DFW / North Texas
Kaufman County, Texas
A porch-side guide to the county: the stories that give it a shape, practical local checks, and a few things worth knowing before they surprise you. Every note points to its source.
9 stories · 9 practical · 2 good to know
The practical part
Kaufman County offices and deadlines
Appraisal district & tax office →
The Comptroller's official directory for Kaufman County: who sets your value and who sends the bill.
Homestead exemption →
File Form 50-114 with the appraisal district. It is free. The regular deadline is April 30, and late filing is allowed for up to two years.
Protest your appraisal →
The usual deadline is May 15, or 30 days after your notice arrives, whichever is later.
Estimate a tax bill →
Model a bill from local rates, the homestead exemption, and the appraisal cap.
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A little of what makes this place itself
Kaufman County · County Origins
Before Kaufman, There Was King's Fort
An 1840 fort on North Clay Street grew into Kingsboro, the settlement that became Kaufman and gave the new county its seat.
Kaufman County · Railroad History
Terrell's Depot Was Written Into the Land Deal
Terrell began with a railroad bargain: local land for the Texas and Pacific, provided the company put a permanent depot there.
Kaufman County · Waterways
The East Fork ties Lake Ray Hubbard to western Kaufman County
The East Fork leaves Lake Ray Hubbard near Forney and helps explain the county's western water geography.
All 20 local notes
The full county shelf is mixed so stories and useful checks travel together. Use the filters when you need one kind.
Showing all 20 notes.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Before Kaufman, There Was King's Fort An 1840 fort on North Clay Street grew into Kingsboro, the settlement that became Kaufman and gave the new county its seat.
- Practical Outdoors Kaufman deer hunters need the statewide dates and county table Statewide season dates may update before Kaufman County bag and antler details, so both TPWD pages need the same season label.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Terrell's Depot Was Written Into the Land Deal Terrell began with a railroad bargain: local land for the Texas and Pacific, provided the company put a permanent depot there.
- Practical Rules & Licenses Check the latest groundwater map before drilling in Kaufman County TWDB listed Kaufman County without a groundwater district in 2021, but current boundaries and state well rules still need checking.
- Good to know Cars & Driving Floodwater can hide a missing piece of Kaufman County road A road that looks merely wet may hide current, debris, or washed-out pavement, so the useful choice is another route.
- Stories & local character Outdoors The East Fork ties Lake Ray Hubbard to western Kaufman County The East Fork leaves Lake Ray Hubbard near Forney and helps explain the county's western water geography.
- Practical Money & Taxes File a Kaufman County homestead exemption with KCAD A qualifying main home may receive homestead exemptions, but the application goes to KCAD rather than the county tax office.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Cedar Creek Reservoir gives eastern Kaufman County a big-water edge The 32,623-acre reservoir crosses the Kaufman-Henderson county line and supports bass, catfish, crappie, and open-water fishing.
- Practical Home & Property Floodplain development in rural Kaufman County needs review first Work in a FEMA floodplain in rural Kaufman County needs a county permit before construction begins.
- Good to know Outdoors Kaufman County tornado planning starts with a room, not a shelter list NWS records show a long local tornado history, while Kaufman County says it does not provide public tornado shelters.
- Stories & local character History & Culture A $1,000 Bet on a Terrell Cotton Field Paid Off In 1903, Kaufman County neighbors backed Walter Porter's farm experiment with $1,000, then watched the new cotton methods nearly double production.
- Practical Money & Taxes KCAD sets the value; the tax office handles listed collections Kaufman Central Appraisal District handles values, exemptions, and protests, while collection depends on the taxing unit shown on the state directory.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Terrell's HBCU Gave an Older School Campus a New Life Southwestern Christian College began with about 45 students in 1948, then made a Terrell campus with its own long school history its permanent home.
- Practical Money & Taxes A Forney address can carry MUD taxes, PID assessments, or both Special-district charges follow the parcel, so two homes with the same mailing city can have different public costs.
- Stories & local character Home & Property Dark Blackland clay helped shape Kaufman County The fertile Blackland Prairie supported a cotton landscape that still shows in Kaufman County's fields and town histories.
- Practical Home & Property A Forney mailing address does not settle who reviews the land ETJ land is outside city limits, and the current review path should be checked for the exact lot and project.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Terrell State Hospital is rebuilding on its nineteenth-century campus The state hospital opened in Terrell in 1885, and Texas began building its replacement on the old campus in 2024.
- Practical Home & Property A Kaufman County septic system starts with an approved plan A new or changed septic system normally needs county approval before construction or use.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Kaufman County Crossed 200,000 in the 2025 Estimate The Census Bureau's 2025 estimate put Kaufman County at 209,235 people, about 44 percent above its 2020 estimates base.
- Practical Rules & Licenses Kaufman County stock-law answers may live in old election records Texas allows local stock-law elections, so the rule for loose livestock can depend on the exact area and the county clerk's records.
Nearby counties