Difference between revisions of "Texas County, Missouri"

Revision as of 02:16, March 2, 2021

Texas County is a county in south-central Missouri. First organized in 1843, it is one of four Missouri counties to share a name with another U.S. state (the others being Mississippi, Oregon, and Washington Counties), and the state's largest county by land area. It had a population of 26,008 at the 2010 census. Houston is the county seat, and Licking is the largest city.

History

Like much of south-central Missouri, the future area of Texas County was at one time occupied by various Indian tribes, which left behind a variety of archaeological evidence, including mounds and rock paintings. By the colonial period, it was controlled by the Osage nation, which ceded it to American authorities in an 1808 land grant.

American settlers, chiefly from states of the Upper South such as Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, began moving into the region by the mid-1810s, including the famous frontiersman Daniel Boone for a time. Their numbers steadily increased over the next generation, with many pioneers clustering along the Big Piney and Current Rivers, where they built sawmills to cut and process the local pine timber and then float it downstream. Others established farms and pastures in the many fertile valleys that dot the area.^[1]

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.^[2]

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, 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.^[3]

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.^[4]

Communities

Texas County is home to seven incorporated communities, including five cities and two villages.

Cities

Cabool
Houston (county seat)
Licking
Mountain Grove (partly in Wright County)
Summersville (partly in Shannon County)

Villages

References

[1] ttps://www.texascountymissouri.gov/county-history/

[2] ttps://collections.shsmo.org/manuscripts/columbia/C2366/texas-county

[3] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130521072531/http://www.census.gov/geo/reference/pdfs/cenpop2010/centerpop_mean2010.pdf

[4] ttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/27/tyrone-missouri-9-dead/24108089/

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[2]

[3]

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@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 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==