New Boston is a city located in Bowie County, Texas. It was named after an early store keeper, W.J. Boston. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 4,808.
New Boston is located at 33°27'38" North, 94°25'2" West (33.460551, -94.417246).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.0 km2 (3.5 mi2). 9.0 km2 (3.5 mi2) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.
As of the census of 2000, there are 4,808 people, 1,968 households, and 1,334 families residing in the city. The population density is 531.9/km2 (1,377.1/mi2). There are 2,229 housing units at an average density of 246.6/km2 (638.4/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 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. 1.46% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 1,968 households out of which 32.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% are married couples living together, 17.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% are non-families. 30.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 15.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.39 and the average family size is 2.96.
In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 82.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 74.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $26,531, and the median income for a family is $38,542. Males have a median income of $29,940 versus $21,316 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,190. 15.0% of the population and 11.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 19.9% of those under the age of 18 and 8.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
New Boston is on U.S. Highway 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 prision 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.
Source:
NewBostonTexas.com
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