Red River County, Texas

Red River County is a county in Texas, United States, about 58 miles northwest of Texarkana. It
had a population of 11,587 at the 2020 census, an estimated 11,816 by 2025, and covers 1,057
square miles (2,740 km2) centred near 33°37′N 95°03′W.

Clarksville is the county seat and the county’s largest city; its postal code is 75426. The
county holds 4 cities, 2 incorporated towns and 10 unincorporated communities across the county,
and it runs on Central Time. Its FIPS code is 48387.

Towns & Villages in Red River County

Red River County has 16 named places on record: 6 incorporated cities and towns and 10
unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. Unincorp. covers crossroads
and rural communities with no formal boundary.

Deport straddles a county line. Its city limits reach into both Red River and Lamar counties,
so the population figure above covers the whole city, not just the Red River County portion.

ZIP Codes

• 75426 — Clarksville
• 75417 — Bogata
• 75435 — Deport (also covers the Lamar County portion of the city)
• 75436 — Detroit
• 75550 — Annona
• 75554 — Avery
• 75412 — Bagwell

Aikin Grove, Albion, Boxelder, Cuthand, English, Maple, Negley, Peters Prairie and McCoinville
have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s
code.

Geography

Red River County sits in Texas’s northeastern corner, where the Piney Woods give way to
blackland prairie along the Red River valley. Of its 1,057 square miles, 1,037 are land and 20
are water, about 1.9 percent — the county has no large reservoir, and its surface water is
mostly the Red River itself and its tributary creeks. The Red River forms the county’s entire
northern border with Oklahoma.

McCurtain County and Choctaw County, both in Oklahoma, lie across the river to the north.
Bowie County lies to the east, Morris County to the southeast, Titus County to the south,
Franklin County and Delta County to the southwest, and Lamar County to the west. Bowie County, Morris County, Titus County, Franklin County, Delta County and Lamar County all border Red River
directly.

Demographics

Red River County had a population of 11,587 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 11,816 residents. Clarksville and Bogata are the two largest communities,
together holding more than a third of the county’s population. Median household income runs
$48,491 (2024, Data USA), well below Texas’s statewide figure of $75,780 (2023 ACS). Population
density works out to about 11 people per square mile of land, low even for rural northeastern
Texas.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 716 people, followed by health
care and social assistance at 625 and construction at 549. Rivercrest Independent School
District, based in Bogata, and Detroit Independent School District are among the county’s
largest local institutions. Avery was once one of northeastern Texas’s largest tomato-shipping
towns, from the 1920s through the early 1960s, before the crop declined; agriculture and timber
remain part of the local economy today.

History

The Republic of Texas created Red River County in 1835 and organized it in 1837, one of the
state’s original counties, named for the Red River that forms its northern border. James Clark
founded Clarksville in 1833, two years before the county existed, and it became the county seat
when the county organized. The Texas Congress incorporated Clarksville in 1837. The Texas and
Pacific Railway reached Clarksville in 1872, driving a postwar recovery in trade and
population.

Red River County is the birthplace of John Nance Garner, the 32nd vice president of the
United States under Franklin D. Roosevelt, and of Tommie Smith, the Olympic sprinter who raised
a fist on the medal stand at the 1968 Mexico City Games. Novelist William Humphrey also grew up
in the county. On 4 November 2022, an EF4 tornado struck the Clarksville area during a severe
outbreak across Texas and Oklahoma.

Getting There

U.S. Highway 82 and U.S. Highway 271 cross the county, along with State Highway 37. No
interstate reaches Red River County.

• Texarkana — about 58 miles southeast
• Paris — about 28 miles west
• Mount Pleasant — about 32 miles south

Texarkana Regional Airport, about 58 miles southeast of Clarksville, is the nearest
commercial airport, with American Eagle service to Dallas/Fort Worth. Amtrak’s Texas Eagle
stops at Texarkana Union Station, running east to Chicago and west to San Antonio and Los
Angeles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Red River County located?
It sits in Texas’s northeastern corner along the Red River, about 58 miles northwest of
Texarkana, bordered by Bowie, Morris, Titus, Franklin, Delta and Lamar counties, plus McCurtain
and Choctaw counties in Oklahoma across the river.

What is the population of Red River County?
11,587 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 11,816.

How big is Red River County?
1,057 square miles (2,740 km2), of which 1,037 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Red River County?
Clarksville, founded in 1833 and incorporated in 1837, is the county seat and largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Red River County?
Four incorporated cities — Clarksville, Bogata, Deport (partly) and Detroit — plus
two towns, Annona and Avery, and ten unincorporated communities including Bagwell and
Cuthand.

What ZIP codes does Red River County use?
75426 for Clarksville, 75417 for Bogata, 75435 for Deport, 75436 for Detroit, 75550 for Annona,
75554 for Avery and 75412 for Bagwell.

What is Red River County known for?
Being the birthplace of Vice President John Nance Garner and Olympic sprinter Tommie Smith, and
for the Red River, which forms its entire northern border with Oklahoma.

More counties in this state: Towns
and villages in Texas.