Panola County was created in March 30, 1846 and formed from Harrison and Shelby Counties. Panola County was named for a Native American word meaning "cotton" (an early cash crop in the county). The County Seat is Carthage. The Official County website is located at http://www.co.panola.tx.us/. See also Extended History for more historical details.
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
Panola County Clerk has Court Records from 1846 , Land Records from 1846, Probate Records from 1846, Marriage Records from 1846 and Birth/Death Records from 1903 is located at Courthouse
Building, Room 201,
Carthage, TX 75633-2687; Telephone:
(903) 693-0302 . The County Clerk's Office is the record keeper of the county. The county records include birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, brand registrations, DD214s (military discharges), land / real estate / property records, probate and civil filings.
Below is a list of online resources for Panola County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Panola County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Texas Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Texas Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Vital Records,1100 West 49th Street,
Austin, TX 78756, Please allow up to approximately 6-8 weeks for processing of all type of certificates when ordered through the mail. They have the following records:
Birth Certificates: Birth records maintained by Bureau of Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health since 1903 through the present. For births that occurred within the past 75 years, copies can be requested only by the immediate family of the person whose name is on the birth certificate.
Cost: The cost of a birth record is $22.00. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $22.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Death Certificates: Death records maintained by Bureau of Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health since 1903 through the present.
For deaths that occurred in the past 25 years, copies can be requested only by immediate family members of the deceased.
Cost: The cost of a certified death certificate is $20.00 for the first copy and $3.00 for each additional copy issued at the same time for the same certificate. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $20.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Marriage & Divorce Certificates: Marriage Verifications from Jan 1966 and Divorce Verifications from Jan 1968. Certified copies of marriage licenses or divorce decrees are only available from the county clerk (marriage) or district clerk (divorce) in the county or district in which the event occurred. Marriage verification or divorce verification letters can now be ordered ELECTRONICALLY
Cost: $20 - Fee is for verification only.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Order In Person: The certificates may be ordered by coming into this office. If you want the copy the same day, our hours for same day service are 8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. Monday – Friday. The Texas Vital Statistics Office in Austin is located at 1100 W. 49th Street,
Austin, TX 78756.
Order By Mail: Mail a check or money order (no cash) payable to the "Texas Vital Records " along with the necessary information to the following address: Texas Vital Records, Department of State Health Services, PO Box 12040,
Austin TX 78711-2040. Please include return address on envelope and application form.
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Texas newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29 - Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If you're unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu. These records can be searched by father's first and last names, mother's first and maiden names, year, county, and city. The certificates include the child and parents' full names, residence, occupations, age, time and date of the birth, and the name of the physician attending the birth.
Texas Death Certificates, 1890-1976 - These records are searchable by first and last name of the deceased, year, county, and city. A certificate may include the decedent's date, place, and cause of death; age; date of birth; last residence; and marital status. If known, it will also include occupation, birth place, parents' names, and place of burial. Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu.
Click Here to Search Texas Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Panola County, Texas are 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. The Texas State Library holds microfilm editions for all of Texas' federal censuses. Although the 1850, 1860, and part of the 1870 mortality schedules have been published, all the original mortality schedules are at the Texas State Library and on microfilm The 1830 territorial census of Miller County, Arkansas, enumerates an area that is in today's Texas boundaries. The remaining 1890 population schedules which exist for Texas include: Ellis County (Justice Precinct 6, Mountain Peak, and Ovilla Precinct); Hood County (Precinct 5); Rusk County (No. 6 and Justice Precinct No. 7); Trinity County (town of Trinity and Justice Precinct 2); and Kaufman County (Kaufman). Although Greer County in present-day Oklahoma functioned as part of Texas between 1886 and 1896, the 1890 census for this county was enumerated under Oklahoma Territory.
Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Panola County, Texas are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms
Below is a list of online resources for Panola County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Panola County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Arkansas and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Texas showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Texas showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps.
