Howard County was formed from Young and Bexar Territories, created on August 21, 1876, organized on June 15, 1882, and named in honor of Volney Erskine Howard, who lived from 1809 to 1889, came to Texas in 1844, served as a delegate to the First State Constitutional Convention, was a member of the Texas Legislature, and was a member of the United States Congress; Big Spring is the county seat.