Trinidad

History

Around 1840, O. M. Airhart ran a ferry across the Trinity River (originally called the Trinidad River), and Zach Smith operated a ferry four miles north of the present townsite. A general store and a saloon were located there by 1844, when it became known as Trinity Switch. In 1880, it became a station on the St. Louis Southwestern Rail Road. That same year, the town's name was changed to Trinidad because of a conflict with another post office with the name Trinity Switch; the Trinidad post office, though, did not actually open until the next year. Five businesses and a population of 70 were reported by 1910. Texas Power and Light opened a plant on the Trinity River in the 1920s, and manufacturing of chemical fertilizers began in a plant there. By 1940, the population was 550, with 16 businesses in the community. Trinidad had 1,056 residents in the 1990 census, but the population had grown to 1,091 by 2000. In May 2026, resident Jennifer Combs posted images to Facebook showing dirty water coming from her faucets in her Trinidad home, and claimed that people had been hospitalized due to the city's water making them ill. According to local news, no hospitalizations due to the water quality were reported. Trinidad police officers arrested Combs and charged her with felony false alarm as a result of the posts. Winston Noles, a YouTube First Amendment auditor, began protesting against Combs' arrest outside of the Trinidad City Hall, and was also arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. A Henderson County grand jury declined to indict either Noles or Combs, with Combs filing a federal lawsuit against the city of Trinidad. Two former Trinidad city employees also filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming that they were fired in retaliation for "refusing to lie" about…

Geography

Trinidad is located along the western edge of Henderson County at (32.147365, –96.090791). The western border of the city follows the Trinity River, which forms the Navarro County line. The eastern border of the city follows Cedar Creek, a tributary of the Trinity, and the northern boundary of the city in part follows the dam at the south end of Cedar Creek Reservoir. Texas State Highway 31 passes through Trinidad, leading east to Athens, the Henderson county seat, and west to Corsicana, the Navarro County seat.Texas State Highway 274 leads north from Trinidad up the west side of Cedar Creek Reservoir to Kemp. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which , or 1.47%, is covered by water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,936
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,602
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  1,544
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  1,314
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,302
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,277
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,041
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  966

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2026-06-04
  7 km NE of Marquez, Texas
• M 3.4 — 2026-06-04
  8 km ENE of Marquez, Texas
• M 4 — 2015-05-07
  5 km N of Venus, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2015-01-08
  4 km N of Venus, Texas
• M 2.5 — 2013-03-17
  5 km S of Ovilla, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2013-03-17
  3 km S of Oak Leaf, Texas