Uvalde County, Texas
Encyclopedia
Uvalde County is a county located in the U.S. state
of Texas
. In 2000, its population was 25,926. Its county seat
is Uvalde
. The county is named for Juan de Ugalde
, the Spanish
governor of Coahuila
. Uvalde County was founded by Reading Wood Black
who also founded the city of Uvalde, Texas
.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau
, the county has a total area of 1559 square miles (4,037.8 km²), of which 1557 square miles (4,032.6 km²) is land and 2 square miles (5.2 km²) (0.13%) is water.
of 2000, there were 25,926 people, 8,559 households, and 6,641 families residing in the county. The population density
was 17 people per square mile (6/km²). There were 10,166 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 75.68% White
, 0.36% Black
or African American
, 0.68% Native American
, 0.39% Asian
, 0.08% Pacific Islander
, 19.65% from other races
, and 3.16% from two or more races. 65.91% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 8,559 households out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples
living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.4% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.96 and the average family size is 3.42.
In the county, the population was spread out with 31.4% under the age of 18, 9.80% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 20% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $27,164, and the median income for a family was $30,671. Males had a median income of $25,135 versus $16,486 for females. The per capita income
for the county was $12,557. About 19.90% of families and 24.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 18.6% of those age 65 or over.
s establish human habitation dating back to 7000 B.C. Evidence of a permanent Indian
village
on the Leona River
at a place south of the Fort Inge
site is indicated in the written accounts of Fernando del Bosque's exploration in 1675. Comanche
, Tonkawa
, Seminole
and Lipan Apache continued hunting and raiding settlers into the 19th Century.
, governor of Coahuila and commandant of the Provincias Internas, led 600 men to a decisive victory over the Apaches near the site of modern Utopia at a place known then as Arroyo de la Soledad. In honor of his victory, the canyon
area was thereafter called Cañon de Ugalde. French botanist Jean-Louis Berlandier
visited the area in the late 1820s. James Bowie guided a group of silver prospector
s into the area of north central Uvalde County in the 1830s. A trail used by General Adrián Woll's
Mexican Army
on its way to attack San Antonio
in 1842 crossed the territory of Uvalde County and became the main highway between San Antonio.
, and was served by the Overland Southern Mail.
One of the first settlers to the environs was William Washington Arnett, who arrived in the winter of 1852. The Canyon de Ugalde Land Company, formed by land speculators in San Antonio in 1837, began purchasing headright
grants in Uvalde County in the late 1830s. Reading Wood Black
, who with a partner, Nathan L. Stratton, purchased an undivided league
and labor on the Leona River in 1853 at the future site of Uvalde
. May 2, 1855, Black hired San Antonio lithographer Wilhelm Carl August Thielepape
, and laid out Encina, the town later known as Uvalde.
Waresville settlement by Capt. William Ware in the upper Sabinal Canyon and Patterson Settlement by George W. Patterson, John Leakey, and A. B. Dillard on the Sabinal River coincided with Reading Black's development of the Leona River at Encina.
to organize Uvalde County. On May 12, the county was formally organized. On June 14, Encina was named county seat. The second floor of the courthouse was made into a school, and six school districts were organized for the county in 1858. The San Antonio-El Paso Mail route was extended along the county's main road with a stop at Fort Inge in 1857.
Conflict between Mexicans
and Anglo
s during and after the Mexican War continued in Uvalde County, with the reported lynching of eleven Mexicans near the Nueces River
in 1855. Laws passed in 1857 prohibited Mexicans from traveling through the county.
Uvaldeans voted 76–16 against secession from the Union
. The abandonment of Fort Inge immediately after secession was followed by renewed Indian attacks. Many men in Uvalde County fought for the Confederacy
, while some Unionists fled to Mexico to avoid persecution
.
