Smith

Formed July 1, 1846 (66^th county)

Smith County (233,484), Tyler (105,984)                

The Modern tan brick and concrete skyscraper courthouse was built in 1955 and sits on a square at Ferguson and Broadway.  Broadway is United States Highway 69 Business coming through the city.  The governmental structure is across the street from the city center park.  Five county courthouses (1846, 1848, 1851, 1910, and 1955) have been in the county, all in Tyler, since the county’s July 1, 1846 founding.  Smith County was taken from Nacogdoches County as the 66^th county.  Thomas Jameson & Merrell and E. Davis Wilcox designed this latest courthouse.  Smith is named for Texas General James Smith who served during the Texas Revolution and was later a legislator.  Tyler gets its name from United States President John Tyler.  His name is also the source for Tyler County. 

Smith County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  Four District Court Judges and Four County Court Judges serve Smith County.  The county is located in the East Texas pines.  Dallas, Texas is west and Shreveport, Louisiana is east of the county.  The county center is in Tyler 1.6 miles North-Northeast of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Upshur, Gregg, Rusk, Cherokee, Henderson, Van Zandt, and Wood counties.  The county has the Neches River on its western border and the Sabine River on its northern border. 

The area of the county is 928 square miles.  It is 102 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 24 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 251.6 persons per square mile making it 25 out of 254 in the state.  Smith County has 56.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 20 crosses east to west from Gregg County to Van Zandt County.  United States Highway 69 enters from Wood County, on the north, and exits into Cherokee County, on the south.  United States Highway 80 cuts the northwest tip from Wood County, north, to Van Zandt County, west.  The county is shaped like a flower vase with the eastern border being a straight line.  Tyler is slightly south and west of the county center.  Tyler is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 45.4% of the county population.  This county is in the Tyler Metropolitan Statistical Area.