Texas Porch

History / Local government

Bowie County's legal county seat is Boston, but the courthouse is in New Boston

Bowie County, established in 1840 and named for Alamo defender James Bowie, has had its county seat moved more than once — the legal seat is still Boston, but county offices have operated in New Boston since a new courthouse was built there in 1986.

Bowie County History & Culture

Bowie County was created in December 1840 from Red River County and named for James Bowie. Settlement in the area had begun around 1820. The county originally stretched farther than today and was reduced to its present size in 1846.

The county seat has moved twice. Boston was the permanent county seat from 1841. In the 1880s, Texarkana's growth led to a successful campaign to move the seat there. Then in the early 1890s, residents in the western and central parts of the county voted to move it to a point closer to the county's geographic center. A new courthouse was built in 1890 at a site just south of New Boston, and that town took the Boston name — what remained became 'Old Boston.' Boston is still the legal county seat, but when a modern courthouse was constructed in New Boston in 1986, county offices moved there.

County administration is at the Bowie County Courthouse, 710 James Bowie Drive, New Boston, TX 75570. The TSHA Handbook of Texas and Texas Almanac both have detailed entries on Bowie County's history, drawing on primary sources.

Source to confirm: TSHA: Bowie County

More Bowie County notes

Property tax

Texas raised the school-district homestead exemption to $140,000

Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment in November 2025 that raised the mandatory school-district homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, retroactive to January 1, 2025.

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Property tax

You can protest your property appraisal every year in Bowie County

Texas law gives every property owner the right to challenge their appraisal each year by filing a protest with the Appraisal Review Board before the deadline.

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Agricultural valuation

Timber and farm land can be taxed on productivity value, not market value

Under Texas law, land actively used for farming, ranching, or timber production can qualify for special appraisal — meaning it is taxed based on what it produces, not what it would sell for.

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Property tax

Two separate offices handle appraisal and tax collection in Bowie County

The Bowie Central Appraisal District sets property values, while a separate Tax Assessor-Collector handles billing — knowing which office to call saves confusion.

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