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*Volunteers dedicated to putting free data online.*
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Zavala County is in an area of Texas that was disputed territory
after the Texas Revolution. The Mexican government and the Republic
of Texas both laid claim to the land. In an attempt to reinforce the
choice of the Rio Grande as the Texas boundary with Mexico, the
state legislature in 1846 established a county between the Nueces
River and the Rio Grande and called it Zavala County, named for
Lorenzo de Zavala, a Mexican colonist and one of the signers of the
Texas Declaration of Independence. |
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In 1858, when the county was organized, the name was misspelled
"Zavalla" by the legislature. A bill entitled "knocking the `L' out
of Zavalla" was introduced and passed in the Texas legislature in
1906, but was rejected by the federal government. Not until 1929 was
the mistake corrected. In 1860 Zavala County had an estimated population of twenty-six and
consisted primarily of small ranches. Espantosa Lake, in the
southwestern part of the county, was a favorite campground for
travelers from Mexico to San Antonio. By 1870 large herds of
longhorn cattle and mustangs roamed the area. Both cattle and sheep
were raised, especially along the larger streams. |
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In 1884 the
discovery of the first of many artesian wellsqv
in the area opened up the possibility of more intense farming in
Zavala County. The number of farms jumped from twenty-one in 1880 to
145 in 1890. By the turn of the twentieth century Zavala County was
gaining a reputation for fertile soil, mild climate, and an
abundance of pure water; ranchers recognized the potential for
irrigated farming on their land and speculated about future farming
communities. |
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Cities and Towns |
| Batesville |
Crystal City |
| Cometa |
La Pryor |
| Chula Vista-River Spur |
Las Colonias |
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Loma Vista |
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ONLINE DATA |
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Mockingbird
State Bird
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