Van Zandt

Formed February 1, 1848 (74^th county)

Van Zandt County (59,540), Canton (4,238)

The limestone Modern and Art Deco courthouse of Van Zandt County is located on a square at Dallas and Capitol streets.  Texas State Highways 64 and 198 intersect at the location.  Interstate Highway 20 bypasses the city to the north.  Voelcker & Dixon designed the 1937 structure.  The county was founded on February 1, 1848 with Jordan’s Saline as the county seat.  Canton assumed this role in 1850 where the last four courthouses have been.  The county was cut from Henderson County as the 74^th county.  Van Zandt County got its name from Texas attorney, Isaac Van Zandt.  Canton is named for a previous Canton in Smith County. 

Van Zandt County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge and Two County Court Judges serve Van Zandt County.  The county is situated in East Texas west of Tyler, Texas and east of Dallas, Texas.  Its northern border is the Sabine River and the southeast corner is the Neches River.  The county center is 3.7 miles Northeast of Canton.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Rains, Wood, Smith, Henderson, Kaufman, and Hunt counties. 

The area of the county is 849 square miles.  It is 185 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 57 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 70.1 persons per square mile making it 60 out of 254 in the state.  Van Zandt County has 27.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 20 crosses east to west, Smith County to Kaufman County.  United States Highway 80 parallels Interstate Highway 20 from Smith County to Kaufman County.  The county is basically a rectangle with its northeast corner cut off.  Canton is in the south half of the county.  Canton is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 7.1% of the county population.

Wills Point