Below is a list of online resources for Panola County Maps. Email us with websites containing Panola County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Texas Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Panola County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Panola County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Texas (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Texas tax records constitute one of the most complete sets of available records generated at the county level (by the Commissioners Court) because these documents are maintained by the state. These lists may only include approximately sixty percent of eligible males over the age of twenty-one. Persons exempted from taxes included native Americans, "idiots," "incompetents," and those exempted because of age. This final category of exemptions varied over time. Years without an older age exemption were 1840 and 1862-70. Between 1841-44 exemptions began at forty-five years; in 1845 and from 1850-61 the upward age was set at fifty years. In 1837, 1848, and 1849 the limit was established as fifty-five, and in 1846-7, and 1871 the upward limit was set at sixty years.
Texas Ad Valorem (poll, personal, and real property) tax records for 1836 through 1976 are available in microfilm at the Texas State Library from the date of respective county organization; these are arranged by county and date and are somewhat alphabetized within each division. Microfilm copies are housed in the Genealogy Section. Tax lists for the various counties from creation to 1901 may be borrowed through interlibrary loan. Tax records through 1901-1947 are readily accessible, but not on interlibrary loan. Those for 1948 through 1976 can be obtained upon request.
Below is a list of online resources for Panola County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Panola County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Panola County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Panola County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Panola County Hist. & Genealogical Society,
213 N Shelby,
Carthage 75633
Southwest Genealogical Society & Library, 412 W. College St. #A, Carthage, TX 75633-1406
Texas State Library and Archives Commission, P.O. Box 12927, Austin, TX 78711-2927 Holdings under the auspices of the Texas State Library are divided. Most important for genealogical research are the Texas State Archives with its Local Records Department, the Records Management Division, and the Information Services Division, which includes a Genealogy Section and a Reference Department.
The Genealogy Section maintains vertical ties that contain notes, clippings, pamphlets, and correspondence on Texas families. These files may be accessed in person, by phone (512-463-5463, forty-five minute limit), or through correspondence.
Texas Historical Commision The Texas Historical Commission (THC) is the state agency for historic preservation. THC staff consults with citizens and organizations to preserve Texas' architectural, archeological and cultural landmarks. The agency is recognized nationally for its preservation programs.
Texas Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Texas Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
During Texas's colonization period Roman Catholics were the most numerous, but early citizens included those representing other religious faiths such as Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Christian or Disciples of Christ.
Many cemetery records have been collected and transcribed, including the largest of which is multi-volumes compilation by the DAR and two volumes for Peters Colonists and descendants. The DAR collection, also microfilmed, is available at the Texas State Library and through the FHL.
Some Texas county historical and genealogical societies have published local cemetery and/funeral home records. These are normally available for purchase through the respective society. Two references can help determine which cemeteries have been recorded: Kim Parsons', A Reference to Texas Cemetery Records (Humble, Tex.: by author, 1988), arranged by county; and Sharry Crofford-Gould's, Texas Cemetery Inscriptions: A Source Index (San Antonio, Tex.: Limited Editions, 1977).
Below is a list of online resources for Panola County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Panola County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Texas obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Texas newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Texas.
