Harrison County, Texas

Harrison County, Texas
Harrison County Courthouse in Marshall
Location in the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1842
Named for	Jonas Harrison
Seat	Marshall
Largest city	Marshall
Area
• Total	916 sq mi (2,372 km2)
• Land	900 sq mi (2,331 km2)
• Water	16 sq mi (41 km2), 1.7%
Population
• (2010)	65,631
• Density	73/sq mi (28/km²)
Congressional district	1st
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	harrisoncountytexas.org

Harrison County is a county on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 65,631. The county seat is Marshall. The county was created in 1839 and organized in 1842. It is named for Jonas Harrison, a lawyer and Texas revolutionary.

Harrison County comprises the Marshall, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Longview–Marshall, TX Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the Ark-La-Tex region.

Harrison County, formerly a Democratic party stronghold, is represented in the Texas House of Representatives by Republican Chris Paddie, a former Marshall mayor.

Settlement by United States citizens began in present-day Harrison County during the 1830s. In 1835, the Mexican authorities granted a dozen land grants to immigrants from the United States. After the Texas Revolution, the Congress of the Texas Republic established Harrison County in 1839, formed from Shelby County. Harrison County was named for Texas Revolutionary Jonas Harrison. The county was organized in 1842.

The county's area was reduced in 1846, following the establishment of Panola and Upshur counties. Marshall was established in 1841, and became the county seat in 1842.

The area was settled predominately by planters from the Southern United States, who developed this area for cotton plantations and brought African-American slaves with them for labor, or purchased them in the area. The planters repeated much of their culture and society here. By 1850, landowners in this county held more slaves than in any other county in Texas until the end of the Civil War. The census of 1860 counted 8,746 slaves in Harrison County, 59% of the county's total population.