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The region was first organized as a county on February 17, 1843, and was given the name "Ashley County," in honor of William Henry Ashley (1785-1839), a former fur trader and the first lieutenant governor of Missouri, who had at one time operated a trading post within its boundaries. On February 14, 1845, however, its name was changed to Texas County, in honor of what was then still the Republic of [[Texas]]. Many from this section had emigrated to Texas, and it has been suggested (probably not accurately) that its being the largest county in the state, just as Texas would become the largest state in the Union, influenced the choice. The imminent admission of Texas into the United States, which would be formalized only days later, may also have played a role.<ref>https://collections.shsmo.org/manuscripts/columbia/C2366/texas-county</ref>
The region was first organized as a county on February 17, 1843, and was given the name "Ashley County," in honor of William Henry Ashley (1785-1839), a former fur trader and the first lieutenant governor of Missouri, who had at one time operated a trading post within its boundaries. On February 14, 1845, however, its name was changed to Texas County, in honor of what was then still the Republic of [[Texas]]. Many from this section had emigrated to Texas, and it has been suggested (probably not accurately) that its being the largest county in the state, just as Texas would become the largest state in the Union, influenced the choice. The imminent admission of Texas into the United States, which would be formalized only days later, may also have played a role.<ref>https://collections.shsmo.org/manuscripts/columbia/C2366/texas-county</ref>
In 1846, a site along Brushy Creek in the center of the county was chosen for the county seat, and promptly named Houston in honor of the man who had won Texan independence. At the time of its first census in 1850, Texas County had a population of 2,312, and grew steadily over the next decade, but then suffered severe upheaval during the [[Civil War]]. With a largely pro-[[Confederate]] population, and lying across the main [[Union]] communications route from [[St. Louis]] to [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]], [[guerrilla warfare]] in the region was constant, and much of Houston, including the courthouse, was burned down in the course of the conflict (though local records from the courthouse were saved and stored in a cave until the war's end).
After the Civil War, the county saw a rebuilding period, but its growth was not impaired in the long run. By 1900, its population stood at over 20,000; from that point until the 1960s, though, it leveled off and experienced a slow decline. With most of the main transportation routes lying beyond its borders, and relatively little manufacturing or mining compared to other parts of the Ozarks, it became something of a backwater, relying largely on agriculture and forestry as it always had. Since the 1960s, it has slowly expanded once again, thanks in part to tourism to the rivers, springs, and other natural attractions in the broader region.
Following the 2010 Census, it was announced that the U.S. center of population had shifted 25 miles southwest from its 2000 location, to a point about 3 miles northeast of the village of Plato, in the northwestern part of Texas County.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20130521072531/http://www.census.gov/geo/reference/pdfs/cenpop2010/centerpop_mean2010.pdf</ref>
The unincorporated community of Tyrone, in southern Texas County, was the scene of a mass murder on February 26, 2015, when a violent and unstable convicted felon, shot and killed seven people, including several family members, and wounded another before taking his own life. It was a shock to the county, which generally has a very low rate of homicide.<ref>https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/27/tyrone-missouri-9-dead/24108089/</ref>
==Communities==
==Communities==