Kaufman was founded as "Kings Fort", named after Dr. William P. King, who established the fort in 1840 after purchasing 2.5 square miles (6.5 km2) of land where the city is now located. The community was renamed "Kingsboro" after five years of growth. In 1852, Kingsboro was renamed "Kaufman" after the newly formed Kaufman County, which in turn was named after David S. Kaufman.[6][8]
Nearby Camp Kaufman was used as a German POW camp during World War II.[9]
Geography
U.S. Route 175, a four-lane limited-access highway, passes through the southwest side of the city, leading northwest 33 miles (53 km) to Dallas and southeast 39 miles (63 km) to Athens. Texas State Highway 34 passes through the south and east sides of the city, leading north 12 miles (19 km) to Terrell and southwest 26 miles (42 km) to Ennis. State Highway 243 leads east from Kaufman 27 miles (43 km) to Canton.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Kaufman has a total area of 8.5 square miles (22.1 km2), of which 0.2 square miles (0.5 km2), or 2.08%, is covered by water.[10]
Honors Academy operates the Legacy Academy, a grades 6–12 charter school, in Kaufman.[16]
In addition, Kaufman Christian School, a church-run school with classes from prekindergarten to 12th grade, also serves the area.
Colleges and universities
Trinity Valley Community College operates its Health Science Center in Kaufman. (The college offers other nonmedical general-education courses at other TVCC campuses.)
Transport
Hall Airport was a privately owned public use airport located about 6.8 miles southeast of Kaufman's central business district. The airport had one runway, designated "17/35", with a turf surface measuring 2,585 by 40 feet (788 x 12 m).[17][18][better source needed]
^Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.[14]
^"HomeArchived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine." Legacy Academy. Retrieved on September 6, 2011. "Legacy Academy * 607 South Madison Street * Kaufman, TX 75142"