Chambers County, Texas

Chambers County
County
The Chambers County Courthouse in Anahuac
The Chambers County Courthouse in Anahuac
Map of Texas highlighting Chambers County
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Map of the United States highlighting Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 29°42′N 94°41′W / 29.7°N 94.68°W / 29.7; -94.68
Country United States
State Texas
Founded1858
Named forThomas Jefferson Chambers
SeatAnahuac
Largest cityMont Belvieu
Area
 • Total
871 sq mi (2,260 km2)
 • Land597 sq mi (1,550 km2)
 • Water274 sq mi (710 km2)  31%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
46,571
 • Estimate 
(2023)
53,876 Increase
 • Density53/sq mi (21/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts14th, 36th
Websitewww.co.chambers.tx.us

Chambers County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 46,571.[2][3] The county seat is Anahuac.[4] Chambers County is one of the nine counties that comprise Greater Houston, the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area.

History

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Mission Nuestra Señora de la Luz, a Spanish mission in Texas, was established in 1756 near what is now Wallisville.[5]

Chambers County was founded in 1858. It is named for Thomas Jefferson Chambers,[6] a major general in the Texas Revolution.

In 2019, Atlas Air Flight 3591, a cargo flight operating for Amazon Air, crashed in the Trinity Bay, in Chambers County and near Anahuac, while flying from Miami to Houston. All three people on board were killed.[7]

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 871 square miles (2,260 km2), of which 597 square miles (1,550 km2) are land and 274 square miles (710 km2) (31%) are covered by water.[8]

The south and southwestern parts of the county lie in the Galveston Bay Area on the shores of Trinity Bay and East Bay. A small portion of the southeastern area lies on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

Adjacent counties

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National protected areas

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State and local protected areas

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Communities

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Cities

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Census-designated places

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Unincorporated communities

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18601,508—
18701,503−0.3%
18802,18745.5%
18902,2412.5%
19003,04635.9%
19104,23439.0%
19204,162−1.7%
19305,71037.2%
19407,51131.5%
19507,8714.8%
196010,37931.9%
197012,18717.4%
198018,53852.1%
199020,0888.4%
200026,03129.6%
201035,09634.8%
202046,57132.7%
2023 (est.)53,87615.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]
1850–2010[10] 2010[11] 2020[12]
Chambers 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.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000[13] Pop 2010[11] Pop 2020[12] % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 20,210 24,767 29,858 77.64% 70.57% 64.11%
Black or African American alone (NH) 2,525 2,817 3,148 9.70% 8.03% 6.76%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 84 134 161 0.32% 0.38% 0.35%
Asian alone (NH) 172 326 622 0.66% 0.93% 1.34%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 0 13 0 0.00% 0.04% 0.00%
Other Race alone (NH) 25 25 215 0.10% 0.07% 0.46%
Mixed Race or Multiracial (NH) 205 379 1,615 0.79% 1.08% 3.47%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2,810 6,635 10,952 10.79% 18.91% 23.52%
Total 26,031 35,096 46,571 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

As of the census of 2000,[14] 26,031 people, 9,139 households, and 7,219 families were residing in the county. The population density was 43 people/sq mi (17 people/km2). The 10,336 housing units averaged 17 units per square mile (6.6/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 81.88% White, 9.77% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 6.02% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. About 10.79% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 9,139 households, 40.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.70% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.00% were not families. About 17.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82, and the average family size was 3.20.

In the county, the age distribution was 28.90% under 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 9.00% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,964, and for a family was $52,986. Males had a median income of $43,351 versus $25,478 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,863. About 8.30% of families and 11.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.30% of those under age 18 and 12.60% of those age 65 or over.

Government

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Chambers County is governed by a five-member commissioners' court, consisting of the county judge and four county commissioners. The county judge is elected to four-year terms in a countywide election. Commissioners are elected to four-year terms from single-member districts.

Chambers County Commissioners' Court

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Office Name Political party First elected Area(s) represented
  County Judge Jimmy Sylvia Republican 1996 Countywide
  Commissioner, Precinct 1 Jimmy E. Gore Republican 2016 Anahuac, Double Bayou, Hankamer, Oak Island, Seabreeze, Smith Point, Stowell, Wallisville, Winnie
  Commissioner, Precinct 2 Mark Tice Republican 2018 Beach City, Cove, Turtle Bayou, Wallisville
  Commissioner, Precinct 3 Tommy Hammond Republican 2006 Mont Belvieu, Old River-Winfree
  Commissioner, Precinct 4 Ryan Dagley Republican 2018 Baytown, Beach City

