Zavala County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,677. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Crystal City. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1884. Zavala is named for

Lorenzo de Zavala Manuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala y Sanchez (October 3, 1788 - November 15, 1836), known simply as Lorenzo de Zavala, was a Mexican and later Tejano physician, politician, diplomat and author. Born in Yucatán under Spanish rule, he was clo ...

, Mexican politician, signer of the

Texas Declaration of Independence The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and was formal ...

, and first vice president of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

History

Native Americans

Radiocarbon assays indicate the county's Tortuga Flat Site was used in the 15th and 16th centuries by Pacuache. Archeologist T. C. Hill of Crystal City conducted excavations in 1972–1973 at the site, uncovering artifacts. More than 100 archeological sites have been identified by researchers of the

University of Texas at San Antonio The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a public research university in San Antonio, Texas. With over 34,000 students across its four campuses spanning 758 acres, UTSA is the largest university in San Antonio and the eighth-largest by ...

at the Chaparrosa Ranch.

Coahuiltecan The Coahuiltecan were various small, autonomous bands of Native Americans who inhabited the Rio Grande valley in what is now southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. The various Coahuiltecan groups were hunter-gatherers. First encountered by Europ ...

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe indigenous to present-day Oklahoma. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the federally recognized Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. ...

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan Indigenous people, who have lived in the Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European and African contact, they lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and ...

and

Mescalero Apache Mescalero or Mescalero Apache ( apm, Naa'dahéńdé) is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan–speaking Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, located in south-cen ...

and

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

have inhabited the area after the Pacuache.

The Wild Horse Desert

The area between the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

and the

Nueces River The Nueces River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, about 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. ''Nueces'' ...

, which included Zavala County, became disputed territory known as the Wild Horse Desert, where neither the

nor the Mexican government had clear control. Ownership was in dispute until the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. The area became filled with lawless characters who deterred settlers in the area. An agreement signed between Mexico and the United States in the 1930s put the liability of payments to the descendants of the original land grants on Mexico. According to a list of Spanish and Mexican grants in Texas, Pedro Aguirre owned 51,296 acres in Zavala County, while Antonio Aguirre had 34,552. Seven other people (including two women — Juana Fuentes and Maria Escolastica Diaz) — each had 4,650 acres.

County established and growth

Zavala County was established in 1858 and named for

, a Mexican colonist and one of the signers of the

. The county was organized in 1858, with an error putting an additional “L” in the county. The mistake was not corrected until 1929. Batesville became the county seat. Crystal City won a 1928 election to become the new county seat. Grey (Doc) White and the Vivian family settled Cometa around 1867. They were joined by the Ramón Sánchez and Galván families in 1870 and by J. Fisher in 1871. Murlo community was settled about the same time. Ranching dominated the county originally, until overgrazing destroyed the grasslands. Zavala then became the first county in Texas to grow flax commercially. Ike T. La Pryor the largest ranch in the county and advertised the land for farming. The community that sprang up was named La Pryor. Developers E. J. Buckingham and Carl Groos purchased all of the Cross S Ranch in 1905, platted the town of Crystal City, and sold the rest as sections divided into farms.

Winter Garden

Zavala, Dimmitt,

Frio Frío or Frio may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Frio River, Texas, United States * Frio County, Texas, United States * Frio Town, Texas, United States, known as Frio City Music * Frio (musician), stage name of Edwin Rojas Restrepo, a Colombian si ...

, and LaSalle Counties are considered the Winter Garden region of Texas. Irrigation and mild winter climate have made the area ideal for year-round vegetable farming. During the winter of 1917–18, spinach was introduced to Zavala. The first annual Spinach Festival was introduced in 1936, halted during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but resumed in 1982. Cartoonist

E. C. Segar Elzie Crisler Segar (; December 8, 1894 – October 13, 1938), known by the pen name E. C. Segar, was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of Popeye, a pop culture character who first appeared in 1929 in Segar's comic strip ''Thimble ...

, who created the spinach-eating

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.

Internment Camp

The Crystal City, Texas Family Internment Camp began as a migrant labor camp in the 1930s. By the time it closed, it had held German and Japanese combatants and their families, Latin Americans, and at least one Italian Latin American family, as well as German- and Japanese-American families. The were used for housing and security measures. An additional were for farming and personnel residences. The first internees, of German ethnicity, arrived on December 12, 1942, and were expected to work on construction, being paid 10 cents an hour. A 70-bed hospital was built in 1943, as was a school for children of the internees. Internees ran nursery schools and kindergartens. From its inception through June 30, 1945, the Crystal City camp held 4,751 internees and had 153 births. The camp closed in 1948.

