Foard County was formed from Hardeman, King, Cottle, and Know Counties, created on March 3, 1891, and organized on April 27, 1891. It was named in honor of Robert L. Foard, who lived from 1831 to 1898 and was a Confederate officer and a prominent lawyer of Columbus, Texas. Crowell became the county seat, and a railroad traversed the county in 1908.