Elected Officials

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Office Name Political party
  County Attorney Ashley Cain Land Republican
  County Clerk Heather H. Hawthorne Republican
County Court Judge Cindy S. Price Republican
  District Attorney Cheryl Swope Lieck Republican
  District Clerk Patti Henry Republican
  Sheriff Brian Hawthorne Republican
  Tax Assessor-Collector Laurie G. Payton Republican
  Treasurer Nicole Whittington Republican
County Surveyor Michael W. Chandler

Constables

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Office Name Political party Area(s) represented
  Constable, Precinct 1 Dennis Dugat Republican Stowell, Winnie
  Constable, Precinct 2 John Mulryan Republican Anahuac, Turtle Bayou, Wallisville
  Constable, Precinct 3 Donnie Standley Republican Double Bayou, Oak Island, Smith Point
  Constable, Precinct 4 Ben L. "Butch" Bean Republican Mont Belvieu, Old River-Winfree
  Constable, Precinct 5 Bradley W. Moon Republican Hankamer, Wallisville
  Constable, Precinct 6 Kirk W. Ritch Republican Baytown, Beach City, Cove

United States Congress

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Senators Name Political party First elected Level
  Senate Class 2 John Cornyn Republican 2002 Senior Senator
  Senate Class 1 Ted Cruz Republican 2012 Junior Senator
Representatives Name Political Party First Elected Area(s) Represented
  Texas's 14th District Randy Weber Republican 2012 A small, unpopulated portion of the county that extends to the Gulf of Mexico, across the Intracoastal Waterway.
  Texas's 36th District Brian Babin Republican 2014 All populated areas of the county

Texas Legislature

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Texas Senate

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District Senator Political party First elected Area(s) represented
  4 Brandon Creighton Republican 2014 Countywide, district also covers portions of Galveston, Harris, Jefferson, and Montgomery Counties

Texas House of Representatives

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District Representative Political party First elected Area(s) represented
  23 Terri Leo-Wilson Republican 2022 Chambers County, Galveston County (part)

State Board of Education

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District Member Political party First elected Area(s) represented
  7 Julie Pickren Republican 2022 Countywide, district also covers all of Brazoria, Galveston, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, Orange, and Tyler Counties and most of Fort Bend County

Courts

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Justices of the Peace

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Office Name Political party
  Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1 Celia Devillier Republican
  Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2 Michael W. Wheat Republican
  Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4 Blake D. Sylvia Republican
  Justice of the Peace, Precinct 5 David Hatfield Republican
  Justice of the Peace, Precinct 6 Larry Ray Cryer Republican

District Courts

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Office Name Political party Area(s) represented
  253rd District Court Chap B. Cain, III Republican Countywide, district also covers Liberty County
  344th District Court Randy McDonald Republican Countywide

1st Court of Appeals

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Name Political party First elected
  Chief Justice Sherry Radack Republican 2004, appointed in 2002
  Place 2 Gordon Goodman Democrat 2018
  Place 3 Veronica Rivas-Molloy Democrat 2020
  Place 4 April Farris Republican 2020 (appointed)
  Place 5 Amparo Guerra Democrat 2020
  Place 6 Sarah Beth Landau Democrat 2018
  Place 7 Julie Countiss Democrat 2018
  Place 8 Richard Hightower Democrat 2018
  Place 9 Peter Kelly Democrat 2018

14th Court of Appeals

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Name Political party First elected
  Chief Justice Tracy E. Christopher Republican 2020
  Place 2 Kevin Jewell Republican 2016
  Place 3 Jerry Zimmerer Democrat 2018
  Place 4 Charles A. Spain Democrat 2018
  Place 5 Frances Bourliot Democrat 2018
  Place 6 Meagan Hassan Democrat 2018
  Place 7 Ken Wise Republican 2014, Appointed in 2013
  Place 8 Margaret "Meg" Poissant Democrat 2018
  Place 9 Randy Wilson Republican 2020 (appointed)

Politics

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As with much of the Southern United States, Democrats won locally up into the 21st century, with many local politicians switching party allegiances in the mid-2000s. As of 2020 all elected county offices are represented by Republicans with the retirement of the Precinct 5 Constable Cecil. R. "Popeye" Oldham, a Democrat, who was last elected in 2016.

