Wood County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 44,843. Its county seat is Quitman. The county was named for George T. Wood, governor of Texas from 1847 to 1849.
History The first documented European exploration of what is now Wood County took place in the late 18th century, when Pedro Vial, was sent on expeditions by the Spanish governor of Texas. After marching all the way to Santa Fe in 1787, he headed east to Natchitoches. The following year, he passed through today's Wood County on his way back to San Antonio. Some archeological evidence suggests that a French trading post stood along Mill Race Creek in the early 1700s near the site of the modern town of Hainsville. The French may have build a military post called Fort Ledout near Black Oak in Wood County, but other than the archeological evidence, little is known about any possible French settlements.
An important archeological discovery made by a hunting party in 1887, southeast of Hainsville and north of Bromley, suggests that Native Americans may have engaged in a battle either between different tribes or with the Spanish. Despite finding many relics, including a cross, tomahawk pieces, a Spanish coin, and several broken muskets, no written record of any such encounter has been found. Some Spanish and Mexican land grants were issued in the area, but settlement was sparse until after the Texas Revolution. The first White settler was Martin Varner. He built his home near the southeast side of what is now Hainsville at least by 1824. The first organized settlement was at Webster in 1845.
In 1850, after Texas was annexed to the United States, the Legislature authorized the forming of the county from Van Zandt County. In 1849, residents of what was then Van Zandt County north of the Sabine River, petitioned the legislature for the county to be reorganized. Reasons included that the majority of the population lived north of the river, and that travel to Jordan's Saline, then the county seat, was difficult in winter. Wood County was created and Van Zandt was reorganized with territory from adjacent counties.
Early industry Early industry included a number of sawmills, gristmills, steam mills, and cotton gins. A jug factory operated north of the Big Sandy Creek in the 1850s. A second jug factory was built some years later near Holly Creek. Two brick kilns are known to have been located in the area of Winnsboro. Wigley Furniture Company began operating in Mineola in 1874. A cane and rawhide-bottom chair factory opened in 1886. Tie-cutting became a major industry in the county in the 1870s with the coming of the railroads. Pine Mills, Perryville, Ogburn, Merrimac, Peach, and Fouke got their start as sawmill towns.
Civil War era Wood County had only 17 slaves by 1850, but that number ballooned 10 years later to 923, estimated at 20% of the population. Wood County voted for secession by a 70% majority. The two delegates to the Secession Convention, though, both opposed secession.
The first soldiers raised for the Confederacy in Wood County were Company A, 10th Texas Cavalry Regiment. A training ground called Camp Flournoy was established east of Quitman. Another company called the Wood County Rebels was formed on August 5, 1861. They then requested active duty as cavalry.
Coming of the railroads The Texas and Pacific Railroad came through the southern portion of the county in 1873 and formed a junction with the International and Great Northern Railroad at Sodom, which was later renamed Mineola, on a Longview-to-Dallas route. The railroads came to the northern portion of the county in 1876, when the East Line and Red River Railroad laid track from Jefferson to Greenville. This segment later was absorbed by the Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas Railroad. The Texas Shortline Railroad also ran between Alba and Grand Saline in Van Zandt County.
Discovery of coal Coal was discovered in the Alba area in sometime before 1900. The operating mines were for lignite coal.
Discovery of oil Oil was discovered in Wood County in 1941, and the county produced of oil per year by 1948. Developed oilfields in Wood County include the Pine Mills Oilfield and the Alba Oilfield.
Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (7.3%) are covered by water.
Adjacent counties Hopkins County (north) Franklin County (northeast) Camp County (northeast) Upshur County (east) Smith County (south) Van Zandt County (southwest) Rains County (west)
National protected areas Little Sandy National Wildlife Refuge
Communities Municipalities and incorporated towns The following are municipalities and towns which are incorporated under the laws of the state of Texas, meaning they have elected governments and officially recognized municipal, town, or village governments. Alba Hawkins Mineola Quitman Winnsboro Yantis
Census-designated place
Holly Lake Ranch
Unincorporated settlements and towns The following are towns in Wood County, Texas which are not incorporated but recognized as active settlements through community centers, churches, and similar geographic, historic, and physical landmarks.
