Harris

Formed December 22, 1836 (20^th county)

Harris County (4,731,129), Houston (2,301,572)

The striking stately Beaux Arts and Classical Revival courthouse is from 1910.  The limestone and granite courthouse was designed by Charles E. Barglebaugh.  The building was remodeled in 1954.  Five courthouses have been in Houston serving Harris County since its founding on December 22, 1836.  There currently is a Juvenile Justice Center (1952), a Civil Courthouse (2006), and a Criminal Justice Center (1999) augmenting the courthouse.  The county was one of the original 23 counties but its original name was Harrisburg County (20^th county.)  The courthouse sits at the corner of Fannin and Congress streets.  The new ones are on the southeast and the southwest corners.  United States Highway 59 passes seven blocks to the east of the courthouse.  The county was named for John Richardson Harris, an early settler and sailing fleet merchant.  Houston got its name from Sam Houston, Republic of Texas President and Texas hero.  Crockett County seat is also named for him. 

Harris County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  Fifty-nine District Court Judges and Twenty-five County Court Judges serve Harris County.  The county is in the southeast part of the state.  Although it is not physically located on the Gulf of Mexico, a shipping canal and Galveston Bay give it ready access.  The county center is in Houston 3.1 miles Northeast of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Montgomery, Liberty, Chambers, Galveston, Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Waller counties. 

The area of the county is 1729 square miles.  It is 14 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 1 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 2736.3 persons per square mile making it 2 out of 254 in the state.  Harris County has 58.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 10 crosses east to west, Chambers County to Waller County.  Interstate Highway 45 enters from Montgomery County on the north and exits into Galveston County on the southeast.  United States Highway 59 comes in from the northeast, Montgomery County, and goes out to the southwest, Fort Bend County.  United States Highway 90 enters from Liberty County on the northeast, joins Interstate Highway 10, and parallels it west into Waller County.  United States Highway 90 Alternate originates in the county and goes with United States Highway 59 into Fort Bend County.  United States Highway 290 originates in Harris County and goes northwest into Waller County.  The county is many-sided but the overall shape is rectangular.  Obviously, Houston and its numerous metropolitan neighbors dominate the county.  Houston extends into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.  Houston is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 48.7% of the county population.  The county center is definitely within the Houston city limits.  This county is in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area.