Tyler County and City of Ivanhoe State of Community Report
Date
2016-09-16
Authors
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Publisher
Texas A&M University
Abstract
The State of Community Report compiles information and data from a wide variety of sources to gain a clearer understanding of current conditions in Tyler County and the City of Ivanhoe.
Tyler County’s rural, small-town atmosphere is close to other developed areas like Beaumont
and Houston.
Description
Tyler County
Tyler County is located in southeastern Texas near the Louisiana border. The land is gently
rolling, with an elevation ranging from 100 to 400 feet above sea level. Tyler County is bounded
on the north and east by the Neches River. The southwestern part of the county contains
numerous springs. The county comprises 908 square miles of the East Texas timberlands, an area
densely forested with pine and a great variety of hardwoods.
The county was named after John Tyler, the tenth President of the United States, the first vice
president to succeed to the presidency, after President William Henry Harrison’s death.
Woodville, the largest town and county seat, was named in honor of George T. Wood who was
the second governor of the state of Texas. Woodville lies fifty-six miles north of Beaumont and
ninety miles northeast of Houston. Other cities and large towns are Colmesneil, Ivanhoe, and
Chester.
Tyler County is part of the Deep East Texas Council of Governments (DETCOG), along with 11
other counties. Angelina, Jasper, and Polk counties are members of the COG and also neighbor
Tyler County to the east, north, and west, respectively. Hardin County borders Tyler to the south. The City of Ivanhoe, located in Tyler County, Texas, is a unique city nestled in the piney woods
of East Texas. Ivanhoe is approximately 7 miles south of Woodville and 45 miles north of
Beaumont on Texas Hwy 69/287. Lufkin, to its north on Hwy 69, is about 60 miles; and
Livingston, to its west and Jasper to its east, are about 40 miles away.1
Although Ivanhoe was established in the early 1960s, it did not incorporate until November of
2009. The City has a population of 1,825 full-time residents. It is comprised of approximately
3900 lots, has 5 lakes, 12 parks and almost 60 miles of roads.
Keywords
Tyler County and Ivanhoe