Montague

Montague, the county seat of Montague County, is on State highways 59 and 175, near the center of the county. It was established in 1858 on 160 acres of land donated by the state and named for Daniel Montague. A post office opened in 1860. In 1874 the Montague Frontier News began weekly publication. By 1880 the community provided the only flour and grist mills for county farmers. That year an estimated 400 residents supported five businesses, three churches, and a school. Between 1880 and 1900 the tracks of the Fort Worth and Denver Railway were built through Bowie to the south of Montague, and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad reached Nocona to the north. In 1886 W. A. Morris and C. C. White attempted to save the county seat from isolation by construction of an independent rail line named the Weatherford and Great Northwestern, connecting Bowie with Montague. Approximately eight miles of tracks were laid before funds ran out.

Montague was incorporated in 1886, but the Montague Democrat, started in 1887, reported in 1900 that the residents had voted to unincorporate the community. That year Montague was only the fifth largest town in the county. The population was 300 in 1915 and 284 in 1947. Afterward the population leveled off and, beginning in the 1970s, the community started to grow again. In 1990 through 2000 the population was 400. The construction of State highways 59 and 175 through Montague to Farm roads 1886 and 455 enabled the county seat to maintain its position as a market center for area farmers and ranchers.