The Chisholm Trail crossed Montague County in the 1800s cattle drives

Montague County was organized in 1858 and named after Daniel Montague, a surveyor of the Fannin Land District. The county is in north-central Texas on the Oklahoma border, about 100 miles northwest of Dallas. The Red River forms its northern edge.

By fall 1867 the Chisholm Trail was moving cattle through the county. Ranching dominated the economy for decades. Railroads arrived in the early 1880s, spurring growth in towns like Bowie and Nocona. Bowie is today the county's largest town with about 5,500 residents. Montague, the tiny county seat, has a few hundred people but holds the county courthouse and main government offices.