Cartwright Coke Crow East Point Forest Hill Fouke Golden Hainesville Hoard Little Hope New Hope Oak Grove Ogburn Perryville Pine Mills Pineview Pleasant Grove Stout
Small communities, ghost towns, and former settlements Wood County previously had a number of settlements. In 1884, there were 35 settlements in the county at which the Texas Legislature ordered schools to be established.
Calvary Coldwater Gilbreth Gunter Salem Webster Westbrook
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Wood County, Texas – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980 Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)21,77526,06931,84835,62835,90688.17%88.73%86.66%84.90%80.07%Black or African American alone (NH)2,5532,3742,2431,9511,65810.34%8.08%6.10%4.65%3.70%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)531051671982270.21%0.36%0.45%0.47%0.51%Asian alone (NH)2939691562300.12%0.13%0.19%0.37%0.51%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census8121xx0.02%0.03%0.00%Other race alone (NH)451981380.02%0.02%0.05%0.02%0.31%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census2964601,789xx0.81%1.10%3.99%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2837882,1023,5514,8941.15%2.68%5.72%8.46%10.91%Total24,69729,38036,75241,96444,843 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 44,843. The median age was 50.5 years. 18.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 28.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.7 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 82.2% White, 3.8% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.9% from some other race, and 7.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.9% of the population.
12.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 87.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 18,447 households in the county, of which 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.5% were married-couple households, 17.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 22,129 housing units, of which 16.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 78.5% were owner-occupied and 21.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.0%.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, 36,752 people, 14,583 households, and 10,645 families were residing in the county. The population density was . The 17,939 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 89.11% White, 6.12% African American, 0.55% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 2.93% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. About 5.72% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.
Of the 14,583 households, 26.70% had children under 18 living with them, 61.50% were married couples living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.00% were not families. About 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.20% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.42, and the average family size was 2.85.
In the county, the age distribution was 21.80% under 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 22.90% from 25 to 44, 26.40% from 45 to 64, and 20.90% who were 65 or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was , and for a family was . Males had a median income of versus for females. The per capita income for the county was . About 10.80% of families and 14.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.50% of those under age 18 and 10.30% of those age 65 or over. Transportation Wood County includes the intersection of two major U.S. highways; US 69 and US 80 intersect in the city of Mineola's downtown area. Texas Highway 37 connects Mineola and Quitman off US 69.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 69 U.S. Highway 80 State Highway 11 State Highway 37 State Highway 154 State Highway 182 Loop 173 Loop 564
Farm to market roads Wood County includes all or part of these Texas Farm To Market roads:
FM 14 FM 17 FM 49 FM 69 FM 115 FM 288 FM 312 FM 514 FM 515 FM 778 FM 779 FM 852 FM 1254 FM 1483 FM 1643 FM 1647 FM 1795 FM 1799 FM 1801 FM 1804 FM 2088 FM 2225 FM 2422 FM 2455 FM 2659 FM 2869 FM 2911 FM 2966 FM 3056
Railroads Wood County is currently served by Amtrak's Texas Eagle passenger railway line. The railroad tracks which run through the southern portion of Wood County and through Mineola are currently owned and operated by Union Pacific.
Airports Wood County is served by three airports, located in Mineola, Quitman, and Winnsboro: Mineola Wisner Field is identified as 3F9. This airport was established in 1917, and has been operated by the same family owners since 1926. Wood County Airport (Mineola/Quitman Airport) is a public airport owned by Wood County. Winnsboro Municipal Airport is located south of the city of Winnsboro and is a municipally owned airport facility.
Media Wood County is in the Tyler-Longview media market. It is currently served by two local newspapers, and daily newspapers and television stations from other parts of the East Texas area.
Newspapers Wood County has five newspapers published within its borders: Wood County Now, Wood County Monitor, Winnsboro News, Yantis Tymes, and The Community Chronicle. The Winnsboro News also serves Franklin County, as Winnsboro is split between the two counties.
Wood County Monitor In August 2016, two of the county's longstanding newspaper operations, the Mineola Monitor and the Wood County Democrat, were merged by their owner, Bluebonnet Publishing. Prior to that, the Mineola Monitor operated under its own masthead in Mineola, and the Wood County Democrat operated under its own masthead in Quitman. Staffing at the newspapers did not change, and the staffs of both newspapers were merged.
Winnsboro News