New Boston, Texas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

New Boston is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It was named after an early store keeper, W.J. Boston. It is part of the Texarkana, Texas - Texarkana, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its two area codes are 430 and 903. Its zipcode is 75570. It is in the Central Time time zone. The population was 4,808 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Major Highways in or Near New Boston
4 History
5 Courthouse
6 Schools
7 Other
8 External links

[edit] Geography

New Boston is located at 33°27′38″N, 94°25′2″W (33.460551, -94.417246)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.0 km² (3.5 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 4,808 people, 1,968 households, and 1,334 families residing in the city. The population density was 531.9/km² (1,377.1/mi²). There were 2,229 housing units at an average density of 246.6/km² (638.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.49% White, 17.64% African American, 0.75% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.46% of the population.

There were 1,968 households out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were married couples living together, 17.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 82.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,531, and the median income for a family was $38,542. Males had a median income of $29,940 versus $21,316 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,190. About 11.6% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.9% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Major Highways in or Near New Boston

[edit] History

New Boston is on U.S. Route 82 and the US Interstate 30, 21 miles west of Texarkana in the central part of Bowie County. When the Missouri-Pacific railroad was being constructed four miles north of Boston in the summer of 1876, it was clear to many businessmen in Boston (now Old Boston) that their town would suffer a serious decline as a consequence of its distance from the line. At a mass meeting J. H. Smelser, a local resident and surveyor for the railroad, was selected to meet with railroad officials to secure the location of a depot at a point on the line nearest to Boston. The negotiations were successful, and in September 1876 lots were laid out and put up for sale on 100 acres that the railroad had purchased. Because most of those engaged in the project were from Boston, the new town was named New Boston. A post office was established in 1877 with L. C. DeMorse as postmaster. The town grew rapidly and by 1884 it had 400 residents, two churches, a school, several mills and gins, and a newspaper, the New Boston Herald, edited by W. W. West. A furniture factory and another newspaper, the Bowie County Populist, were added in the 1890s.

By 1900 the town had a population of 762. It grew slowly until the late 1920s, when a short-lived boom raised the population from 869 in 1925 to 1,300 in 1929. The population fell to 949 by 1931. During World War II the Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant and the Red River Army Depot were constructed just southeast of New Boston. The two massive military installations were probably responsible for the town's rapid growth in the 1940s. The population grew from 1,111 in 1940, then to 2,688 in 1950. In 1980 it reached 4,628. Although an International Paper mill, the Barry Telford state prison and a few smaller factories provided some industrial base for the town, New Boston depends heavily on the two military installations for its continued prosperity. The town had 5,057 residents in 1990.

New Boston Texas is well known for the Pioneer Days parade and Rodeo. The town-folk gather in the town square where entertainment such as carnival rides, street dances, live musical and comedy presentations, Parade of town heros and pagent winners and The Famous Pioneer days rodeo where you can see such riders as Mark Denny, Brian Malone, Dusty Hobbs, Roy Barber, Kyran Noel, and Bobby Ann Dunson. Payton Clark is the best fighter in the town.

[edit] Courthouse

On March 4, 1986 a new county courthouse was dedicated in New Boston, but Boston remained the official county seat. The old Bowie County Courthouse, constructed in Boston in 1889, was abandoned after construction of the new building. On the night of August 13, 1987 the old courthouse was burned by an arsonist.

Old Bowie County Courthouse and Jail, circa 1939

Bowie County Courthouse - Present Day

[edit] Schools

The City of New Boston is served by the New Boston Independent School District (NBISD). The district's mascot is the Lion and the school colors are maroon and gold. The Lions received football fame by producing such players/coaches as Oscar Freaze, Tim Switzer, Cody Skinner, Payton Clark, Erik Ellis, Buddy Ray, Freddy Thrower, Dustin Ray, Stanley Phelps, Shaundre Burns, Wayne Sanders, and Jody Tefteller. Erik Ellis is currently playing for the Arena Football League.