Guide to Kaufman

Kaufman, Texas

KAUFMAN, TEXAS. Kaufman, the county seat of Kaufman County, is at the intersection of State highways 34 and 243 and U.S. Highway 175, thirty-four miles east of Dallas near the center of the county. The original inhabitants of the area were Caddo, Cherokee, Comanche, Delaware, and Kickapoo Indians. The first white settlers were forty families led by Mississippian Dr. William P. King, who arrived in the area in 1840. After they purchased 2½ square miles of land, the families built a fort on a hilltop that overlooked his new home. In his honor the outpost that provided security for the settlers was called Kings Fort, and the stream that ran nearby became known as King’s Creek. During the next five years several buildings were built near the fort. Gradually a community developed, named Kingsboro.

In 1846, when the state legislature established Henderson County, Kingsboro became part of it. In 1848, however, land from Henderson County was taken to establish Kaufman County, named for David S. Kaufman. In 1849 postal service to the community began. Three years later Kingsboro became the county seat and was renamed for the county. Mrs. Francis Taber, former wife of William P. King donated much of the land for the new county seat. After the Civil War Kaufman had a population estimated at 500, and in 1872 the town incorporated. The Texas Central Railroad connected Kaufman with Dallas, which established Kaufman as the shipping point for county farmers and contributed to the growth of the community.  By 2010, the population of Kaufman had exceeded 6,000.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Robert Richard Butler, History of Kaufman County, Texas (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, 1940). Kaufman County Historical Commission, History of Kaufman County (Dallas: Taylor, 1978). Kaufman Herald, December 5, 1946. Mabel Covington Keller, History of Kaufman County, Texas (M.A. thesis, North Texas State College, 1950). Vertical Files, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

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