Henderson County, Texas

Henderson County is located in East Texas between the Neches and Trinity Rivers. Athens, the largest city and county seat, is near the geographical center of the county (at 32°10' N, 95°50' W). Two major lakes are partly in the county: Cedar Creek Reservoir on the northwest and Lake Palestine on the southeast. The county encompasses 949.7 square miles. The eastern third of the county, along the Neches River, is part of the East Texas Timberlands. This region has wooded, rolling terrain surfaced by deep sandy loams and sands. Loblolly and shortleaf pine, sweet gum, post oak, southern red oak, white oak, and flowering dogwoods grow in this region. In some areas within this system one finds long-leaf pine, black gum, and blackjack oak. West and parallel to this region is the claypan area, where the soils are shallow sandy loams that overlie dense, clayey subsoils; vegetation here consists of mixed pine and hardwoods, including oak, elm, hackberry, and pecan. Along the Trinity River, the western border of the county, lie the bottomlands of the flood plain, where the vegetation features mixed hardwoods and a dense undergrowth of scrubs and vines typical of the East Texas mixed forests. Throughout these regions are native grasses that include little and big bluestem, Indian grass, switch grass, grama, and Virginia wild rye. A large variety of wildlife and game animals inhabits these areas. The county is hilly and rolling, with an elevation from 256 to 763 feet above sea level. The western part drains into the Trinity River, and the eastern section drains into the Neches River. The climate is considered subtropical with an average annual rainfall of forty inches.

Incident reports for Henderson County