Why Houston County and Its Seat Are Named What They Are

The Republic of Texas established Houston County on June 12, 1837. It was named for Sam Houston, the republic's president, who signed the order. The county was carved out of Nacogdoches County and originally covered a much larger area that later split into several other counties.

The county seat is Crockett. An early settler named Andrew E. Gossett donated the land for the town and named it for David Crockett — a former neighbor in Tennessee who had died at the Alamo the previous year. Crockett was incorporated on December 29, 1837. The area grew with cotton farming, then lumber after the railroad arrived in 1872.