026 of 254: Shelby County Courthouse, Center, Texas. County Population: 25,448
Shelby County, Texas
"Shelby County is on the eastern boundary of the state, in a bulge of the Sabine River that separates it from Desoto and Sabine parishes in Louisiana. The county is bounded on the south by San Augustine and Sabine counties, on the west by Rusk and Nacogdoches counties, and on the north by Panola County. The county seat and largest town is Center, which is 160 miles northeast of Houston and forty miles northeast of Nacogdoches. Center is named for its location at the geographic center of the county.
"Shelby County comprises 791 square miles of the East Texas timberlands, an area that is heavily forested with a great variety of softwoods and hardwoods, especially pine, cypress, and oak. The terrain varies from undulating to rolling with elevation ranging from 150 to 400 feet above mean sea level.
"Shelby County was first organized under the Mexican government as Tenehaw Municipality; Nashville, founded in 1824, was the most important town. In 1836 the Congress of the Republic of Texas established Shelby County, named for Isaac Shelby, hero of the American Revolution and governor of Kentucky. The name of the town Nashville was changed to Shelbyville, and Shelbyville became the county seat, which it remained until 1866, when the county seat was moved to Center."
Handbook of Texas Online, Cecil Harper, Jr., "Shelby County,"
I visited Shelby County and photographed the courthouse in Center on September 28, 2009 and March 23, 2012.
"Shelby County comprises 791 square miles of the East Texas timberlands, an area that is heavily forested with a great variety of softwoods and hardwoods, especially pine, cypress, and oak. The terrain varies from undulating to rolling with elevation ranging from 150 to 400 feet above mean sea level.
"Shelby County was first organized under the Mexican government as Tenehaw Municipality; Nashville, founded in 1824, was the most important town. In 1836 the Congress of the Republic of Texas established Shelby County, named for Isaac Shelby, hero of the American Revolution and governor of Kentucky. The name of the town Nashville was changed to Shelbyville, and Shelbyville became the county seat, which it remained until 1866, when the county seat was moved to Center."
Handbook of Texas Online, Cecil Harper, Jr., "Shelby County,"
I visited Shelby County and photographed the courthouse in Center on September 28, 2009 and March 23, 2012.
The eastern border of Shelby County and the state of Texas is the Sabine River. The Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Sabine is the largest man-made body of water in the southern US. The boundary line follows the original river through the lake.
Shelby County Courthouse 1886
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Photo, circa 1939, courtesy TXDOT.
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