Linden is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, in the Piney Woods of far Northeast Texas. The county touches both Arkansas and Louisiana, and Linden sits south of the county's center, about fourteen miles southwest of Atlanta and eighteen miles north of Jefferson along U.S. Route 59. Its location places it within easy reach of the Tri-State corner where Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana meet. The town was established in 1852, after a redrawing of county lines transferred the former county seat of Jefferson to Marion County. A Major Wood laid out the townsite and named it for his former home in Tennessee. Linden has served as the seat of Cass County ever since, anchoring local government in the south-central part of the county. Lumber, farming, and oil have long driven the local economy, reflecting the Piney Woods' timber heritage and the region's petroleum history. The population has settled around 1,800 to 2,200 residents in recent decades. What sets Linden apart is its music legacy. The town is known as Music City Texas: ragtime composer Scott Joplin, pioneering blues guitarist Aaron "T-Bone" Walker, and Eagles co-founder Don Henley all trace roots to Linden. The Music City Texas Theater presents live performances of national and regional acts, and the Wildflower Trails of Texas festival has welcomed spring with music, crafts, and blooming wildflowers for more than half a century. Public education is provided by the Linden-Kildare Consolidated Independent School District, a small district serving roughly 650 students across three campuses. For residents and visitors, Linden offers a quiet East Texas county-seat pace with a rich cultural identity and the forests, lakes, and countryside of Cass County all around.