Titus County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Alright, pull up a chair, because this one goes back to the very beginning of Texas as we know it. We're talkin' Titus County, carved right out of the raw stuff of early Texas statehood.

Red River County and Bowie County, two of the old originals, gave up a piece of themselves so something new could take shape. And take shape it did. Created May 11, 1846, organized July 13, 1846.

Two dates, two months, one summer, and just like that, a county exists. That's how fast Texas was buildin' itself in those days. Blink and there's a new county on the map.

Now, every county needs a name, and the name they chose here carries some weight. Andrew J. Titus.

Born 1814, died 1855. You want to talk about a man who showed up and did the work, that's your man. He came out to northwest Texas when northwest Texas was not asking for company.

Pioneer country. Rough country. The kind of place that sorted people out pretty quick.

He soldiered in the Mexican War, which in 1846, the very year this county was born, was very much an ongoing and dangerous business. And if that weren't enough, he found time to serve in the Texas Legislature. Pioneer, soldier, lawmaker.

Andrew J. Titus fit a lot of living into those years. The county seat, Mt.

Pleasant, sits at the heart of it all, which feels just about right for a county named after a man who clearly had no interest in standing on the edges of things. Titus County. Formed from two, named for one, and still goin' strong.

What the marker says

Formed from Red River and Bowie counties. Created May 11, 1846 and organized July 13, 1846. Named in honor of Andrew J. Titus 1814-1855. Pioneer of northwest Texas, soldier in the Mexican War. Member of the Texas Legislature. County seat, Mt. Pleasant.