[4] Texas County was created in 1843 and named for William H. Ashley, the first lieutenant governor of Missouri.

Rugged hills, springs, creeks, rivers and caves abound in Texas County.

Pioneers came to Texas County in the 1820s from Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and the Carolinas and set up sawmills along the Big Piney River.

Pioneers made a nice income rafting the timber down the Piney River toward St. Louis.

The American Civil War period was a time of turmoil in Texas County.

On February 26, 2015, a gunman shot and killed seven people in several locations across the town of Tyrone.

The most predominant denominations among residents in Texas County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (77.46%), Christian Churches & Churches of Christ (20.65%), and National Association of Free Will Baptists (12.92%).

The Republican Party mostly controls politics at the local level in Texas County.

Smith won a special election on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, to finish out the remaining term of U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (R-Cape Girardeau).

Emerson announced her resignation a month after being reelected with over 70 percent of the vote in the district.

Like most rural areas throughout Southeast Missouri, voters in Texas County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles which tend to influence their Republican leanings.

The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 78.99 percent voting in favor as the minimum wage was increased to $6.50 an hour in the state.

During the same election, voters in five other states also strongly approved increases in the minimum wage.

Of adults 25 years of age and older in Texas County, 71.4% possesses a high school diploma or higher while 10.8% hold a bachelor's degree or higher as their highest educational attainment.