HENDERSON/KAUFMAN COUNTY–Henderson County’s official Facebook page announced Dec. 1 that Henderson and Kaufman counties have reached an agreement in the dispute over where the boundary between those counties lies, specifically in an area between Kemp and Seven Points in a section known as “The Notch,” ending a squabble that Henderson County says goes back to the 1800s.
Henderson County’s social media post says the Agreed Judgment was filed Nov. 7 in the 294th State District Court in Van Zandt County, which Henderson County says puts the issue between the two counties about “The Notch” to rest. The Facebook post describes the county line as indenting slightly toward Henderson County and says its existence has been a recurring issue between the two entities.
As the social media report quotes Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney, “In the 28 years I’ve been with Henderson County, this issue has flared up three times. This time, we were able to bring it to a conclusion in a fashion that is not easily undone by the prevailing politics or personalities.”
The Agreed Judgment leaves things the way they are for the most part, particularly for residents of the area, Henderson County claims on its Facebook post.
According to the Agreed Judgment, the Facebook post reports, “In order to resolve this boundary dispute amicably, provide same county continuity and county preference for most residents in the Notch, Kaufman County and Henderson County agree the residents living in the Notch will remain in Kaufman County.”
As for the land, the Agreed Judgement reads (reports Henderson County online), “In this case, the line has become indefinite since the last survey, and a survey is impractical due to the passage of time and the loss of the boundary markers used over one hundred years ago. The use of parcel ID numbers to identify boundary lines is appropriate to better establish the common boundary line as agreed by the two counties.”
According to Henderson County’s Facebook post, just 11 of the 271 parcels of land identified in the Agreed Judgment were moved into Henderson County. As background, the Henderson County post says Kaufman County originally filed the lawsuit triggering the agreement in Oct. 2021.