Uvalde County endured three decades of unrelenting lawlessness after the Civil War
. Violence, lawlessness and Confederate-Union conflicts among citizens were so pervasive that armed guards were employed to assist the county tax assessor and collector, and the county had no sheriff
for nearly two years. The years immediately following the Civil War were marked by conflicts between Confederates and Unionists returning to live in Uvalde County. Smugglers, cattle and horse rustlers, and numerous other desperadoes saturated the area, including notorious cattle rustler, J. King Fisher
who was appointed Uvalde sheriff in 1881. Willis Newton of The Newton Gang
robbed his first train near Uvalde. Jess and Joe Newton retired to Uvalde.
The Uvalde Umpire began publication in 1878 and the Hesparian in 1879.
The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway was built through the county, passing through Sabinal and Uvalde City, in 1881.
William M. Landrum introduced Angora goat
s to the area in the 1880s. By the turn of the century goats outnumbered cattle.
Pat Garrett
lived in the county 1891–1900
By 1905 the Southern Pacific had established railheads in Uvalde, Knippa, and Sabinal.
The local bee industry developed a product that received first place in the 1900 Paris
World's Fair.
Garner State Park
built by the Civilian Conservation Corps
and opened in 1941. Garner Army Air Field
the same year.
The National Fish Hatchery
, completed in 1937, produced a million catfish
, largemouth bass
and sunfish
in the 1970s.
Approximately $45 million was generated by farming in Uvalde County in 1974.
In January 1989 Uvalde County withdrew from the Edwards Underground Water District
.
In 1990 Uvalde County had a population of 23,340, with 60 percent identified as Hispanic.
in 1910, immigrant labor force cleared large tracts of land and digging ditches, as irrigation spread throughout the county. The Uvalde and Northern Railway to Camp Wood, the Asphalt Beltway Railway in 1921, and the expansion of the asphalt mines in far southwestern Uvalde County at Blewett and Dabney were completed with the help of Mexican labor. By 1960 Mexican Americans made up one half of Uvalde County's 16,015 population. Seasonal migrant workers continued to move to Uvalde and Sabinal during the 1960s..
The Alien Land Laws of 1891, 1892 and 1921 prohibited ownership of Texas land by non-residents. The laws were repealed in 1965 by the Fifty-ninth Texas Legislature. These and other discriminatory deed restrictions had limited Tejano
s in the purchase of town lots in the county.
Efforts to gain civil rights for Hispanics in Uvalde County began with the establishment of the Tomas Valle Post of the American Legion. County churches maintained segregated places of worship until an integrated Catholic church emerged in Uvalde in 1965.
The Mexican American Youth Organization
formed in Uvalde City in 1968 and eventually led to a 6-week walkout by more than 600 Mexican-American students a on April 14, 1970. The Texas Rangers and the Texas Department of Public Safety
responded to requests by the school board to help control the volatile situation. Senator Walter F. Mondale
, chairman of the United States Senate
Committee on Equal Educational Opportunity, went to Uvalde on July 30, 1970, and criticized city officials in an interview published in the Uvalde Leader News.
A 1970 class action lawsuit was filed by Ms. Genoveva Morales on behalf of her children against the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District
.
In 1975, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
found that Uvalde C.I.S.D. in Texas had failed to desegregate its school system in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
. In 1976, the Court ordered Uvalde C.I.S.D. to comply. In 2007, Uvalde C.I.S.D. sought to dismiss the desegregation order. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
(MALDEF) opposed. On September 15, 2008, a settlement was reached.
By 1975 only six Mexican Americans had served in public office in the county and none in leading roles. Since then several Mexican Americans have served as county commissioners and in other county and local offices.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. In 2000, its population was 25,926. Its county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
is Uvalde
Uvalde, Texas
Uvalde is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,929 at the 2000 census.Uvalde was founded by Reading Wood Black in 1853 as the town of Encina. In 1856, when the county was organized, the town was renamed Uvalde for Spanish governor Juan de...
. The county is named for Juan de Ugalde
Juan de Ugalde
Juan de Ugalde later also known as Juan de Uvalde was born in Cádiz, Spain. He joined the Spanish army in 1738. In 1787 he was promoted to commanding general of Texas, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Nuevo Santander. In 1790 he successfully led Spanish soldiers against Apache forces at Arroyo de la...
