Delta County

Delta County, Texas

Delta County, Texas

The Delta County Courthouse is located in the City of Copper and it is the seat for Delta County, Texas. Photograph by Michael Barera.
Delta County, Texas

Delta County, Texas

Map of Delta County, Texas. Map Credit: Robert Plocheck.

Delta County is located in northeastern Texas seventy miles from the eastern and thirty miles from the northern state boundaries. It is bordered by the North Sulphur River on the north and the South Sulphur River on the south. The two waterways join to form the eastern boundary. Cooper, the largest town and the county seat, is in the center of the county (at 33°23' N, 95°42' W) at the intersection of State highways 24 and 154 with Farm roads 64, 128, 1528, and 1880. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway crosses the northwestern edge of the county by way of Pecan Gap and Ben Franklin. The county comprises 278 square miles of the Blackland Prairies. The terrain is undulating; soils vary from deep clay to clay covered with a dark loam. The elevation ranges from 400 to 500 feet above mean sea level. The vegetation along the streams consists primarily of hardwoods, particularly oak, elm, pecan, bois d'arc, and mesquite, while the prairie is covered with grasses including Texas grama, buffalo grass, and bunchgrass. Between 51 and 60 percent of the soil is prime farmland. The climate is warm and moist, with annual rainfall averaging forty-four inches. Temperatures range from an average low of 31° F in January to 95° in July. The first freeze in mid-November and the last late in March bracket a 233-day growing season.

The original inhabitants of Delta County were the Caddo Indians, an agricultural people with a highly developed society. The first European visitor was a Frenchman, François Hervey, who traveled through the area in 1750. Later in the eighteenth century, disease and threats from other tribes forced the Caddos to relocate. By 1820, however, scattered remnants of the Delawares, Quapaws, and Seminoles were hunting in the vicinity. During that decade, Hugh Castle settled near the future site of Ben Franklin, and, shortly thereafter a man known only as Blue built a pole hut in the Rattan area, probably to trade with the Indians. Other settlers soon began to arrive from Kentucky and Tennessee. The isolation caused by river boundaries on the north, south, and east, as well as the large Jernigan Thicket on the west, also made the location attractive to horse thieves and other criminals who drifted down through Arkansas from Missouri. By 1830 an agent had moved into the area to report on local Indian activities, and in 1836 the government of the new Republic of Texas recognized the land between the Sulphur rivers as part of Red River County. Without the restrictive regulations of the Spanish and Mexican governments, more settlers arrived, particularly from the South. By late in the 1830s, Dr. Moses Hogue and the Birdwell, Simmons, and Wilson families had established the little village of Ben Franklin. In 1840 the Congress of Texas formed Lamar County, which included present-day Delta County, from Red River County. In March 1846 the new state legislature organized Hopkins County, which absorbed the southern two-thirds of Delta County.

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Vista K. McCroskey | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Delta County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

322 ft – 590 ft

Size

Land area does not include water surface area, whereas total area does

  • Land Area: 256.8 mi²
  • Total Area: 277.9 mi²

Temperature

January mean minimum: 30.0°F
July mean maximum: 94.0°F

Rainfall, 2019

44.8 inches

Population Count, 2019

5,331

Civilian Labor Count, 2019

2,318

Unemployment, 2019

6.3%

Property Values, 2019

$581,694,622 USD

Per-Capita Income, 2019

$34,803 USD

Retail Sales, 2019

$56,742,729 USD

Wages, 2019

$7,455,784 USD

Delta County

Highlighted:
  • Delta County
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Place Type Population (Year/Source) Currently Exists
Town
Town 10 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town 60 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town 150 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town 1,951 (2021) Yes
Town
Town 20 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town 60 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 90 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town 40 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Lake Yes
Town 8 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 30 (2009) Yes
Town 175 (2009) Yes
Town 55 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town 35 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 181 (2021) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town 10 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town 20 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town 30 (2009) Yes

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