Orange County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the very southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Texas, sharing a boundary with

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, within the Golden Triangle of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 84,808. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is the city of Orange, and it falls within the

Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area The Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan statistical area is a three-county region in Southeast Texas. The metropolitan area shares borders with the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area to the west and the Lake Charles metropoli ...

History

Orange County was formed in 1852 from portions of Jefferson County. It was named after the orange fruit, the common

citrus fruit ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Mandarin orange, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, ...

grown by the early settlers of this county near the mouth of the Sabine River. Due to periodic spells of quite cold winter weather ( frosts) in Orange County, it is no longer the home of orange trees and

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

s. The production of those fruits in Texas long ago was moved a long way southwest into the Rio Grande Valley, where the weather is almost always warm all winter long. Citrus trees produce their fruit in the wintertime, which makes them especially vulnerable to frost and icy weather. A similar thing has happened in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, where orchards of citrus trees no longer exist in either Citrus County or Orange County because of bad winter freezes in some years. In both Florida and Texas, the citrus

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

has been moved farther south in search of milder winters, and away from the periodic frosts. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Orange County was the home of a large amount of

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

for the navies of the United States and allied countries. The major shipbuilder,

Consolidated Steel Corporation The Consolidated Steel Corporation was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Formed on 18 December 1928, the company built ships during World War II in two main locations: Wilmington, California, and Orange, Texas. It was created by the mer ...

, was located in the town of Orange, and among the

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...

s that it built were the (1942), the first warship built there, the (1943), and the (1945–46), the last warship built there. During the war, the Consolidate Steel Corporation employed as many as 20,000 people at its

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

in Orange.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (12%) are covered by water. Orange County is bordered on its east by the Sabine River, on its southeast by Sabine Lake, and on the northwest by the Neches River. The geography of Orange County varies relatively little, with an elevation that reaches above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

at very few points within the county. Orange County is very flat, and its soil is quite sandy, as could be expected in a county along the Gulf of Mexico. (Sandy soil is also common in southern Louisiana,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, and

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, and in western and southern

.) Saltwater marshes occur in much of the southeastern part of Orange County that borders the Sabine River. The Piney Woods are in the northern part of the county.

Adjacent counties and parishes

* Jasper County (north) * Newton County (north) * Hardin County (northwest) * Jefferson County (west) * Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana (east) * Cameron Parish, Louisiana (southeast)

National protected area

* Big Thicket National Preserve (part)

Communities

Cities

* Bridge City * Orange (county seat) * Pine Forest * Pinehurst * Port Arthur (mostly in Jefferson County) * Rose City * Vidor * West Orange

Census-designated places

* Forest Heights * Little Cypress * Mauriceville

Unincorporated communities

* Orangefield

Ghost towns

* Lemonville * Texla

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 84,966 people, 31,642 households, and 23,794 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . The 34,781 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 87.98% White, 8.38% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 1.15% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. About 3.62% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 31,642 households, 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.80% were married couples living together, 12.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.80% were not families. About 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.08. In the county, the population was distributed as 27.30% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,586, and for a family was $44,152. Males had a median income of $40,185 versus $21,859 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $17,554. About 11.40% of families and 13.80% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.50% of those under age 18 and 12.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The Orange County Courthouse serves as the court for the region. Republican County Judge John Gothia presides over the five-member Orange County Commissioners' Court. Orange County lies in Texas House District 21, represented beginning in 2015 by Republican Dade Phelan of Beaumont.

United States Congress

Politics

Economy

Primary economic activities in Orange County are the

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

refining industry,

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

milling,

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

farming, and

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

ing. Orange County was formerly a center for the building of warships, and a large U.S. Navy ghost fleet (

reserve fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully Ship decommissioning, decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothba ...

) still exists in Jefferson County - from which currently, many old warships are being cleaned of

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...

sources and then scrapped for their metals, thus employment for residents of Orange County in shipbreaking. Newspapers published in the county include the twice-weekly '' Orange Leader'' and weeklies including the Bridge City-based ''Penny Record'', ''County Record'', and '' Vidor Vidorian''.

Transportation

Airports

Orange County Airport operates general-aviation flights. Nearby Southeast Texas Regional Airport ( Port Arthur) operates commercial flights.

Major highways

* Interstate 10 * US 90

U.S. Highway 90 * Texas 12

State Highway 12 * Texas 62

State Highway 62 * Texas 73

State Highway 73 * Texas 87

State Highway 87

Education

The county is served by five school districts: Bridge City ISD, Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated ISD, Orangefield ISD, Vidor ISD, and West Orange-Cove Consolidated ISD.

References

External links

Orange County government's website

Orange County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

Historic materials from the Heritage House Museum in Orange
hosted by th
UNT's Portal to Texas History
{{coord, 30.13, -93.89, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1852 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1852 Hurricane Ike Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area