, the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
governor of Coahuila
Coahuila
Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
. Uvalde County was founded by Reading Wood Black
Reading Wood Black
Reading Wood Black , was the father of Uvalde County, Texas and city of Uvalde, Texas, which he founded as the town of Encina. In 1979, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 4209 was placed in the Hillcrest Cemetery to honor Reading Wood Black. In 1997, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 4208 was placed...
who also founded the city of Uvalde, Texas
Uvalde, Texas
Uvalde is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,929 at the 2000 census.Uvalde was founded by Reading Wood Black in 1853 as the town of Encina. In 1856, when the county was organized, the town was renamed Uvalde for Spanish governor Juan de...
.
Geography
Coordinates: 29.35°N 99.76°WAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the county has a total area of 1559 square miles (4,037.8 km²), of which 1557 square miles (4,032.6 km²) is land and 2 square miles (5.2 km²) (0.13%) is water.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 83
U.S. Highway 90
State Highway 55State Highway 55 (Texas)State Highway 55 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas. It runs from Uvalde northwestward through the western Hill Country onto the Edwards Plateau, ending south of Sonora.-History:...
State Highway 127State Highway 127 (Texas)State Highway 127 is a state highway in Uvalde County in the U.S. state of Texas that connects Sabinal and Concan in south Texas.-Route description:...
Adjacent counties
- Real County (north)
- Bandera CountyBandera County, TexasBandera County, formed in 1856 from Bexar and Uvalde counties, is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population is 17,645. Its county seat is Bandera. Bandera is named for the Spanish word for flag...
(northeast) - Medina County (east)
- Zavala CountyZavala County, TexasZavala County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 11,600. Its county seat is Crystal City. Zavala is named for Lorenzo de Zavala, Mexican politician, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and first vice president of the Republic of...
(south) - Kinney CountyKinney County, TexasKinney County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 3,379. Its seat is Brackettville. Kinney County is named for Henry Lawrence Kinney, an early settler.-Geography:...
(west) - Maverick CountyMaverick County, TexasMaverick County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 47,297. Its county seat is Eagle Pass. Maverick County is named for Samuel Maverick, cattleman and state legislator....
(southeast) - Edwards County (northwest)
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 25,926 people, 8,559 households, and 6,641 families residing in the county. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 17 people per square mile (6/km²). There were 10,166 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 75.68% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.36% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.68% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.39% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.08% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 19.65% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 3.16% from two or more races. 65.91% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 8,559 households out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.4% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.96 and the average family size is 3.42.
In the county, the population was spread out with 31.4% under the age of 18, 9.80% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 20% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $27,164, and the median income for a family was $30,671. Males had a median income of $25,135 versus $16,486 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the county was $12,557. About 19.90% of families and 24.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 18.6% of those age 65 or over.
Native Americans
ArtifactArtifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
s establish human habitation dating back to 7000 B.C. Evidence of a permanent Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
on the Leona River
Leona River
-References:**USGS Hydrologic Unit Map - State of Texas...
at a place south of the Fort Inge
Fort Inge
Fort Inge was a frontier fort in Uvalde County, Texas established as Camp Leona on March 13, 1849. The fort served as a base for United States Army troops assigned to protect the southern overland mail route along the San Antonio-El Paso Road from Indian raids. The camp was renamed Fort Inge in...
site is indicated in the written accounts of Fernando del Bosque's exploration in 1675. Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
, Tonkawa
Tonkawa
The Tickanwa•tic Tribe , better known as the Tonkawa , are a Native American people indigenous to present-day Oklahoma and Texas. They once spoke the now-extinct Tonkawa language believed to have been a language isolate not related to any other indigenous tongues...
, Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
and Lipan Apache continued hunting and raiding settlers into the 19th Century.
Early Explorations
On January 9, 1790, Juan de UgaldeJuan de Ugalde
Juan de Ugalde later also known as Juan de Uvalde was born in Cádiz, Spain. He joined the Spanish army in 1738. In 1787 he was promoted to commanding general of Texas, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Nuevo Santander. In 1790 he successfully led Spanish soldiers against Apache forces at Arroyo de la...
