Kaufman County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 103,350. Its county seat is Kaufman. Both the county, established in 1848, and the city were named for David S. Kaufman, a diplomat and U.S. Representative from Texas. Kaufman County is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Western artist Frank Reaugh moved from Illinois to Kaufman County in 1876 to draw inspiration for his paintings such as The Approaching Herd.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Located in the northeast portion of Texas, it is bounded on the southwest by Trinity River, and drained by the east fork of that stream.
As of the census of 2000, there were 71,313 people, 24,367 households, and 19,225 families residing in the county. The population density was 91/sq mi. There were 26,133 housing units at an average density of 33/sq mi. The racial makeup of the county was 81.10% White, 10.53% Black or African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 5.66% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. 11.11% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 24,367 households out of which 39.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.10% were married couples living together, 11.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.10% were non-families. 17.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.24. In the county, the population was spread out with 29.20% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 29.50% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 10.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $44,783, and the median income for a family was $50,354. Males had a median income of $35,537 versus $26,494 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,827. About 7.80% of families and 10.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.30% of those under age 18 and 11.80% of those age 65 or over.
Media
Kaufman County is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth DMA. Local media outlets include: KDFW-TV, KXAS-TV, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV, KTXA-TV, KDFI-TV, KDAF-TV, KFWD-TV, and KDTX-TV. Other nearby stations that provide coverage for Kaufman County come from the Tyler/Longview/Jacksonville market and they include: KLTV, KYTX-TV, KFXK-TV, and KETK-TV. Kaufman County is served by three newspapers, the Terrell Tribune, the Kaufman Herald, and the Forney Messenger. Forney, Texas, is also served by online news media outlet inForney.com which covers breaking news for the county. A quarterly magazine called Kaufman County Life is produced by the Terrell Tribune. The Kemp and Mabank areas are included in coverage by The Monitor and Athens Daily Review newspapers.
Law enforcement
The Kaufman County Sheriff's Office is Kaufman County's main police force. Smaller cities depend on the sheriff's office along with the Texas Highway Patrol for law enforcement duties. District AttorneyMike McLelland, along with his wife, were found shot and killed in their home on March 30, 2013. In December 2012, Texas officials issued a statewide bulletin warning that the Aryan Brotherhood was "actively planning retaliation against law enforcement officials" who worked to prosecute the gang’s leadership. Two months earlier, Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was shot and killed outside the Kaufman County courthouse. On April 13, 2013, ex-justice of the peace Eric Williams was arrested for making terroristic threats to county officials via email. Hasse and McLelland had aggressively prosecuted Williams in a theft case, which resulted in the loss of Williams' job and law license. On April 17, his wife Kim Williams was arrested on capital murder charges in all three deaths. These arrests were not linked by officials to the Aryan Brotherhood. Eric Williams was sentenced to death on December 16, 2014. Kim Williams pleaded guilty on December 30, 2014 and received a 40 year sentence.
Prior to 1952, Kaufman County was a Democratic Party stronghold in presidential elections. From 1952 to 1980, it was still primarily Democratic, though the party's margin of victories were far lower than before. Republican Richard Nixon won the county handily in 1972 as part of his national landslide. Starting with the 1984 election, it has become a Republican stronghold like most white-majority counties in the South, though neither of Bill Clinton's 2 Republican opponents managed a majority despite winning the county due to Ross Perot's strong third-party candidacy.
