Jefferson

Formed January 8, 1836 (9^th county)

Jefferson County (256,526), Beaumont (115,268)

The towering courthouse of Jefferson County was built in 1932 of stone and tan brick.  It is located at the corner of Pearl and Franklin streets.  It is south of Interstate 10 on the United States Highway 90 (Pearl Street).  A new modern granite Addition was added to the structure in 1981.  Fred C. Stone & Augustin Babin were the main courthouse’s architects.  An Annex was built in 1962.  The courthouse was renovated in 1984 and 2011.  All four courthouses (1854, 1893, and 1932) since the January 8, 1836 county founding have been in Beaumont.  The county was one of the 23 original counties in Texas (9^th county.)  Jefferson County was named for Jefferson, Texas which was named President Thomas Jefferson.  The county seat was named for Jefferson Beaumont, a local notable.  Marion County seat, Jefferson, was named for the former president. 

Jefferson County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  Seven District Court Judges and Five County Court Judges serve Jefferson County.  The county is located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico east of Houston, Texas.  The southern border is the Gulf of Mexico.  The Neches River and Sabine Lake combine to form the east border.  Where the east border is Sabine Lake, the opposite side is Louisiana.  The county center is 21.5 miles South of Beaumont nearer Taylor Landing.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Hardin and Orange counties and the Gulf of Mexico and Chambers and Liberty counties. 

The area of the county is 904 square miles.  It is 136 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 21 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 283.8 persons per square mile making it 23 out of 254 in the state.  Jefferson County has 87.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 10 crosses from east to west, Orange County to Chambers County.  United States Highways 69/287 enter jointly from Hardin County on the north and terminate in the county.  United States Highway 90 is joined with Interstate Highway 10 entering from Orange County, splits at Beaumont, and exits to the west into Liberty County.  United States Highway 96 comes in from Orange County, on the east, and terminates in Jefferson County.  The county is an upside-down glass shape with Beaumont in the far northeast corner of the county.  Beaumont is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 44.9% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced BOE-MONT.  This county is in the Beaumont-Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area.