, governor of Coahuila and commandant of the Provincias Internas, led 600 men to a decisive victory over the Apaches near the site of modern Utopia at a place known then as Arroyo de la Soledad. In honor of his victory, the canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
area was thereafter called Cañon de Ugalde. French botanist Jean-Louis Berlandier
Jean-Louis Berlandier
Jean-Louis Berlandier was a French naturalist, physician, and anthropologist.Berlandier was born in rural Fort de l'Écluse, near France's border with Switzerland, and trained as a botanist in Geneva...
visited the area in the late 1820s. James Bowie guided a group of silver prospector
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
s into the area of north central Uvalde County in the 1830s. A trail used by General Adrián Woll's
Adrián Woll
Adrián Woll was a French soldier of fortune and mercenary who served as a general in the army of Mexico during the Texas Revolution and the Mexican-American War.-Biography:...
Mexican Army
Mexican Army
The Mexican Army is the combined land and air branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defense Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle, , in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue...
on its way to attack San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
in 1842 crossed the territory of Uvalde County and became the main highway between San Antonio.
Early Settlements
Fort Inge was established in 1849 to repress Indian depredations on the international border with MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and was served by the Overland Southern Mail.
One of the first settlers to the environs was William Washington Arnett, who arrived in the winter of 1852. The Canyon de Ugalde Land Company, formed by land speculators in San Antonio in 1837, began purchasing headright
Headright
A headright system is a legal grant of land to settlers who lived in Jamestown, Virginia. Headrights are most notable for their role in the expansion of the thirteen British colonies in North America; the Virginia Company of London gave headrights to settlers, and the Plymouth Company followed suit...
grants in Uvalde County in the late 1830s. Reading Wood Black
Reading Wood Black
Reading Wood Black , was the father of Uvalde County, Texas and city of Uvalde, Texas, which he founded as the town of Encina. In 1979, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 4209 was placed in the Hillcrest Cemetery to honor Reading Wood Black. In 1997, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 4208 was placed...
, who with a partner, Nathan L. Stratton, purchased an undivided league
League (unit)
A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
and labor on the Leona River in 1853 at the future site of Uvalde
Uvalde, Texas
Uvalde is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,929 at the 2000 census.Uvalde was founded by Reading Wood Black in 1853 as the town of Encina. In 1856, when the county was organized, the town was renamed Uvalde for Spanish governor Juan de...
. May 2, 1855, Black hired San Antonio lithographer Wilhelm Carl August Thielepape
Wilhelm Thielepape
Wilhelm Carl August Thielepape , was an architect, engineer, teacher, photographer, and lithographer. He was Mayor of San Antonio, Texas during part of the Reconstruction era, and later an attorney in Chicago, Illinois....
, and laid out Encina, the town later known as Uvalde.
Waresville settlement by Capt. William Ware in the upper Sabinal Canyon and Patterson Settlement by George W. Patterson, John Leakey, and A. B. Dillard on the Sabinal River coincided with Reading Black's development of the Leona River at Encina.
County Established and Growth
In November 1855, Reading Wood Black successfully lobbied the Texas legislatureTexas Legislature
The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
to organize Uvalde County. On May 12, the county was formally organized. On June 14, Encina was named county seat. The second floor of the courthouse was made into a school, and six school districts were organized for the county in 1858. The San Antonio-El Paso Mail route was extended along the county's main road with a stop at Fort Inge in 1857.
Conflict between Mexicans
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
and Anglo
Anglo
Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to the Angles, England or the English people, as in the terms Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-American, Anglo-Celtic, Anglo-African and Anglo-Indian. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British Isles descent in The Americas, Australia and...
s during and after the Mexican War continued in Uvalde County, with the reported lynching of eleven Mexicans near the Nueces River
Nueces River
The Nueces River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, approximately long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande...
in 1855. Laws passed in 1857 prohibited Mexicans from traveling through the county.