Click Here to Search Texas Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Panola County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Panola County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Texas Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
When the European powers raced for claims in the New World early in the seventeenth century, Spain secured its claim to Texas from the Sabine River to the south and west. France also claimed the area, based on the explorations of René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. Spain established a line of protected missions across East Texas, two of them not far south of Panola County. The area was involved in a series of territorial disputes between the United States and Spain and Mexico. In 1806, after the United States bought Louisiana from France, a boundary dispute between the United States and Spain was temporarily resolved by the Neutral Ground agreement, but after the Mexican War of Independence, another treaty had to be negotiated between Mexico and the United States. Two confederations of Indians, the Caddos and the Hasinais, lived in the Panola County area, with the Sabine River marking the approximate dividing line between them. The two allied confederations were known as the Timber Tribes. They made permanent homes in farming villages, where they raised grain and vegetables and hunted for small game in the forests. Burial mounds left behind by these people were once visible in the county, but that evidence of aboriginal life in the area has disappeared. Early settlers entered the area by traveling on the Red River or along the trails known as the Old San Antonio Road and Trammel's Trace. Trammel's Trace had originated long before as an Indian trail and later became the route used by trader Nicholas Trammel; it eventually became the western boundary of Panola County. The earliest known white settlement in the area was established by Daniel Martin in 1833. The Martins came to Texas from Missouri intending to join the colony founded by Stephen F. Austin, but after traveling down Trammel's Trace, they camped on a hill near a creek, west of the site of present Beckville. Deciding to stop there, they built a small fort and set up a trading post; the creek became known as Martin's Creek. A second settlement was established near the site of present of Clayton by Rev. Isaac Reed and a large group of relatives. Reed led the settlers to the place and purchased land from Manuel Antonio Romero. Because Mexican colonization laws prohibited settlement within a strip of land twenty leagues wide along the United States boundary, it was 1835 before Anglo settlers in the area could secure land titles from Mexico. But after the Texas Revolution in 1836, the area experienced a great land rush. In 1837 the LaGrone Settlement was established east of the Sabine River near the Louisiana border. The LaGrones' wagon train had passed through the area in 1832, but due to Indian unrest the family had traveled further into Texas; after Texas won its independence, they returned to an appealing spot they had found previously. By 1840 at least forty-nine families were established in the area that became Panola County. The majority came from Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama. Some brought slaves with them to Texas; by 1846, according to local tax records, there were 574 slaves in the area.
In 1840 the boundary between the Republic of Texas and the United States (the line that later became the county's eastern boundary) was settled. The Sabine River was established as the boundary south of the thirty-second parallel, but it was necessary to send a commission of representatives from both countries to survey the line north of the parallel. On April 23, 1841, the commission set a granite marker at the location of the thirty-second parallel, 100 feet off present State Highway 31. The western side of the shaft was inscribed with the letters "R. T." (for Republic of Texas); the eastern side was inscribed "U. S." and the southern side, "Merid, Boundary, Established A.D. 1840." The marker, the only one of its kind, still stands on the line between Panola County and DeSoto Parish, Louisiana. In the early 1840s a feud erupted between two factions who called themselves Regulators and Moderators. For almost four years skirmishes extended from Harrison County and the Caddo Lake area through Shelby and San Augustine counties and into Sabine County. The so-called Regulator-Moderator War grew out of the unsettled border conditions; the Neutral Ground furnished a secure residence for lawless men, and their activities caused the growth of vigilante groups. The warfare ended in 1844, when President Sam Houston ordered out the militia to stop it. On March 30, 1846, the Texas legislature established Panola County from parts of Shelby and Harrison counties. John Allison, the county's first chief justice, had been a slave owner and cotton planter in Panola County, Mississippi; he may have been the one who suggested the name Panola to Isaac Van Zandt, the author of the act that established the county. Because the legislature specified that the county seat was to be within five miles of the center of the county, it took two years for the county to choose a permanent seat of government. Only two real villages, Pulaski and Grand Bluff, existed in the area in 1846; both were ferry towns on the Sabine River. Both were also more than seven miles from the center of the county. Nevertheless, commissioners appointed to choose the two most desirable locations for the county seat selected Grand Bluff and Pulaski to compete for the county seat in a public vote. Two elections were held in the summer of 1846. County officials were elected on July 18, and a second election on August 23 chose Pulaski, by a small majority, as the county seat. The first court session met there on September 9. After dissatisfied citizens challenged the legality of the choice, Chief Justice Allison ruled that Pulaski would be the temporary county seat until appeals could be examined and an official legal decision made by the state legislature. Since neither village satisfied the legislature's requirements, the entire procedure had to be repeated. Pulaski and an uninhabited townsite later called Carthage near the center of the county were nominated for county seat. In an election held in August 1848 the voters of the county chose Carthage. New county officers were also elected, and Chief Justice Thomas G. Davenport met with his first court session at Carthage on September 12. At that time, Carthage was little more than a location in a virgin forest of short-leaf pine, oak, hickory, and dogwood. The site was a mile west of the center of the county in order to use high well-drained ground. Spearman Holland was credited with naming the town Carthage, after his former home in Carthage, Mississippi. Jonathan Anderson, who lived four or five miles southeast of the site, owned the land and offered to donate 100 acres for the town. In 1848, when the commissioners' court met for the first time in the new location, he deeded the 100 acres to Panola County. The legislative act authorizing the county specified that the county seat be laid out into convenient lots with space in the center to erect a courthouse. Lots were staked out and sold at public auction; the proceeds were to be used to construct public buildings. The county government was dependent upon the Panola County Commissioners' Court, which was responsible for overseeing road construction, for setting ferry fees, for law enforcement, and for other business concerning the general public.