Hispanic Americans

The

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

that began in 1910 resulted in thousands of laborers flowing across the border to cultivate vegetable crops. By 1917 and 1918,

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (,"Villa"
''Collins English Dictionary''. ; ;

was sending banditos across the Rio Grande. Crystal City organized home guards for protection against Villa's associates. By 1930, Crystal City was overwhelmingly composed of

Hispanic American Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

s. That year, Zavala County had the highest percentage of laborers (1,430 per 100 farms) and the lowest percentage of tenants (33 per 100 farms) of all counties in South Texas. Owner-operators were primarily Anglo, whereas sharecroppers and farm laborers were Hispanic. By the late 1950s, a majority of those graduating from high school in the county were Hispanic American. In 1990, 89.4% of the county population of 12,162 was Hispanic.

Tejano politics

Juan Cornejo of the

Teamsters Union The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the un ...

and the Political Association of Spanish-Speaking Organizations organized the Hispanic population among cannery workers and farm laborers of Crystal City in 1962–63 and succeeded in electing an all-Latino city council. The feat became known as the Crystal City Revolts. The

Raza Unida Party Partido Nacional de La Raza Unida (National United Peoples PartyArmando Navarro (2000) ''La Raza Unida Party'', p. 20 or United Race Party) is a former Hispanic political party centered on Chicano (Mexican-American) nationalism. It was created in 1 ...

was established in 1970 in Crystal City and Zavala County to bring greater self-determination among

Tejano Tejanos (, ; singular: ''Tejano/a''; Spanish for "Texan", originally borrowed from the Caddo ''tayshas'') are the residents of the state of Texas who are culturally descended from the Mexican population of Tejas and Coahuila that lived in the ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.3%) are covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 57 *

U.S. Highway 83 U.S. Route 83 (US 83) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that extends in the central United States. Only four other north–south routes are longer: US 1, US 41, US 59, and US 87, while US ...

Adjacent counties

* Uvalde County (north) *

Frio County Frio County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 18,385. The county seat is Pearsall. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1871. Frio is named for the Frio River, whose na ...

(east) *

Dimmit County Dimmit County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 8,615. The county seat is Carrizo Springs, Texas, Carrizo Springs. The county was fou ...

(south) * Maverick County (west) * La Salle County (southeast)

Demographics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 9,670 people, 3,674 households, and 3,039 families residing in the county. As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, 11,600 people, 3,428 households, and 2,807 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 9 people per square mile (3/km²). The 4,075 housing units averaged 3 per square mile (1/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 65.06% White, 0.49% African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 31.08% from other races, and 2.66% from two or more races. About 91.22% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 3,428 households, 43.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.10% were married couples living together, 21.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.10% were not families. About 16.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.28 and the average family size was 3.70. In the county, the population was distributed as 34.10% under the age of 18, 10.20% from 18 to 24, 25.60% from 25 to 44, 18.70% from 45 to 64, and 11.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $16,844, and for a family was $19,418. Males had a median income of $22,045 versus $14,416 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $10,034. About 37.40% of families and 41.80% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 48.90% of those under age 18 and 42.40% of those age 65 or over. The county's

per-capita income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

makes it one of the poorest counties in the United States.

Communities

City

* Crystal City (county seat)

Census-designated places

* Amaya * Batesville *

Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popul ...

* La Pryor * Loma Grande

Politics

Zavala County, like most of southern Texas, is heavily Democratic. It has given the Democratic candidate over 60% of the vote in every election since 1976 - even in 2020, when Democratic support in southern Texas receded. As of 2020, it is the bluest county in South Texas.

Education

School districts include: *

Crystal City Independent School District Crystal City Independent School District is an American public school district based in Crystal City, Texas. In addition to Crystal City, the district also serves the communities of Chula Vista, Amaya and Loma Grande. The school mascot is the ...

La Pryor Independent School District La Pryor Independent School District is a public school district based in the community of La Pryor, Texas (USA). In addition to La Pryor, the district also serves rural areas in northwestern Zavala County. In 2018, the school district was rat ...

Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) is a public school district based in Uvalde, Texas, US. Located in Uvalde County, the district extends into portions of Zavala and Real counties. In addition to Uvalde, the district ser ...

Southwest Texas Junior College Southwest Texas Junior College (SWTJC) is a public community college with four campuses serving 11 counties in southwest Texas: unincorporated Uvalde County (next to Uvalde and on the site of Garner Field), Del Rio (northwest portion), next to ...

is the county's designated community college.Texas Education Code: Sec. 130.200. SOUTHWEST TEXAS JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
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References

External links

Zavala County government's website
*
Historic Zavala County materials
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History.

"Zavala County Profile" from the Texas Association of Counties
{{coord, 28.86, -99.76, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1884 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1884 Majority-minority counties in Texas Hispanic and Latino American culture in Texas