Texas Porch

County History

Linden: how Cass County got its county seat

Cass County was formed in 1846. Its county seat moved from Jefferson to Linden in 1852 after a boundary change split off Marion County.

Cass County History & Culture

Cass County was created in 1846 from Bowie County in far northeast Texas. Jefferson was the first county seat. After several disputed elections, the seat moved to Linden in 1852.

The move happened partly because a new boundary split off Marion County. Jefferson went with it. A man named Major Wood laid out the new townsite of Linden and named it after a place in Tennessee.

Linden grew slowly. Farming, sawmilling, and later oil drove the local economy. The county covers 937 square miles. Much of it is covered in pine and hardwood forest. By the mid-1900s, the lumber industry produced tens of millions of board feet per year.

Oil exploration came to the county in the 1930s through the Rodessa oilfield. Today Linden is still the county seat. Atlanta is the county's largest city. The Handbook of Texas, published by the Texas State Historical Association, covers this history in detail.

Source to confirm: Handbook of Texas — Cass County

More Cass County notes

Property Tax

Who handles your property tax in Cass County

Two separate offices handle property taxes in Cass County — the appraisal district sets your value, and the tax assessor-collector sends your bill.

Read note ->

Tax Exemptions

Lower your tax bill: homestead and ag-timber exemptions

Texas law gives homeowners and working landowners ways to reduce their property tax bill — but you have to apply.

Read note ->

Lakes & Recreation

Wright Patman Lake: fishing and camping on Cass County's western edge

Wright Patman Lake sits on the Sulphur River and stretches across Bowie and Cass counties, offering fishing, camping, and boating managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Read note ->

Hunting Regulations

Hunting in Cass County: seasons and bag limits to know

Cass County sits in the North Zone for deer and the East Zone for spring turkey, with doves in the Central Zone and ducks in the North Zone, so seasons and bag limits here differ from other parts of Texas.

Read note ->