Reinventing Cass County
A native son sings its praises
With 254 counties in Texas, it can be difficult for one to stand out from the crowd. Add the fact that Cass County is not named for a hero of the Texas Revolution but instead for a failed 1848 U.S. presidential candidate from Michigan, and the county might never gain much recognition outside of its surrounding area.
In fact, so many residents were disappointed by the name that they renamed it in 1861 to Davis County in honor of Jefferson Davis (president of the Confederate States). They changed their minds after the Civil War and went back to being Cass County.
Jump forward 144 years to when one of the county’s native sons has become an American music icon and decided to name his newest album Cass County. The album was Don Henley’s first in 15 years and debuted at the top of the country music charts in October 2015. Henley grew up in the county seat of Linden, Texas, in the 1950s and ’60s.
When I was a young boy
Roamin’ on the railroad
tracks
Put copper pennies on
the rails
Locomotive come and
squash ‘em flat
We’d run to fetch ‘em back
— “Train In The Distance” from Don Henley’s 2015 album Cass County
Next thing you know, you see T-shirts in Nashville and Dallas with “Cass County” on them. People start asking “Where’s Cass County?” Aside from on the shelves of record stores, Cass County can be found in Northeast Texas, bordered by Arkansas and Louisiana on the east and one county removed from Oklahoma to the north. Linden was founded in 1848 around the lumber industry. The population grew slowly and peaked in the 1980s at about 2,500 before dropping to about 1,900 in recent years.
In 2003, the Linden Economic Development Corporation created a music venue for the city in an effort to promote tourism in Linden, Cass County and the surrounding area. The Music City Texas Theater hosts national, regional and local entertainers from all musical genres. This summer features JD Souther on June 10 and Hickory Hill Bluegrass on Aug. 20.
Also in Linden you’ll discover a noteworthy structure that has its roots in the 19th century. “The oldest courthouse in Texas still used as the seat of county government stands with antebellum grace in Linden,” Texas State Historian Bill O’Neal says. “The stately appearance of this venerable building has been enhanced by a 2008 grant from the Texas Historical Commission. The 1861 structure was rededicated in 2012.”
Just as Henley, a founding member of the Eagles, has gone back to his roots and reinvented himself as a successful country performer, his hometown is also reinventing itself and is ready to rise as a destination for visitors seeking a soulful connection to our past.
