Boston, Texas Explained

Official Name:Boston
Settlement Type:County seat & unincorporated community
Nickname:City of Boston, Texas
Pushpin Map:Texas#USA
Pushpin Label:Boston
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Texas##Location in the United States
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Texas
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Bowie
Established Title:Established
Established Date:1890
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population As Of:2000
Population Total:200
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Coordinates:33.4415°N -94.4196°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:75570
Area Code:430 & 903
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:1352714[1]

Boston is an unincorporated community in, and the county seat of, Bowie County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 200 in 2000. It is part of the Texarkana metropolitan area.

History

In the mid-1880s, as the population of (Old) Boston declined, citizens of Texarkana successfully moved the county seat to their city in the extreme east of the county. Within five years, citizens of central and western Bowie County successfully proposed moving the county seat closer to the geographic center of the county. The new community began in 1890 with the construction of the County Courthouse, one mile south of New Boston and three miles north of the original Boston. The county seat was required to have a post office. After the first three proposed names, Center, Hood, and Glass were rejected as already in use, Boston's post office (including its name) was relocated to the new county seat, while the original was relabeled "Old Boston". In the 1980s, a new courthouse was built in New Boston, but Boston remained the county seat. Its population was recorded at 200 in 2000. Its population was also recorded as 175 from 1896 through the early 1990s. It had only two operating businesses in 1982.[2]

The Bowie County jail in the community is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Boston is located off U.S. Highway 82 and the Missouri Pacific Railroad, 22miles west of Texarkana in central Bowie County.[2]

Education

Boston is served by the New Boston Independent School District.

Notable people

In popular culture

The movie Christmas on Mars was filmed in Boston.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: US Board on Geographic Names. 2008-01-31. United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25.
  2. Web site: Harper . Cecil . Boston, TX . Handbook of Texas Online . Texas State Historical Association . 11 October 2021.
  3. News: Packing in pizzazz with Jeff Leach. Gulf News. December 10, 2010. Navin. Hina.