Chambers County, Texas
13 local notes for Chambers County — practical, plain-English, and pointed at the official source to confirm. Houston / Upper Gulf Coast.
Money & Taxes
Property tax
Homestead Exemption Cuts Your School Tax Bill
Texas law requires school districts to subtract $140,000 from the appraised value of your primary home before figuring school taxes — but you must apply at the Chambers County Appraisal District to claim it.
Property tax system
Two Offices Handle Property Tax in Chambers County
Chambers County has two separate offices for property taxes: the Appraisal District sets your property's value, and the Tax Assessor-Collector sends the bill and collects payment.
Home & Property
Coastal windstorm insurance
Most Chambers County Homes Need Windstorm Coverage
Chambers County is one of 14 Texas coastal counties where private insurers often will not write windstorm coverage, leaving the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) as the backup option.
Flood risk
Much of Chambers County Sits in High-Risk Flood Zones
Chambers County is low and flat along the Gulf Coast. Many properties fall in FEMA high-risk flood zones, which can require flood insurance and affect what you can build.
Weather hazards
Chambers County Has Been Hit by Major Hurricanes Repeatedly
Chambers County is on the upper Texas coast and sits in the path of Gulf hurricanes. Major storms hit in 1875, 1900, 1915, 1943, 1957, 1961, and 1983.
Cars & Driving
Outdoors
Hunting
Chambers County Is Prime Waterfowl Country
Chambers County's coastal marshes along Trinity Bay draw large numbers of ducks and geese each fall and winter. It is one of the top waterfowl hunting areas on the Texas coast.
Wildlife refuge
A Major Coastal Refuge Sits on the Chambers County Shoreline
The Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge — renamed in March 2025 from Anahuac NWR — protects coastal marshes in Chambers County. It is open for wildlife viewing, birding, and waterfowl hunting.
Birding and wildlife
The Anahuac Loop Is a Key Texas Birding Stop
The Anahuac Loop is a marked segment of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail that runs through Chambers County marshes, bayous, and Trinity Bay shoreline.
History & Culture
Oil and gas history
Chambers County Has Over a Century of Oil Production
The Barbers Hill oilfield, developed after 1918, helped shape modern Chambers County — and cumulative county oil production had passed 907 million barrels by 2004.
County history
Anahuac Was Not Always the County Seat
Chambers County was formed in 1858 with Wallisville as its county seat. By 1908, Anahuac supporters won a lawsuit to move the seat there, and the courthouse has been in Anahuac ever since.
Agricultural history
Chambers County Was Cattle Country Long Before Oil
Longhorn cattle were in what is now Chambers County as early as 1827. By 1900 the county had roughly 49,000 head, making ranching the base of the local economy before oil arrived.
Early history
A Spanish Mission Once Stood Near Present-Day Wallisville
Spain built a mission near what is now Wallisville in 1756. Before that, the area was home to Karankawa, Coapite, and Copane peoples.