Harrison

Formed January 1, 1839 (31^st county)

Harrison County (68,834), Marshall (23,386)                

Much like other counties, Harrison County built a Modern glass and concrete structure for a courthouse in 1964.  The far more ornate 1900 version still sits down the street.  The courthouse is located at the corner of Houston and Franklin streets, four blocks south of United States Highway 80.  The designers are Turnbull, Inc.  Organized on January 1, 1839, all five county courthouses have been in Marshall.  The county was taken from Shelby County as the 31^st county.  Harrison is named for early settler and lawyer, Jonas Harrison.  Marshall gets its name from United States Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Marshall. 

Harrison County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge and Two County Court Judges serve Harrison County.  The county is located on the eastern border with Louisiana, across from Shreveport, Louisiana.  The Sabine River is most of the southern border of the county and the Cypress River is part of the northern border.  Tyler, Texas is west and Texarkana, Texas is north of the county.  The county center is in Marshall 3.5 miles East of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Marion County and Louisiana and Panola, Rusk, Gregg, and Upshur counties. 

The area of the county is 899 square miles.  It is 158 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 51 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 76.6 persons per square mile making it 57 out of 254 in the state.  Harrison County has 47.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 20 transits east to west from Louisiana to Gregg County.  United States Highway 59 enters from the north, Marion County, and exits to the south, Panola County.  United States Highway 80 parallels Interstate Highway 20 from Louisiana to Gregg County.  The county is basically rectangular although the river borders are not straight.  Marshall is in the southern half of the county.  Marshall is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 34.0% of the county population.  This county is in the Marshall Micropolitan Statistical Area.