Kountze became the county seat by a close vote after a courthouse fire

The town of Kountze was named for Herman and Augustus Kountze, financial backers of the Sabine and East Texas Railroad in the late 1800s. The railroad made Kountze a stop, and businesses followed. Sawmills opened within a few miles of town.

In 1884, voters narrowly rejected making Kountze the county seat by just eleven votes. Two years later, a fire destroyed the existing courthouse. Voters reconsidered and in 1887 chose Kountze overwhelmingly. A second railroad — the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe — arrived in 1902, and the town incorporated that year. Kountze sits about 23 miles northwest of Beaumont.