For thousands of years, indigenous peoples occupied this area of present-day Texas. The first known inhabitants of the area now known as Smith County were theCaddo Indians, who were recorded here until 1819. That year, a band ofCherokee, led by their chief, "The Bowl" (also known as Chief Bowles), migrated from Georgia and settled in what are now Smith and Rusk counties.[3] The Treaty of Bowles Village on February 23, 1836, between theRepublic of Texas and the Cherokee and 12 affiliated tribes, gave all of Smith and Cherokee counties, as well as parts of western Rusk County, southern Gregg (formed from Rusk County in 1873) and southeastern Van Zandt counties to the tribes.[4]
Native Americans remained on these lands until theCherokee War in the summer of 1839, as part of European-American conflicts with Native Americans in Texas. The Cherokee were driven out of Smith County. In this period, Cherokee and other Native American nations were forced from the Southeast United States to west of the Mississippi River to Indian Territory duringIndian Removal.
After 1845, some Cherokee returned when Benjamin Franklin Thompson, a white man married to a Cherokee, purchased 10,000 acres of land in Rusk County and allowed them to settle. TheMount Tabor Indian Community developed here,[5] some six miles south of present-day Kilgore. The community later grew and incorporated areas near Overton, Arp, andTroup, Texas.
In July 1846, Smith County separated from the Nacogdoches District and was named for James Smith, a general of the Texas Revolution. At this time, Tyler was designated as the county seat.[6]
During the American Civil War,Camp Ford was the largest Confederate prisoner-of-war camp west of the Mississippi River. Here, Sheriff Jim Reed of Collin County and Judge McReynolds, former chief justice of the district, were seized and lynched by "Regulators".
The original site of the camp stockade is now a public historic park owned by Smith County, as such it is exempted from making any County property tax contribution, and is managed by the Smith County Historical Society. The park contains a kiosk, a paved trail, interpretive signage, a cabin reconstruction, and a picnic area. To date, it has never been the site of a paid venue, nor public event. It is located on Highway 271, 0.8 miles north of Loop 323.
Camp Fanin, a World War II US army replacement training facility, was located in the area known as Owentown, northeast of Tyler along US Hwy 271. Many of its original buildings still exist.
The Smith County Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was founded in 1959 by individuals and business firms dedicated to discovering, collecting, and preserving data, records, and other items relating to the history of Smith County. More information can be found at the Smith County Historical Society Website.[7]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 950 square miles (2,500 km2), of which 921 square miles (2,390 km2) are land and 28 square miles (73 km2) (3.0%) are covered by water.[8]
The county infrastructure includes some 1,180 miles (1,900 km) of two-lane county road.
Smith County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 233,479. The median age was 37.5 years, with 24.0% of residents under the age of 18 and 17.9% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.4 males age 18 and over.[15]
As of the 2020 census, 65.1% of residents lived in urban areas while 34.9% lived in rural areas.[17]
As of the 2020 census, there were 88,567 households in the county, of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18; 49.4% were married couples, 16.6% were male householders without a spouse or partner, and 28.9% were female householders without a spouse or partner. About 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older.[15]
As of the 2020 census, there were 97,539 housing units, of which 9.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.9% were owner-occupied and 35.1% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.0%.[15]
As of the2010 census, Smith County had a population of 209,714, up from its 1850 population of 4,292.[12] Among its 2010 population, the racial and ethnic makeup was 62.11%non-Hispanic white, 17.74% Black or African American, 0.35% American Indian or Alaska Native, 1.22% Asian alone, 0.03% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 0.11% some other race, 3.47%multiracial, and 17.21% Hispanic or Latino of any race.[12]
At the 2021American Community Survey, Smith County had a median household income of $63,115; its mean household income was $86,661.[18]
Among the owner-occupied housing units of the county, the median value was $169,600, and there was a median real estate tax of $2,634.[19] Owner-occupied housing units without a mortgage had a median value of $173,700 and median real estate tax of $2,203.[20]
Throughout the county, an estimated 12.51% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.[21]
Smith County is a stronghold of theRepublican Party. In presidential elections, it has voted for the Republican candidate each time since1952, andDemocratic Party candidates have only managed 40 percent of the county's vote four times over that time, the most recent beingJimmy Carter in1976. From2000 onward, no Democrat has managed even 30 percent of the county's vote.
Smith County was one of the first areas of Texas to break off from aSolid South voting pattern. The last Democrat to carry Smith County was incumbent PresidentHarry S. Truman in1948.[22] The county's conservative white voters began splitting their tickets as early as the next election, when it swung from a 29-point win for Truman to a 17-point win forDwight Eisenhower. In1964, it rejected Democratic President and Texas nativeLyndon B. Johnson in favor ofBarry Goldwater, albeit by fewer than 500 votes. It was one of three East Texas counties, along withPanola andGregg, to vote for Goldwater. At that time, most Blacks and Latinos in the county were still disenfranchised due to the state's discriminatory use of certain barriers.[23]
United States presidential election results for Smith County, Texas[24]
Smith County is represented in the Texas House of Representatives byMatt Schaefer (R) of Tyler and the Texas Senate by SenatorBryan Hughes (R). Its U.S. Representative isNathaniel Moran (R).
The county is governed by a Commissioners Court, made up of four members elected fromsingle-member districts and a county judge electedat-large.
Smith County has the tenth most road miles of any county in the state of Texas, with 1,170 – about the distance fromTyler, Texas toParadise, Nevada. The Smith County Road & Bridge Department maintains the county's bridges and roads, including mowing the rights of way.
The $39.5 million Smith County Road Bond passed with 73% of the vote on November 7, 2017. The issuance of bonds was for road and bridge construction and major improvements. Road work around the county is well underway. For a list of road projects in the two-phase, six-year bond program, visit www.smith-county.com.
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