Texas County will be 170 years old this Saturday (Feb. 14).
The county became a county before Texas became a state and was named after the Republic of Texas. Created in 1843, it originally was called Ashley County before being officially organized and having its name changed in 1845.
Its first name was in honor of Missouri Lt. Gov. William H. Ashley.
Texas County is Missouri’s largest county, covering 1,179 square miles. As of the 2010 census, the population was 26,008.Â
The county seat of Houston was founded in 1857 and named after Sam Houston, the first governor of the Republic of Texas. There is one other Texas County in the U.S. – in the Oklahoma panhandle.