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Texas Counties
Texas is divided into two hundred and fifty-four counties, more than any other state. Texas was originally divided into municipalities, a unit of local government under Spanish and Mexican rule. When the Republic of Texas gained its independence in 1836, there were 23 municipalities, which became the original Texas counties. Many of these would later be divided into new counties. The most recent county to be created was Kenedy County in 1921. The most recent county to be organized was Loving County in 1931Guadalupe County, Texas
Guadalupe County Education, Geography, and History
Guadalupe County is a county located in the state of Texas. Based on the 2010 census, its population was 131,533. The county seat is
Seguin. The county was founded in 1846 and is named for the Guadalupe River.
Guadalupe County is part of the San Antonio, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Etymology - Origin of Guadalupe County Name
the Guadalupe RiverIn 1689, Alonso de Leon named the Guadalupe River for Spain in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Guadalupe County History
Indigenous paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers were the first inhabitants of the area, thousands of years before
European colonization. Later historic Indian tribes settled in the area, including Tonkawa, Karankawa, Kickapoo, Lipan Apache, and Comanche.
In 1689, Alonso de Leon named the Guadalupe River for Spain in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
In 1806, French army officer José de la Baume, who later joined the Spanish army, was rewarded for his services to Spain with title to 27,000
acres (110 km2) of Texas land, the original El Capote Ranch. The grant was reaffirmed by the Republic of Mexico after it achieved
independence.
Following Mexico's independence from Spain, Anglo-Americans from the United States settled in Texas in 1821 and claimed Mexican citizenship.
In 1825, Guadalupe County was part of Green DeWitt's petition for a land grant to establish a colony in Texas, which was approved by the
Mexican government. From 1827 to 1835, twenty-two families settled the area as part of DeWitt's colony.
Following Texas' gaining independence from Mexico (1836), 33 Gonzales Rangers and Republic veterans established Seguin. Founded as Walnut
Springs in 1838, the settlement's name was changed to Seguin the next year to honor Juan Nepomuceno Seguín, who had fought for independence.
In 1840, the Virginian Michael Erskine acquired the El Capote Ranch for use as a cattle ranch. In 1842, the Republic of Texas organized
Guadalupe County as a judicial county. The Texas Supreme Court declared judicial counties to be unconstitutional. In 1845, Prince Carl of
Solms-Braunfels secured title to 1,265 acres (5.12 km2) of the Veramendi grant in the northern part of the former judicial county.
Following the annexation of Texas by the United States (1845), the Prussian immigrant August Wilhelm Schumann arrived on the Texas coast
aboard the SS Franziska in 1846 and purchased 188 acres (0.76 km2) in Guadalupe County. Shortly thereafter, the state legislature established
the present county from parts of Bexar and Gonzales counties. The county seat is Seguin. The county was founded in 1846 and is named for the
Guadalupe River.
Handbook of Texas Online
After the Texas Revolution the new government sent volunteer troops to
protect people in remote areas. Those settlers who had left because of the Indians and the Mexican army returned,
and others joined them. Much of the land given to Texas veterans for their service during the revolution was located
in what became Guadalupe County. A company of Texas Rangers commanded by Capt.
John Coffee Hays set up camp at Walnut Springs near the Guadalupe River. In 1838
a group of former Texas Rangers and other settlers founded the community of Walnut Springs on the northeast bank of
the Guadalupe; its name was changed to Seguin in 1839 to honor Juan N. Seguin.
The presence of troops encouraged many incoming families to stay near Seguin until the area became more secure. As a
result, Seguin developed earlier and more rapidly than other communities in the future county and became the
region's center of social and economic life. It was the natural choice for county seat when Guadalupe County was
formed. The Republic of Texas organized Guadalupe County as a judicial county in
1842, but discontinued it later that year when the Texas Supreme Court declared judicial counties to be
unconstitutional. In March 1846, after the annexation of Texas to the United
States, the legislature established the present county from parts of Bexar and Gonzales counties. Guadalupe County
had an area of 862 square miles in 1846 but lost land in 1858 and 1874, when Blanco and Wilson counties were
organized More at
Vivian Elizabeth Smyrl, "GUADALUPE COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcg12),
accessed January 23, 2016. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Geography: Land and Water
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 714 square miles (1,850 km2), of which, 711
square miles (1,842 km2) of it is land and 3 square miles (8 km2) of it (0.42%) is water
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- Hays County (north)
- Caldwell County (northeast)
- Gonzales County (southeast)
- Wilson County (south)
- Bexar County (southwest)
- Comal County (northwest)
Education
Unified school districts
Marion Independent School District
Seguin Independent School District
Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District
Colleges and universities
Texas Lutheran University has about 1,400 students. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. TLU was ranked #3
among the Best West Regional universities by US News & World Report 2013. Texas Lutheran is now a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic
Conference, NCAA Division III, with Austin College, Colorado College, Centenary College of Louisiana, Schreiner University, Southwestern
University, Trinity University, and the University of Dallas.
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