Walker County Was Built on Cotton, Timber, and Prisons

The Texas Legislature created Walker County in April 1846. Huntsville became the county seat. By 1850 the county had a total population of 3,964, including nearly 1,300 enslaved people. Cotton was the main crop. By the Civil War era, farmers were producing almost 12,000 bales a year. Enslaved people outnumbered white residents just before the war.

After the Civil War the economy changed. The International and Great Southern Railroad arrived in 1871. That opened up the timber trade. By 1890 there were seven sawmills in the county. Today about 70 percent of the county is forested — mostly loblolly and pine woodland. The Texas State Penitentiary opened in Huntsville in 1849. That prison complex has shaped the city's identity ever since.