Sabine County, one of the original 23 Texas counties, lies on the eastern border of Texas and is bounded by and named for the Sabine River, which separates the state from Louisiana. The area was originally home to the Ais tribe of the Caddo Indians, and by the early 1700s Spanish explorers passed through it. By 1825, the Mexican government had established the District of Sabine, which became an entry point for U.S. settlers immigrating into Texas, including Stephen F. Austin. In 1837, after the War for Texas Independence, the new government formed Sabine County. Milam served as the county seat until 1858, when Hemphill was established in that role as a more centrally located community. Since around 1880, timber harvesting and production have been the primary industry in heavily forested Sabine County, with logs floated down the Sabine River to large saw mills in Orange County. Railroads also had a major economic impact beginning in 1903, when the Gulf, Beaumont and Great Northern Railroad Company began operating a railway segment in Sabine County. The population steadily increased until the Great Depression, which had a long-lasting effect on the area. Sabine County was without banking services from 1933 until 1944, and many families moved away to search for jobs, causing a steep population decline. In the 1960s, work began on the Toledo Bend Reservoir, one of the largest man-made lakes in the U.S., and its completion in the late 1960s led to a boost in the county’s population. In 2010, approximately 10,000 residents lived in historic Sabine County.