Jackson

Formed January 8, 1836 (8^th county)

Jackson County (14,075), Edna (5,499)

The Modern courthouse in Edna was constructed in 1954.  It is at the corner of Main (United States Highway 59, Business) and Wells (Texas State Highway 111).  F. Perry Johnson was the architect of this red brick, concrete, and stone structure.  Texana was the first county seat until 1883 when Edna became the county seat after Jackson County was formed on January 8, 1836.  The county was one of the 23 original counties (8^th county.)  Three courthouses have been located there, the last one was built in 1884.  Jackson County was named for United States President Andrew Jackson.  The county seat was named for the daughter of railroad executive Joseph Talferner. 

Jackson County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  Three District Court Judge serves Jackson, Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Refugio, and Victoria counties and One County Court Judge serves Jackson County.  The county is located on the coastal plains just west and south of Houston, Texas.  Technically the county is not on the Gulf of Mexico; however, two inlets of the gulf do extend into the county.  The Lavaca River crosses the county and empties into Lavaca Bay, one of these inlets.  The county center is 6.6 miles Southeast of Edna.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Colorado, Wharton, Matagorda, Calhoun, Victoria, and Lavaca counties. 

The area of the county is 857 square miles.  It is 192 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 143 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 16.42 persons per square mile making it 144 out of 254 in the state.  Jackson County has 54.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 59 goes from the northeast to the southwest from Wharton County to Victoria County.  The county is tilted 45-degrees for the northern two thirds and turns to a north-south bearing for the southern one third.  Edna is slightly west of center in the county.  Edna is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 39.1% of the county population.