By 1850 farms in the county encompassed more than 116,000 acres, 13,000 of which were classified as "improved." Almost 109,000 bushels of corn were produced that year, along with 887 bales of cotton and other crops such as sweet potatoes, peas, and orchard fruits. Livestock raising was an important part of the local economy; there were 885 sheep, 2,253 milk cows, and 4,000 other cattle at that time. According to the United States census 2,676 people were living in the county that year, including 2 free blacks and 1,193 slaves. The county supported four public schools, where four teachers taught seventy-nine pupils. By 1860, on the eve of the Civil War, the economy had grown to include 585 farms encompassing 237,000 acres, of which 49,000 acres were improved. The census reported 6,392 whites and 3,727 slaves that year. There were no free blacks. According to the census there were 445 slaveholders in the county; 75 of these owned ten or more slaves, 25 owned twenty or more slaves, and only two owned fifty or more slaves. Most owned fewer than five. Almost 327,000 bushels of corn were grown in the county that year, and cotton production had expanded substantially to 8,272 bales. The county contributed at least one company of soldiers to the Confederate cause during the Civil War, and late in the conflict the area was invaded by Union troops, who took food and other supplies from Carthage. The number of slaves in the county increased to 3,110 by 1864, possibly due to southerners fleeing west with their slaves during the war. The county continued to grow slowly during the immediate postwar period. There were 911 farms and 10,119 people in the area in 1870 and 1,670 farms and 21,424 people by 1880. The economy continued to be based on cotton farming; in 1880, 28,500 acres were planted in cotton, and 10,344 bales were produced that year. Corn remained the county's other important crop; that year 27,000 acres were devoted to it. The area's 8,820 cattle and 1,140 sheep were also sources of income for local farmers; crops such as wheat, oats, and sorghum were also grown. Meanwhile the lumber industry, which had begun before the Civil War, became increasingly important; by the early 1880s millions of board feet of lumber were being taken from the county's pine forests. Logging intensified in the area after 1885, when a narrow-gauge log railroad out of Longview built into the county. In 1888 it was upgraded to standard gauge, and its tracks were extended into Carthage. The line eventually became part of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway. Tying the area to national markets, the railroad also encouraged the development of the area's mineral wealth. As early as 1889 a geological survey discovered rich deposits of lignite in the county, and before the turn of the century a limited mining operation began in the Martin Creek area. It was soon abandoned due to the plentiful supply of wood for fuel.
By 1900 Panola County had 3,413 farms, and the population had increased to 21,404. Cotton production had expanded to 57,000 acres. Along with logging, the crop remained at the center of the local economy until after World War II. In 1910, 58,000 acres were devoted to cotton, and in 1912 forty-six cotton gins were operating in various communities. Though cotton acreage declined to 53,000 acres in 1920, production reached its peak by 1929, when 98,000 acres were planted in the fiber. Generally reflecting this trend, the number of farms in the county increased from 3,398 in 1910 to 3,771 by 1920, to 3,798 by 1925, and to 4,656 by 1929. Meanwhile, after declining slightly between 1900 and 1910, the county's population rose steadily from 20,424 in 1910 to 21,755 by 1920 and to 24,063 by 1930. These trends were reversed during the Great Depression of the 1930s, as low prices, federal crop restrictions, and other problems caused almost one-third of the farmers in the county to leave their holdings; many of those who remained could not afford to fertilize their lands. Cropland harvested in the county dropped from 128,718 acres in 1929 to only 95,500 acres by 1940, and cotton production fell by 50 percent during the same period. By 1940 there were only 3,239 farms left in Panola County, and only 41,400 acres were planted in cotton. The population dropped to 22,519 by 1940. As cotton production continued to decline in the decades following World War II and as the mechanization of agriculture encouraged the departure of more farmers, the area's population fell to 19,250 by 1950, to 16,870 by 1960, and to 15,894 by 1970. Meanwhile, pastures were improved, and ranching increased. Poultry farming became profitable. After the 1960s pasture and farm improvements did much to rebuild soils depleted by years of intensive production.
