Kaufman is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of Kaufman County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, United States. Its population was 6,797 at the 2020 census.

History

Kaufman was founded as "Kings Fort", named after Dr. William P. King, who established the fort in 1840 after purchasing of land where the city is now located. The community was renamed "Kingsboro" after five years of growth. In 1852, Kingsboro was renamed "Kaufman" after the newly formed Kaufman County, which in turn was named after

David S. Kaufman David Spangler Kaufman (December 18, 1813 – January 31, 1851) was an attorney, politician, and diplomat, serving as U.S. Representative from Texas. When the Republic of Texas was independent, he served in both houses of its legislature, and as ...

. Kaufman was the first place that Bonnie Parker, of

Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The c ...

, was incarcerated. Nearby Camp Kaufman was used as a German

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

during World War II.

Geography

U.S. Route 175 U.S. Highway 175 (US 175) is a east-west United States Numbered Highway located completely within the state of Texas. It comes very close to meeting its parent route, US 75, but decommissioning and rerouting in Downtown Dallas leaves it sho ...

, a four-lane limited access highway, passes through the southwest side of the city, leading northwest to

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

and southeast to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

. Texas State Highway 34 passes through the south and east sides of the city, leading north to Terrell and southwest to

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

. State Highway 243 leads east from Kaufman to

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, Kaufman has a total area of , of which , or 2.08%, is covered by water.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

, Kaufman has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, ''Cfa'' on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 6,797 people, 2,177 households, and 1,427 families residing in the city.

Sports

Kaufman was home to minor league baseball. The 1915

Kaufman Kings The Kaufman Kings were a minor league baseball team based in Kaufman, Texas. In 1915, the Kings played as members of the Class D (baseball), Class D level Central Texas League in the only season of minor league baseball hosted in Kaufman. History ...

played as members of the Class D level Central Texas League before the league disbanded.

Education

Public schools

Kaufman and surrounding portions of Kaufman County are served by the Kaufman Independent School District.

Private schools

Honors Academy Honors Academy Charter School District was a group of state charter schools with its administrative offices in Farmers Branch, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. History In June 2014 the Texas Education Agency (TEA) revoked Honors Aca ...

operates the Legacy Academy, a grades 6–12 charter school, in Kaufman. In addition, Kaufman Christian School, a church-run school with classes from prekindergarten to 12th grade, also serves the area.

Colleges and universities

Trinity Valley Community College Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) is a public community college based in Athens, Texas. It has four campuses serving five counties across the southeast and eastern parts of the state. About TVCC operates four campuses serving the Texas co ...

operates its Health Science Center in Kaufman. (The college offers other nonmedical general-education courses at other TVCC campuses.)

Notable people

Ted Healy Ted Healy (born Charles Ernest Lee Nash; October 1, 1896 – December 21, 1937) was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. Though he is chiefly remembered as the creator of The Three Stooges and the style of slapstick comedy ...

, comedian, actor and discoverer of

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

, was born in Kaufman in 1896 * Stuart Spitzer, surgeon in Kaufman and former member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

* Sonny Strait, voice actor

References

External links

Official website

Kaufman Chamber of Commerce
*
{{authority control Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Cities in Texas Cities in Kaufman County, Texas County seats in Texas U.S. Route 175