrison.^[5] It includes^[6]:

• Hatton Elementary School (Principal:Norman Gaspard^[7])
• Sims Elementary School (Principal:Kent Broussard^[8])
• Bridge City Intermediate School (Principal:Tara Fountain^[9])
• Bridge City Middle School (Principal:Kevin Jones^[10])
• Bridge City High School (Principal:Richard Briggs^[11]).

Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated ISD

The Superintendent is Dr. Pauline Hargrove.^[12] It includes^[12]:

• Mauriceville Elementary School
• Little Cypress Elementary School
• Mauriceville Middle School
• Little Cypress Intermediate School
• Mauriceville Middle School
• Little Cypress Junior High School
• Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School

The economy of Orange County

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 there is still a large U.S. Navy ghost fleet (reserve fleet) in Jefferson County - from which currently, many old warships are being cleaned of water pollution sources and then scrapped for their metals. Thus, there is still employment for residents of Orange County in shipbreaking.

Government

The Orange County Courthouse serves as the court for the region.

Communities

Cities

Bridge City Orange Pine Forest Pinehurst

Rose City Vidor West Orange

Census-designated places

• Mauriceville

Unincorporated areas

• Forest Heights
• Little Cypress
• Orangefield
• Texla

Transportation

Orange County Airport operates general aviation flights.

Nearby Southeast Texas Regional Airport (Port Arthur) operates commercial flights.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Orange County, Texas

References

1. ^ Handbook of Texas Online - ORANGE COUNTY
2. ^ History of Orange, TX
3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
4. ^ Agency, Texas Education (2009-02-12). "School District Locator: Accessible Version". http://deleon.tea.state.tx.us/SDL/Forms/txtSearch.aspx. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 
5. ^ ISD, Bridge City. "Central Office". http://www.bridgecityisd.net/bcisd/district/central_office.html. Retrieved 2009-05-30. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ ISD, Bridge City. "Welcome to Bridge City ISD!". http://www.bridgecityisd.net/bcisd/. Retrieved 2009-05-30. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ School, Hatton Elementary. "Hatton Elementary". http://www.bridgecityisd.net/bcisd/campus/hat.html. Retrieved 2009-05-30. ^{[dead link]}
8. ^ School, Sims Elementary. "Sims Elementary". http://www.bridgecityisd.net/bcisd/campus/sims.html. Retrieved 2009-05-30. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ School, Bridge City Intermediate. "Bridge City Intermediate". http://www.bridgecityisd.net/bcisd/campus/bci.html. Retrieved 2009-05-30. ^{[dead link]}
10. ^ School, Bridge City Middle. "Bridge City Middle School". http://www.bridgecityisd.net/bcisd/campus/ms.html. Retrieved 2009-05-30. ^{[dead link]}
11. ^ School, Bridge City High. "Bridge City High School". http://www.bridgecityisd.net/bcisd/campus/hs.html. Retrieved 2009-05-30. ^{[dead link]}
12. ^ ^{a b} ISD, Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated (2008). "Little Cypress Mauriceville CISD Orange, TX". http://www.lcmcisd.org/. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 

External links

• Orange County government's website
• Orange County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas
• Historic materials from the Heritage House Museum in Orange, hosted by the UNT's Portal to Texas History

Coordinates: 30°08′N 93°53′W / 30.13°N 93.89°W / 30.13; -93.89