Uvaldeans voted 76–16 against secession from the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
. The abandonment of Fort Inge immediately after secession was followed by renewed Indian attacks. Many men in Uvalde County fought for the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, while some Unionists fled to Mexico to avoid persecution
Persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation,...
.
Uvalde County endured three decades of unrelenting lawlessness after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Violence, lawlessness and Confederate-Union conflicts among citizens were so pervasive that armed guards were employed to assist the county tax assessor and collector, and the county had no sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
for nearly two years. The years immediately following the Civil War were marked by conflicts between Confederates and Unionists returning to live in Uvalde County. Smugglers, cattle and horse rustlers, and numerous other desperadoes saturated the area, including notorious cattle rustler, J. King Fisher
King Fisher
King Fisher was a gunslinger of the American Old West.- Early life :John King Fisher was born in Collin County, Texas, to Jobe Fisher and Lucinda Warren Fisher. He had two brothers, Jasper and James, and his mother died when he was two years old. His father then remarried to a woman named Minerva...
who was appointed Uvalde sheriff in 1881. Willis Newton of The Newton Gang
Newton Gang
The Newton Gang was an outlaw gang of the early 20th century, and the most successful train robbers and bank robbers in history. From 1919 through 1924 the gang robbed dozens of banks, claiming a number of eighty seven banks and six trains...
robbed his first train near Uvalde. Jess and Joe Newton retired to Uvalde.
The Uvalde Umpire began publication in 1878 and the Hesparian in 1879.
The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway was built through the county, passing through Sabinal and Uvalde City, in 1881.
William M. Landrum introduced Angora goat
Angora goat
The Angora goat is a breed of domestic goat that originated in Ankara , Turkey and its surrounding region in central Anatolia...
s to the area in the 1880s. By the turn of the century goats outnumbered cattle.
Pat Garrett
Pat Garrett
Patrick Floyd "Pat" Garrett was an American Old West lawman, bartender, and customs agent who was best known for killing Billy the Kid...
lived in the county 1891–1900
By 1905 the Southern Pacific had established railheads in Uvalde, Knippa, and Sabinal.
The local bee industry developed a product that received first place in the 1900 Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
World's Fair.
Garner State Park
Garner State Park
Garner State Park is a state park in Uvalde County, Texas in the United States. Garner State Park, in the Texas Hill Country, is the most popular state park in Texas for overnight camping. It often fills by noon in peak parts of the season...
built by the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
and opened in 1941. Garner Army Air Field
Garner Field
Garner Field is a city-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles east of the central business district of Uvalde, a city in Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The facility is named for John Nance Garner, 32nd Vice President of the United States.Opened in October 1941 with three...
the same year.
The National Fish Hatchery
National Fish Hatchery System
The National Fish Hatchery System was established by the U.S. Congress in 1871 through the creation of a U.S. Commissioner for Fish and Fisheries. This system of fish hatcheries is now administered by the Fisheries Program of the U.S...
, completed in 1937, produced a million catfish
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
, largemouth bass
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
and sunfish
Centrarchidae
The sunfishes are a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. The type genus is Centrarchus . The family's 27 species includes many fishes familiar to North Americans, including the rock bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and crappies...
in the 1970s.
Approximately $45 million was generated by farming in Uvalde County in 1974.
In January 1989 Uvalde County withdrew from the Edwards Underground Water District
Edwards Aquifer
The Edwards Aquifer is one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world. Located on the eastern edge of Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas, it discharges about of water a year and directly serves about two million people...
.
In 1990 Uvalde County had a population of 23,340, with 60 percent identified as Hispanic.
Desegregation
From the Mexican RevolutionMexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
in 1910, immigrant labor force cleared large tracts of land and digging ditches, as irrigation spread throughout the county. The Uvalde and Northern Railway to Camp Wood, the Asphalt Beltway Railway in 1921, and the expansion of the asphalt mines in far southwestern Uvalde County at Blewett and Dabney were completed with the help of Mexican labor. By 1960 Mexican Americans made up one half of Uvalde County's 16,015 population. Seasonal migrant workers continued to move to Uvalde and Sabinal during the 1960s..
