Maud is on the
St. Louis Southwestern Railway near U.S. Highway 67 ten miles
south of Boston and is seventeen miles southwest of Texarkana in
southern Bowie County. The territory around Maud, known before
the Republic of Texas era as the Red River Country, was among
the earliest settled areas, but Spanish claims to the land,
outlaws from the Neutral Ground, and general lawlessness
discouraged extensive development. After the railroad reached
the site in 1870, a community gradually began to emerge. The
town was named for Maud Knapp, daughter of Samuel D. Knapp, the
first postmaster and the donor of land for the townsite. A post
office opened in 1881, closed the next year, then reopened in
1893. By 1910 the population of the town had reached 300, and by
1940 it had grown to 750. During World War II the Red River Army
Depot and the Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant were built six
miles north of the community. These two facilities provided jobs
for many Maud citizens. In 1982 Maud had eleven rated businesses
and an estimated population of 1,059. The two military
installations remained the largest employers of Maud residents.
In 1990 the community population was 1,049.
