Cass County, Texas


Cass County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 28,454. The county seat is Linden. The county was named for Lewis Cass, a United States Senator representing 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 and houses some outskirts of Texarkana. It was named for Lewis Cass, a U.S. Senator from Michigan who had favored the annexation of Texas to the United States and became the first presidential candidate to win the state.
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.
From 1861 to 1871, this county was known as Davis County, after Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America, as opposed to Jeff Davis County in West Texas.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Cass County, Texas is one of only three counties in Texas to border two other U.S. states. Cass County forms part of the tripoint of Texas-Arkansas-Louisiana.

Adjacent counties and parish

Cities

Racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 28,454. The median age was 45.9 years. 21.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.9 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 75.5% White, 16.0% Black or African American, 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.0% from some other race, and 5.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.7% of the population.
19.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 80.6% lived in rural areas.
There were 11,738 households in the county, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.9% were married-couple households, 18.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 13,870 housing units, of which 15.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 75.6% were owner-occupied and 24.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.7%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, the county had 30,464 residents and 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 following school districts serve Cass County:
Marietta Independent School District was formerly in operation. It consolidated into Pewitt ISD in 2008.
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.

Politics

In popular culture

named his 2015 album Cass County, as he had grown up here.