The Alien Land Laws of 1891, 1892 and 1921 prohibited ownership of Texas land by non-residents. The laws were repealed in 1965 by the Fifty-ninth Texas Legislature. These and other discriminatory deed restrictions had limited Tejano
Tejano
Tejano or Texano is a term used to identify a Texan of Mexican heritage.Historically, the Spanish term Tejano has been used to identify different groups of people...
s in the purchase of town lots in the county.
Efforts to gain civil rights for Hispanics in Uvalde County began with the establishment of the Tomas Valle Post of the American Legion. County churches maintained segregated places of worship until an integrated Catholic church emerged in Uvalde in 1965.
The Mexican American Youth Organization
Mexican American Youth Organization
The Mexican American Youth Organization is a civil rights organization formed in 1967 in San Antonio, Texas, USA to fight for Mexican-American rights. The creators of MAYO, Los Cinco, consisted of José Ángel Gutiérrez, Willie Velásquez, Mario Compean, Ignacio Pérez, and Juan Patlán...
formed in Uvalde City in 1968 and eventually led to a 6-week walkout by more than 600 Mexican-American students a on April 14, 1970. The Texas Rangers and the Texas Department of Public Safety
Texas Department of Public Safety
The Texas Department of Public Safety is a department of the government of the state of Texas. The DPS is responsible for statewide law enforcement and vehicle regulation. The Public Safety Commission oversees the DPS. Its five members are appointed by the Governor of Texas and confirmed by the...
responded to requests by the school board to help control the volatile situation. Senator Walter F. Mondale
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
, chairman of the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Committee on Equal Educational Opportunity, went to Uvalde on July 30, 1970, and criticized city officials in an interview published in the Uvalde Leader News.
A 1970 class action lawsuit was filed by Ms. Genoveva Morales on behalf of her children against the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District
Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District
Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District is a public school district based in Uvalde, Texas .Located in Uvalde County, the district extends into portions of Zavala and Real counties...
.
In 1975, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
found that Uvalde C.I.S.D. in Texas had failed to desegregate its school system in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
. In 1976, the Court ordered Uvalde C.I.S.D. to comply. In 2007, Uvalde C.I.S.D. sought to dismiss the desegregation order. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund is a national non-profit civil rights organization formed in 1968 to protect the rights of Latinos in the United States...
(MALDEF) opposed. On September 15, 2008, a settlement was reached.
By 1975 only six Mexican Americans had served in public office in the county and none in leading roles. Since then several Mexican Americans have served as county commissioners and in other county and local offices.
Cities and towns
- KnippaKnippa, TexasKnippa is a census-designated place in Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 739 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Knippa is located at ....
- SabinalSabinal, TexasSabinal is a town in Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,586 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Sabinal is located at ....
- UtopiaUtopia, TexasUtopia is a census-designated place in Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 241 at the 2000 census.-History:The citizens of the earlier settlement of Waresville renamed their city Utopia after finding 'Montana, Texas,' had already been taken. To this day the cemetery is named...
- UvaldeUvalde, TexasUvalde is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,929 at the 2000 census.Uvalde was founded by Reading Wood Black in 1853 as the town of Encina. In 1856, when the county was organized, the town was renamed Uvalde for Spanish governor Juan de...
- Uvalde EstatesUvalde Estates, TexasUvalde Estates is a census-designated place in Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,972 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Uvalde Estates is located at ....
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Uvalde County, Texas
- Reading Wood BlackReading Wood BlackReading Wood Black , was the father of Uvalde County, Texas and city of Uvalde, Texas, which he founded as the town of Encina. In 1979, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 4209 was placed in the Hillcrest Cemetery to honor Reading Wood Black. In 1997, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 4208 was placed...
Further reading
- Welder, F.A. and R.D. Reeves. (1964). Geology and ground-water resources of Uvalde County, Texas [U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1584]. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.