Howard

Formed August 21, 1876 (199^th county)

Howard County (34,864), Big Spring (26,145)                

The Modern tan brick and concrete courthouse of Howard County was built in 1953 at the corner of 3^rd and Main streets. United States Highway 87 is two blocks west of the site.  A District Courthouse augments the county building.  Big Spring has always been the county seat since the August 21, 1876 organizing of the county.  Three courthouses have been used for the county, the previous one was built in 1908.  Puckett & French are the architects of the current courthouse.  The county was taken from Bexar County as the 199^th county.  Howard is named for Volney Erskine Howard who was a Republic of Texas legislator and later a member of the United States Congress.  Big Spring is a geographic term for a local spring used to provide water for the herds. 

Howard County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge serves Howard, Glasscock, and Martin counties and One County Court Judge serves Howard County.  The county is located in the southern panhandle.  Midland, Texas is southwest, Abilene, Texas is east, and Lubbock, Texas is north.  The county center is 5.1 miles Northeast of Big Spring.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Borden, Scurry, Mitchell, Sterling, Glasscock, Martin, and Dawson counties. 

The area of the county is 903 square miles.  It is 140 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 88 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 38.6 persons per square mile making it 92 out of 254 in the state.  Howard County has 78.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 20 comes from Mitchell County goes to Martin County.  United States Highway 87 diagonals from northwest to southeast from Martin County to Glasscock County.  The county is square and Big Spring lies to the southwest of the county center.  Big Spring is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 75.0% of the county population.  This county is in the Big Spring Micropolitan Statistical Area.