New Boston is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. Boston was named for an early storekeeper in the settlement, W.J. Boston. The coming of the railroads led to the location of two more Bostons. A depot was built approximately 4 miles north of Boston and was named New Boston. The original Boston then became Old Boston. The courthouse was moved to Texarkana in the early 1880s, but a later election carried to move the courthouse back to the geographic center of the county. This location was between the Bostons. The Post Office Department named this location Boston, so Bowie County has claim to three Bostons: New Boston, Boston, and Old Boston. The population was 4,550 at the 2010 census, and 4,612 in 2020.
History
The Red River Expedition (1806) was stopped by the Spanish in the vicinity of the town.
When the Missouri Pacific Railroad was being constructed north of the village of Boston (now Old Boston) in the summer of 1876, it was clear to many businessmen in the town that it would suffer a serious decline as a result 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 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 and 4,550 residents in 2010.
New Boston is known for its Pioneer Days Festival and Rodeo. The townfolk gather at the T&P Trailhead Park for entertainment such as carnival rides, street dances, and live musical and comedy presentations.
On the evening of November 4, 2022, an EF3 tornado hit the western outskirts of the city, causing minor damage.
Geography
New Boston is located near the center of Bowie County. U.S. Route 82 passes through the center of the city, and Interstate 30 runs through the northern part of the city, with access from Exits 199 and 201. By either route, it is east to Texarkana. I-30 leads southwest to Mount Pleasant, and US 82 leads west-northwest to Paris. Texas State Highway 8 leads south to Old Boston, the site of original town settlement in the 1800s, and north to the Red River and the border with the state of Arkansas, continuing into Arkansas as Arkansas State Highway 41 to De Queen and junction US Routes 70 and 71. The Red River Army Depot borders the southeastern edge of New Boston.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, New Boston had a population of 4,612, with 1,918 households and 1,152 families residing in the city.
The median age was 36.8 years; 26.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 85.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 80.7 males age 18 and over.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 2,977 || 64.5%
|-
| Black or African American || 987 || 21.4%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 43 || 0.9%
|-
| Asian || 38 || 0.8%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 4 || 0.1%
|-
| Some other race || 125 || 2.7%
|-
| Two or more races || 438 || 9.5%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 279 || 6.0%
|}
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, 4,808 people, 1,968 households, and 1,334 families resided in the city.
Courthouse
thumb|upright|Bowie County Courthouse
On March 4, 1986, a new modern county courthouse was dedicated in New Boston on the Interstate, but Boston remained the official county seat. The old Bowie County Courthouse, constructed in Boston in 1889 in the exact geographic center of the county, was abandoned after construction of the new building. On the night of August 13, 1987, the old courthouse was burned by an arsonist.
Education
New Boston is served by the New Boston Independent School District <!-- (NBISD) --> and home to the New Boston High School Lions.
Transportation
- 20px Interstate 30
- 20px U.S. Highway 82
- 20px State Highway 8
Notable people
- Devin the Dude, American rapper, spent some of his high school years here
- Jeff Gladney, NFL cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings
- LaMichael James, NFL player
- Ryan Lynch, racing driver
- Kim Phillips, NFL CB for the New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills
- R. Gerald Turner, President of Southern Methodist University since 1995
- Gary VanDeaver, is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives
References
External links
- City of New Boston official website
- New Boston Chamber of Commerce
- New Boston Special Industrial Development Corporation