Cass

Formed March 1, 1846 (39^th county)

Cass County (20,464), Linden (1,988), Atlanta (5,675)

The only antebellum Classical Revival courthouse remaining in Texas was built in 1861 with two major remodelings since then.  The building is located near downtown at Main and Houston.  Judge Charles Ames designed this white brick structure.  The building was enlarged in 1905 and 1980 and renovated in 1971 and 2010.  A 1939 Administration Building sets across the street and a 1976 Justice Center is two blocks away.  Since its founding on March 1, 1846, Jefferson was the first county seat until 1852 when Linden became the county seat.  Cass County was cut from Bowie County as the 39^th county.  Cass County was named for Lewis Cass, an advocate of Texas annexation to the United States.  Linden was named for an early settler’s previous home in Linden, Tennessee. 

Cass County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge serves Cass and Bowie counties and Two County Court Judges serve Cass County.  The county is located in the northeast bordering Arkansas and Louisiana.  The county center is 8.1 miles Northeast of Linden nearer O’Farrell.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Bowie County and Arkansas and Louisiana and Marion and Morris counties. 

The area of the county is 960 square miles.  It is 94 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 116 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 21.32 persons per square mile making it 126 out of 254 in the state.  Cass County has 59.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 59 enters from Bowie County in the northeast and exits south into Marion County.  The county is rectangular with the Sulphur River on the north and Arkansas and Louisiana on the east.  Linden is slightly south of the county’s center.  Atlanta is located in the northeast quarter of the county.  Linden is the county seat and Atlanta is the largest city.  Linden is 9.7% of the county population while Atlanta is 27.7% of the county population.