Coffee City is a small town in southeastern Henderson County, Texas, United States. The population was 249 at the 2020 census, down from 278 at the 2010 census.

History

The city was developed after the construction of Lake Palestine in the early 1960s. As it is located on a sliver of Henderson County, a wet county, which extends eastward onto Lake Palestine and Texas State Highway 155, a number of liquor stores sprang up by the 1980s to capture business from residents of Tyler and neighboring Smith County (which at the time was dry). The importance of Coffee City declined in 2012 with the passage of legislation which allowed beer and wine sales in Tyler.

Geography

Coffee City is located in southeastern Henderson County. It is on the western shore of Lake Palestine, a reservoir on the Neches River. The town limits extend into the center of the lake, which is the border with Smith and Cherokee counties. To the south, the town includes Ledbetter Bay and its two inlets: Ledbetter Inlet and Highsaw Cove, while to the north the town extends beyond the Caney Bay inlet.

Texas Highway 155 crosses Ledbetter Bay as it passes through Coffee City, then crosses Lake Palestine into Smith County. The highway leads northeast to Tyler and south to Frankston.<br>2020 Census

As of the census of 2000,

Government

Police

The town maintains its own local police department, the Coffee City Police Department. In August 2023, an investigation by Houston television station KHOU found it was a relatively large police force with 50 personnel, more than 20% of the town's population, and more than five times the number employed by other municipalities of similar size. More than half of the department's officers had reportedly been previously suspended, demoted, or terminated in prior law enforcement jobs. Additionally, John Jay Portillo, the chief of police, was discovered to have failed to disclose on his job application an unresolved DUI charge out of Florida. After becoming chief of police, Portillo also launched a questionable warrant division in which full-time officers were not required to work in the city. Several officers were also found to work private security jobs in the area (Texas law allows full-time police to hire themselves out for extra money). Portillo was suspended from his position on September 5, pending an investigation. On September 11, the city council unanimously voted to fire Portillo and to temporarily deactivate the department, pending the hire of a new chief, with the Henderson County Sheriff's Office taking over in the interim, assisted by deputies from the nearby Smith County Sheriff's Office. Questions regarding funding of the new police department have delayed action by the town council.

Education

Coffee City is served by the Brownsboro Independent School District, Frankston Independent School District, and LaPoynor Independent School District.

References

  • Coffee City official website