Kaufman

Formed February 1, 1848 (72^nd county)

Kaufman County (145,303), Kaufman (7,217), Forney (23,456)

The Modern steel, tan brick, and marble courthouse.  Located on the square at Grove and Washington streets, this building was built in 1956.  Texas State Highways 34 and 243 split at the courthouse square.  United States Highway 175 bypasses the city center to the south and west.  A. Warren Morey and McGill designed this building.  All five county courthouses (1851, 1861, 1872, 1887, and 1956) for the county have been in the City of Kaufman since the February 1, 1848 county founding.  The county was taken from Henderson County as the 72^nd county.  Kaufman County and city got their name from David Spangler Kaufman who was the first Texas representative to the United States House of Representatives. 

Kaufman County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  Two District Court Judges and Three County Court Judges serve Kaufman County.  The county is situated just to the southeast of Dallas, Texas.  Its southwest border is the Trinity River, which provides rich river land for excellent farming.  The county center is 3.9 miles Northeast of Kaufman nearer Post Oak Bend City.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Hunt, Van Zandt, Henderson, Navarro, Ellis, Dallas, and Rockwall counties. 

The area of the county is 786 square miles.  It is 203 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 32 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 184.9 persons per square mile making it 33 out of 254 in the state.  Kaufman County has 44.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 20 crosses east to west, Van Zandt County to Dallas County.  United States Highway 80 also transits from Van Zandt County to Dallas County.  United States Highway 175 enters from the southeast, Henderson County, and exits to the west, Dallas County.  The county is a rectangle except for the river border.  Kaufman is near the county center.  Forney is located in the northwest quarter of the county.  Kaufman is the county seat and Forney is largest city.  Kaufman is 5.0% of the county population while Forney is 16.1% of the county population.  This county is in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area.