Thanks to volunteer Linda Henderson for submitting this information.

The town of Linden, Texas was first established in 1848. It was named for Linden, TN which had been the home of several of its early settlers. The site of Linden, TX was part of the survey belonging to ED STORY who lived in a log cabin there as early as 1845. MR. STORY and his wife, EMILY JANE had obtained the land from the MATTHEW POWELL survey.

Because of its central location in the County, Linden was destined to become the County seat of Cass County. The honor did not come easily, however. Other competing towns were Jefferson, which is no longer in the County, and Holcomb’s Bluff. The citizens of Jefferson were so ardent in their support of Jefferson that two elections had to be held before Linden emerged the clear victor. The first election was held in 1848 with the citizens of Cass County giving Linden a majority of the votes. However, the citizens of Jefferson thought the timing of the balloting was unfavorable to their city so a second election was held in 1851. Again, Linden emerged the winner. Finally, it became the permanent County seat in May of 1852. It enjoys the reputation today of having the longest continually operating courthouse in Texas.

With an eye towards Linden becoming the County seat, commissioners appointed A. FERDINAND HOLCOMB and BENJAMIN KIMBLE to lay out lots in the town site in 1849. The first lot was sold to HENRY COLLINS. Linden began to grow and more lots were laid out in 1851 and 1852. These lots were surveyed by A.F. HOLCOMB and NELSON H. HANEY. BENNETT STORY, the son of E.W. STORY set out the corner posts for these lots.

After the lots were laid out in 1852, Linden became the home for new families. Early purchasers of lots were: GEORGE MELTON, HENDERSON WARD, RICHARD KING, THOMAS HEATH, EBENEZER FRAZIOR, JOHN POINDEXTER, CHAS. GRAHAM, and many others. This was also the year the first post office was established, and it has operated continuously ever since. WARD TAYLOR JR. was the first postmaster.

By 1854, Linden was a thriving town. It boasted a school taught by MISS GEORGIA ANN HARRISON, the courthouse was occupied and improvements were being made to it and the square, the County jail were being built, and new businesses were springing up. The mercantile stores of JOHN MORE and ROBERT GRAHAM were the first businesses. MITCHELL and WARD had a blacksmith shop, and RICHARD CLAUSELL had a cabinet shop where he also made coffins and furniture. The first doctor was JOHN B. LIGON.

Today, Linden has a population of 2,375. The stately three-story courthouse stands in the middle of the town square. Its citizens are a friendly and enterprising people, many of which can trace their ancestry back to the early settlers who pioneered the birth of this city.