Bowie County, Texas

Bowie County Education, Geography, and History

Bowie County is a county located in the state of Texas. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 92,565. Its legal county seat is Boston, though its courthouse is located in New Boston. The county is named for James Bowie, the legendary knife fighter who died at the Battle of the Alamo.

Bowie County is part of the Texarkana, TX-AR Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Bowie County Name

James Bowie, the legendary knife fighter who died at the Battle of the Alamo

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Bowie County History

The farming Caddoan Mississippian culture dates as early as the Late Archaic Period 1500 BCE in Bowie County. The Hernando de Soto expedition of 1541 resulted in violent encounters. Spanish and French missionaries brought a smallpox, measles malaria and influenza epidemics against which the Caddo had no immunity. Eventually, these issues and problems with the Osage, forced the Caddo to abandon their reservations. Settlers had peaceful relations with the 19th Century Shawnee, Delaware, and Kickapoo in the area.

French explorer Jean Baptiste Bénard de La Harpe founded the military fort Le Poste des Cadodaquious in 1719 . The fort remained in continuous use until 1770. The Red River Expedition of 1806 which passed through Bowie County, headed by Thomas Freeman and Dr. Peter Custis, was of great diplomatic and economic importance to President Thomas Jefferson. Bowie County was established in December 1840 and named for James Bowie, reduced to its present size in 1846. DeKalb was the temporary county seat, with Boston becoming the permanent county seat in 1841.

Handbook of Texas Online
Bowie County was demarked in December of 1840 and named for James Bowie. As originally delineated, the county included all or part of the territories of present Cass, Titus, and Morris counties. In 1846 the county was reduced to its present size and boundaries with the establishment of Cass and Titus counties. DeKalb, in the western part of the county, was designated temporary county seat, while a commission was appointed to choose a more appropriate permanent site. The commission chose the town then named Boston (see OLD BOSTON, TEXAS), which became the county seat in 1841. In the mid-1880s the citizens of Texarkana conducted a successful campaign to make Texarkana the county seat. About five years later residents of the western and central parts of the county campaigned successfully for yet another county seat, this one to be at the geographic center of the county. The new courthouse was constructed in 1890, and the town that grew up around it was named Boston. The county seat has remained at this location. Shortly before Texarkana ceased being the county seat, the courthouse burned and almost all the county records were destroyed. More at
Cecil Harper, Jr., "BOWIE COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcb11), accessed January 23, 2016. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 923 square miles (2,390 km²), of which, 888 square miles (2,300 km²) of it is land and 35 square miles (90 km²) of it (3.78%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• McCurtain County, Oklahoma (north)
• Little River County, Arkansas (northeast)
• Miller County, Arkansas (southeast)
• Cass County (south)
• Morris County (southwest)
• Red River County (west)

Education

The following school districts serve Bowie County:

De Kalb ISD
Hooks ISD
Hubbard ISD
Leary ISD
Liberty-Eylau ISD
Malta ISD
Maud ISD
New Boston ISD
Pleasant Grove ISD
Red Lick ISD
Redwater ISD
Simms ISD
Texarkana ISD

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