Harris County Engineering Department

A few facts of interest (mined from the County Judges website, mostly) follow. Harris County is the nations third most populous county with nearly four million people, according to July 2008 estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. Founded in 1836, Harris County has a larger population than 24 states. The area was originally named Harrisburg County after John Richardson Harris, an early settler of the region. The countys name was changed to Harris County in 1839. Harris County is governed by Harris County Commissioners Court. The court is composed of a county judge and four commissioners. The county judge is elected countywide, and each commissioner is elected by Precinct. Twenty-nine Fortune 500 companies have headquarters in Harris County and more than half of the worlds 100 largest non-U.S. based corporations have operations in Harris County. Harris County is recognized as the Energy Capital of the world, with more than 5,000 energy related firms located here. The world...