Newton

Newton County (L-22) is in southeastern Texas on the Louisiana border. Newton, the geographic center and largest town of the county, is seventy miles northeast of Beaumont at 30?51' north latitude and 93?45' west longitude. Newton County comprises 950 square miles of the lower regions of the East Texas timber belt. Common trees include longleaf and shortleaf pines, oak, magnolia, hickory, and cypress. The rolling terrain, dominated by loamy topsoils, ranges from 30 to 300 feet above sea level. The Sabine River forms the county's eastern boundary. Major tributaries in the county include, from north to south, Little Cow Creek, Quicksand Creek, Big Cow Creek, and Big Cypress Creek. Oil and gas dominate the county's mineral resources. Temperatures range from an average high in July of 93? F to an average January low of 40? F. Rainfall averages just over fifty-four inches annually, the highest for any county in the state. The growing season extends for 228 days per year. Indians were the earliest human inhabitants of Newton County. Artifacts attributed to members of the Caddo confederacies have been located in present-day Newton County. The Atakapans, whose name means "man-eaters" in Choctaw, occupied the coastal regions around the Sabine River and may also have ventured into Newton County. The Coushattas, who migrated to lower East Texas during the early 1800s, also came through the county. In fact, one of the earliest trails through the area was known as the Coushatta Trace