United States presidential election results for Chambers County, Texas[15]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2024 20,567 82.36% 4,192 16.79% 214 0.86%
2020 17,353 80.15% 3,997 18.46% 302 1.39%
2016 13,339 79.23% 2,948 17.51% 549 3.26%
2012 11,787 79.99% 2,790 18.93% 158 1.07%
2008 9,988 75.14% 3,188 23.98% 116 0.87%
2004 8,618 73.98% 2,953 25.35% 78 0.67%
2000 6,769 69.03% 2,888 29.45% 149 1.52%
1996 4,101 52.37% 2,876 36.73% 854 10.91%
1992 3,398 40.62% 2,832 33.85% 2,136 25.53%
1988 3,694 54.48% 3,035 44.76% 52 0.77%
1984 4,322 61.84% 2,632 37.66% 35 0.50%
1980 3,140 54.08% 2,517 43.35% 149 2.57%
1976 1,835 37.82% 2,927 60.33% 90 1.85%
1972 2,390 66.35% 1,206 33.48% 6 0.17%
1968 1,061 29.42% 1,217 33.74% 1,329 36.85%
1964 1,023 34.61% 1,921 64.99% 12 0.41%
1960 1,260 44.74% 1,524 54.12% 32 1.14%
1956 1,520 63.52% 860 35.94% 13 0.54%
1952 1,497 57.20% 1,116 42.64% 4 0.15%
1948 302 21.70% 787 56.54% 303 21.77%
1944 179 13.47% 1,038 78.10% 112 8.43%
1940 219 14.60% 1,279 85.27% 2 0.13%
1936 134 11.95% 984 87.78% 3 0.27%
1932 91 9.69% 843 89.78% 5 0.53%
1928 256 51.41% 242 48.59% 0 0.00%
1924 239 42.30% 315 55.75% 11 1.95%
1920 278 49.38% 240 42.63% 45 7.99%
1916 101 26.17% 239 61.92% 46 11.92%
1912 4 1.59% 217 86.45% 30 11.95%

Education

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Public School Districts[16]

Local Primary and Secondary School Jurisdictions. Each are governed by their own respective school board.

Higher Education

Community Colleges

  • Lee College (Anahuac, Barbers Hill, East Chambers, and Goose Creek ISDs: in other words, for all land areas of Chambers County)[17]
  • San Jacinto College (La Porte ISD, which here means parts of uninhabited Galveston Bay)[18]
Public libraries

The Chambers County Library System operates three libraries in the county.[19]

  • Chambers County Library (main branch) in Anahuac
  • Juanita Hargraves Memorial Branch in Winnie
  • Sam and Carmena Goss Memorial Branch in Mont Belvieu

Transportation

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Major highways

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Airports

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The county operates two airports in unincorporated areas:

  • Chambers County Airport is east of Anahuac.
    • It was developed in the 1940s, and the county collaborated with the federal government to have it built.[20] In August 1947, the federal government was to pay $23,322.[21]
  • Chambers County-Winnie Stowell Airport serves Stowell and Winnie.

In addition, RWJ Airpark, a privately owned airport for public use, is located in Beach City.

In the 1970s there had been a proposal to establish another airport in the county, but the Baytown city council objected to the proposal, arguing it was too close to another airport under private ownership.[22]

The Houston Airport System stated that Chambers County is within the primary service area of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, an international airport in Houston in Harris County.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "US Census 2020 Population Dataset Tables for all Texas counties".
  2. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Chambers County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  3. ^ "Chambers County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  4. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. ^ Alvarez, Elizabeth Cruce (November 8, 2011). Texas Almanac 2012–2013. Texas A&M University Press. pp. Contents. ISBN 9780876112571. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  6. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 74.
  7. ^ "Human remains found after Atlas Air cargo plane crashes in Chambers Co". KTRK-TV. February 23, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  8. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  9. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
  10. ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  11. ^ a b "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Chambers County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  12. ^ a b "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Chambers County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  13. ^ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Chambers County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  14. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  15. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  16. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Chambers County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022. - Text list
  17. ^ Texas Education Code, Section 130.186, "Lee College District Service Area". Its service area includes Goose Creek, Barbers Hill, Anahuac, and East Chambers school districts.
  18. ^ Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.197. SAN JACINTO COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA..
  19. ^ "Locations & Hours". Chambers County Library System. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  20. ^ Hankamer, Delia (October 30, 1947). "Chambers County News". The Liberty Vindicator. Liberty, Texas. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Hankamer, Delia (August 14, 1947). "Chambers County News". The Liberty Vindicator. Liberty, Texas. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "No Decision Made Yet on Chambers Airport". The Baytown Sun. Baytown, Texas. November 21, 1973. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Master Plan Executive Summary Archived July 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine." George Bush Intercontinental Airport Master Plan. Houston Airport System. December 2006. 2-1 (23/130). Retrieved on December 14, 2010.
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29°42′N 94°41′W / 29.70°N 94.68°W / 29.70; -94.68

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