Cass County

Cass County, bordered by Arkansas and Louisiana on the east, is located in northeastern Texas on the state's eastern boundary; it is one county removed from the northern boundary. Linden, the county seat, is in the south central portion of the county fourteen miles southwest of Atlanta, the county's largest town. The county's center lies at approximately 33°05' north latitude and 94°21' west longitude. U.S. Highway 59 connects Linden, Atlanta, and Queen City with Jefferson to the south and Texarkana to the north. The county's transportation needs are also served by State highways 8, 11, 77, and 155, and by two rail lines, the Missouri Pacific and the Louisiana and Arkansas. Cass County comprises 937 square miles of the East Texas timberlands, an area that is heavily forested with a great variety of softwoods and hardwoods, especially pine, cypress, and oak. The terrain ranges from nearly level to hilly, with an elevation ranging from 200 to 632 feet above sea level. Several stony hills in the western part of the county rise to a height of more than 200 feet and have been protected from erosion by the ironstone material that caps them. The largest of these hills are the Cusseta Mountains, five miles east of Marietta. Northern Cass County is drained by the Sulphur River, and the remainder is drained by Cypress Creek. The soil is light-colored and predominantly sandy and loamy. Between 21 and 30 percent of the land in Cass County is considered prime farmland. Mineral resources include ceramic clay, granite, industrial sand, oil, gas, iron, and lignite coal. Temperatures range from an average high of 92° F in July to an average low of 31° F in January. Rainfall averages almost forty-seven inches a year, and the growing season extends for an average of 237 days.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.