Battle of Old Fort Wayne

Cass County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 28,454.[1] The county seat is Linden.[2] The county was named for United States Senator Lewis Cass (D-Michigan), who favored the U.S. annexation of Texas in the mid-19th century.

History

Cass County was formed in 1846 from sections of Bowie County.[3] It was named for Lewis Cass,[4] a U.S. Senator from Michigan who had favored the annexation of Texas to the United States.

The county was originally developed by planters for cotton plantations. By 1860, the majority of the population were enslaved African Americans. After the war, freedmen worked largely as tenant farmers and sharecroppers into the early 20th century. Black residents faced violence and discrimination in Cass County, which was the location of nine lynchings, the fifth-highest total among Texas' 254 counties.[5][6]

From 1861 to 1871, this county was known as Davis County, after Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America. (It should not be confused with the still extant Jeff Davis County in West Texas.)

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 960 square miles (2,500 km2), of which 937 square miles (2,430 km2) is land and 23 square miles (60 km2) (2.4%) is water.[7]

Cass County, Texas is one of only three counties in Texas to border two other U.S. states (the others are Bowie and Dallam counties). Cass County forms part of the tripoint of Texas-Arkansas-Louisiana.

Adjacent counties and parish

Major highways

State protected area

Communities

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
18504,991
18608,41168.5%
18708,8755.5%
188016,72488.4%
189022,55434.9%
190022,8411.3%
191027,58720.8%
192030,0418.9%
193030,0300.0%
194033,49611.5%
195026,732−20.2%
196023,496−12.1%
197024,1332.7%
198029,43021.9%
199029,9821.9%
200030,4381.5%
201030,4640.1%
202028,454−6.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]
1850–2010[9] 2010–2020[10]
Demographic Profile of Cass County, Texas
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Race / Ethnicity Pop 2010[11] Pop 2020[10] % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 23,522 21,028 77.21% 73.90%
Black or African American alone (NH) 5,299 4,518 17.39% 15.88%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 133 155 0.44% 0.54%
Asian alone (NH) 89 119 0.29% 0.42%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 4 10 0.01% 0.04%
Some Other Race alone (NH) 15 86 0.05% 0.30%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH) 349 1,202 1.15% 4.22%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1,053 1,336 3.46% 4.70%
Total 30,464 28,454 100.00% 100.00%

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.

The 2020 U.S. census reported a population of 28,454 residents,[1] down from 2010's 30,464.[12] The racial makeup of the county in 2010 was 78.20% White, 19.47% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. 1.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Among the population in 2020, its racial and ethnic makeup was 73.90% non-Hispanic white, 15.88% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.30% some other race, 4.22% multiracial, and 4.70% Hispanic or Latino American of any race.

In 2010, there were 12,190 households, out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.90% were married couples living together, 12.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families; 26.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.95. The median income for a household in the county was $28,441, and the median income for a family was $35,623. Males had a median income of $30,906 versus $19,726 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,777. About 14.70% of families and 17.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.20% of those under age 18 and 17.90% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Cass County Club at East Texas State Normal College in 1921

The following school districts serve Cass County:[13]

Marietta Independent School District was formerly in operation. It consolidated into Pewitt ISD in 2008.[14]

The majority of Cass County is in the service area of Texarkana College. Areas in Avinger ISD, Hughes Springs ISD, and Pewitt CISD within Cass County are instead assigned to Northeast Texas Community College.[15]

Politics

United States presidential election results for Cass County, Texas[16]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 11,033 79.22% 2,795 20.07% 99 0.71%
2016 9,726 78.79% 2,391 19.37% 227 1.84%
2012 8,763 74.34% 2,924 24.80% 101 0.86%
2008 8,279 69.89% 3,490 29.46% 77 0.65%
2004 7,383 61.27% 4,630 38.43% 36 0.30%
2000 6,295 57.13% 4,618 41.91% 106 0.96%
1996 4,066 37.51% 5,691 52.50% 1,082 9.98%
1992 3,999 34.30% 5,476 46.96% 2,185 18.74%
1988 5,305 47.11% 5,941 52.75% 16 0.14%
1984 6,677 56.78% 5,053 42.97% 30 0.26%
1980 4,993 46.79% 5,578 52.27% 101 0.95%
1976 3,712 41.83% 5,134 57.85% 29 0.33%
1972 5,303 72.76% 1,981 27.18% 4 0.05%
1968 1,930 26.26% 2,536 34.50% 2,884 39.24%
1964 2,681 42.61% 3,603 57.26% 8 0.13%
1960 2,322 43.89% 2,934 55.46% 34 0.64%
1956 2,970 54.91% 2,395 44.28% 44 0.81%
1952 2,502 44.17% 3,160 55.78% 3 0.05%
1948 457 11.72% 2,540 65.14% 902 23.13%
1944 541 14.46% 2,866 76.59% 335 8.95%
1940 454 12.68% 3,126 87.32% 0 0.00%
1936 169 6.43% 2,461 93.57% 0 0.00%
1932 224 6.67% 3,135 93.33% 0 0.00%
1928 1,323 43.79% 1,698 56.21% 0 0.00%
1924 997 31.05% 2,125 66.18% 89 2.77%
1920 1,446 42.57% 1,563 46.01% 388 11.42%
1916 707 30.27% 1,505 64.43% 124 5.31%
1912 402 20.62% 1,284 65.85% 264 13.54%

In popular culture

Don Henley named his 2015 album Cass County, as he had grown up here.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Cass County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ JR., HARPER, CECIL (June 12, 2010). "CASS COUNTY". www.tshaonline.org.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 71.
  5. ^ "Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror" (PDF). Equal Justice Initiative. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  6. ^ "Entries tagged Cass County". Lynching In Texas. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  7. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  8. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
  9. ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  10. ^ a b "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Cass County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  11. ^ "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Cass County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  12. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  13. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Cass County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved August 31, 2023. - 2010 map and 2010 list
  14. ^ "CONSOLIDATIONS, ANNEXATIONS AND NAME CHANGES FOR TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS." Texas Education Agency. Updated August 1, 2016. Retrieved on February 23, 2017.
  15. ^ Texas Education Code, "Sec. 130.203. TEXARKANA COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA." and "Sec. 130.192. NORTHEAST TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA."
  16. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org.
  17. ^ "Review: Don Henley, 'Cass County'". npr.org. September 17, 2015.

External links

Media related to Cass County, Texas at Wikimedia Commons

33°04′N 94°21′W / 33.07°N 94.35°W / 33.07; -94.35