The population decline would have been more dramatic except for the growing oil and gas industry in the area. Oil was first discovered in the county in 1917 and gas in 1936, but significant production of the area's energy resources began in 1944, when the Jordan well was drilled a mile west of Carthage. The well tapped into a huge underground reservoir that underlay almost half the county. Petroleum production in the county reached 322,000 barrels in 1948, 1,057,000 barrels in 1956, 1,467,000 barrels in 1960, and 3,816,000 barrels in 1963. Production declined in the mid-1960s and then began to rise again in the mid-1970s. About 781,000 barrels were produced in 1974, 1,217,000 barrels in 1978, and 1,625,000 barrels in 1982, and 1,856,000 barrels in 1990. In response to these developments the county's population began to grow once again, reaching 20,724 in 1980 and 22,035 in 1990. A county flag, adopted in 1976, shows six representative products of the county's growth: cotton for farming, trees for lumbering, an oil well for minerals, a chicken for poultry processing, a steer for cattle ranching, and a chunk of coal for strip mining. By the late 1980s Panola County Airport served privately owned and emergency planes. There were seventy churches in the county. Two weekly newspapers, the Panola Watchman and the Panola Post, were circulated across the county and beyond. Electronic media included KGAS radio and Carthage Cable Vision; Panola General Hospital and two nursing homes provided health care. Two libraries, the Service League Library and the M. P. Baker Library at Panola College, served county residents. By the 1990s the Santa Fe Railroad had dispensed with passenger train service to the area but, reorganized as the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, the line continued to operate freight trains through the county into the twenty-first century.
In national politics the voters of Panola County delivered majorities to the Democratic candidates in almost every presidential election from 1848 through 1952. The only exception occurred in 1860, when the county supported John Bell, the candidate of the Constitutional Union Party. Beginning in 1956, when most of the people in the county voted for Dwight Eisenhower, the county went Republican in virtually every election through 1988. The only exception was the election of 1976, when a majority supported Democrat Jimmy Carter. In the 1992 election a plurality of voters supported Democrat Bill Clinton over Republican George H. W. Bush and the independent candidate, Ross Perot; Clinton also won a plurality in the county in 1996. In the 2000 and 2004 elections, however, the county gave solid majorities to Republican George W. Bush.
In 2000 the census counted 22,756 people living in Panola County. About 78 percent were Anglo, 18 percent were black, and 4 percent were Hispanic. Almost 66 percent of residents age twenty-five or older had graduated from high school, and more than 13 percent had college degrees. In the early twenty-first century gas and oil-field operations, agribusinesses, timber, and food processing were central elements of the area's economy. Almost 1,953,000 barrels of oil and 244,308,296 cubic feet of gas-well gas were produced in the county in 2004; by the end of that year 92,220,935 barrels of oil had been taken from county lands since 1917. In 2002 the county had 948 farms and ranches covering 222,910 acres, 38 percent of which were devoted to crops, 31 percent to woodlands, and 28 percent to pasture. In that year local farmers and ranchers earned $46,221,000; livestock sales accounted for $44,830,000 of the total. Broilers, beef cattle, and hay were the chief agricultural products. Almost 19,409,000 cubic feet of pinewood and over 5,324,000 cubic feet of hardwood were harvested in the county in 2003. Carthage (2000 population, 6,664) is the county's seat of government and largest town. Other communities include Beckville (752) and Gary (303). All three had state-accredited school systems that included grades from preschool through twelfth grade; Panola College, located in Carthage, offered educational opportunities through two years of college. The Texas Country Music Hall of Fame is in Carthage.
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29