BlockBefore

Payne Springs, Texas

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1920 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Cedar Creek Lake census division. It lies in ZIP code area 75156. The Survey maps it on the Mabank quadrangle. 741 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 367 feet above sea level.

Payne Springs within Henderson County

Population over time

2 figures

Payne Springs fell from 767 to 741 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010767
2020741-26 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 14 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

174 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 174 fires within 5 miles of Payne Springs between 1998 and 2020, burning about 1,929 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 7 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning96
Missing data/not specified/undetermined47
Equipment and vehicle use10
Arson/incendiarism7
Smoking6
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Natural1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGAS PLANT FIRE 2
8 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCR 2507
7 September 2011Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServicePOINT LA VISTA REKINDLE
6 September 2011Smoking1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServicePOINT LA VISTA
5 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServicePSFD
4 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceALLEN RANCH RD
3 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined96 acresTexas A & M Forest Service7105
26 September 2011Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceDEL MAR - GRANADA FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Henderson County

Storms near this place

26 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Payne Springs in 26 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 14 thunderstorm wind, 6 flash flood, 4 hail, 1 tornado. The reports record 5 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2017Tornado (EF2)Payne Springs5 hurt, $500,000A National Weather Service damage survey crew found the start of tornado number three began in Henderson County, approximately 3 miles due south of Eustace. This tornado eventually moved into Van Zandt County, where the storm produced EF4 damage. In Henderson County, several homes suffered EF2 damage, along with a considerable amount of tree damage and damage to farm buildings. As the storm moved into Van Zandt County, the tornado grew to a mile wide at the tornado's maximum width. Over 50 homes were either damaged or destroyed, with a continuous path noted between counties.
March 1997Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs$1,700,000no account filed
March 1997Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs$600,000no account filed
August 2009Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs$250,000There were numerous reports of wind damage in the community of Payne Springs. Numerous trees and powerlines were down. There was roof damage to 10 homes due to fallen trees.
June 2025Flash FloodPayne Springs$150,000Emergency management reported that several roads sustained flood damage to bridges and culverts, or had areas of the roadway washed away, including County Roads 3715, 1500, 1507, 3822, 3918, 1113 near the city of Athens, and FM 316 near the city of Athens.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs$75,000Widespread trees down, including on homes and vehicles, was reported across Henderson County.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs$60,000Over a dozen trees blown down across central Henderson county. Several trees were blocking roads and had to be removed. One truck and one SUV were damaged by the falling trees.
March 2009Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs$35,000A metal storage building was thrown across State Highway 198 in Payne Springs due to strong thunderstorm winds.
February 2009Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs$10,000A tree fell on a house in Payne Springs.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs$10,000Large tree limbs downed with minor roof damage reported.
October 2004Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs$10,000A barn was destroyed by high winds.
March 2016Flash FloodPayne Springs$5,000Henderson County Sheriff's Department reported that 16 roads across the county were flooded including multiple major thoroughfares.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs$5,000Trees were blown down in Gun Barrel City and across the county.
March 2016Flash FloodPayne Springs$3,000Emergency management reported that portions of Highway 198 near Caney City were flooded, and 10 to 15 roads across the area were flooded.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs$2,000Numerous trees were blown down between Payne Springs and Gun Barrel City.
November 2004Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs$2,000A metal building was destroyed by high winds.
May 2017HailPayne Springs$1,000Trained spotter reported quarter size hail approximately 3 miles NW of Eustace.
March 2025FloodPayne Springs-A trained spotter reported 2 to 3 inches of water on side roads.
April 2022HailPayne Springs-A trained spotter reported quarter sized hail about 2 miles east-southeast of Enchanted Oaks, TX.
March 2007Flash FloodPayne Springs-Three feet of water over Crawfish Ranch Road.
June 2007Flash FloodPayne Springs-Several roads near Cedar Creek Lake were flooded.
May 2004Flash FloodPayne Springs-Water was over roads in town.
October 1994Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs-Several streets in town were closed by high water.
April 2007Thunderstorm WindPayne Springs-no account filed
March 2006HailPayne Springs-no account filed
May 1998HailPayne Springs-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Henderson County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Enchanted Oaks2.4 miles14
Eustace3.8 miles14
Caney City4.1 miles11
Pauline4.2 miles14
Log Cabin4.5 miles11
Tool5.5 miles12
Stockard5.7 miles13
Gun Barrel City5.9 miles12

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Payne SpringsAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q978142The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1378841. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.