La Salle County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,664. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Cotulla. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1880. It is named for

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (; November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a 17th-century French explorer and North American fur trade, fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada ...

, a 17th-century French

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

History

Early history

The area of present-day La Salle County was occupied by the

Coahuiltecan The Coahuiltecan were various small, autonomous bands of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans who inhabited the Rio Grande valley in what is now northeastern Mexico and southern Texas. The various Coahuiltecan groups were hunter ga ...

Indians until the 18th century, when they were squeezed out by the Spanish from the south and the

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

from the north. After the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...

, the Mexican government used land grants to encourage settlement, but very few settled in the area. By 1836, the area was entirely populated by Indians. Between the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

and the Mexican War, the area of present-day La Salle County lay in the disputed area between the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

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. ''Nu ...

. Desperadoes ruled the area, as neither the Mexican government nor the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

could gain control. The

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...

assigned the Nueces Strip to Texas in 1848, but outlaws and hostile Indians delayed settlement of the area. La Salle County was officially formed in 1858 from the Bexar District. The first settlements were established on the road from Laredo to

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. In 1852, the Army established Fort Ewell near present-day Artesia Wells, where the road crossed the Nueces River, to protect travelers on the road. The fort was abandoned in 1854, and the remaining inhabitants moved to the settlement of Guajoco, located one and a half miles from the fort. By 1871, around 60 people lived in Guajoco, mostly of Mexican descent. In 1856, William A. Waugh of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

established a ranch where the San Antonio–Laredo road crossed Cibolo Creek. His ranch headquarters became a stopping point for travelers, and in 1879, a post office was established there with the name Waugh's Rancho. Iuka, an early settlement located 8 miles west of present-day Cotulla, was established in 1868 by several families and served as a stage stop and marketplace for cattle buyers. The settlement established a post office in 1880. In 1870, the population of La Salle County was 69, and by 1880, it was 789. La Salle County was formally organized in 1880 and Stuart's Rancho, near Guajoco, was designated the county seat. In the early 1880s, the International-Great Northern Railroad laid tracks to the county. Around this time, outlaws were gradually eliminated from the area, and the last Indian raid happened in 1878. These changes help bring stability to the county. With the arrival of the railroads, settlements such as Iuka and Guajoco were abandoned as inhabitants moved near the railroad tracks. Polish immigrant Joseph Cotulla arrived in La Salle County in 1868 and eventually established a large ranching operation. In 1881, Cotulla donated 120 acres of his land to the railroad for the townsite of Cotulla, and the railroad built a depot there in 1882. While Cotulla continued to develop his town, Iuka's postmaster, Jesse Laxton, developed a townsite just across the tracks named La Salle. La Salle was granted a post office in 1881, and in 1882, was designated the temporary county seat. However, Cotulla became the county seat by

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in 1883.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (0.5%) are covered by water.

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * *

Adjacent counties

* Frio County (north) * Atascosa County (northeast) * McMullen County (east) * Webb County (south) * Dimmit County (west) * Zavala County (northwest)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,664 people, 2,142 households, and 1,659 families residing in the county. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 5,866 people, 1,819 households, and 1,351 were families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . The 2,436 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 81.47% White, 3.55% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 12.21% from other races, and 2.13% from two or more races. About 77.12% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 1,819 households, 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were not families. About 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89, and the average family size was 3.45. In the county, the age distribution was 29.4% under 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 121.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $21,857, and for a family was $25,494. Males had a median income of $20,856 versus $17,339 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $9,692. About 28.20% of families and 29.80% 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 ...

, including 38.50% of those under age 18 and 24.80% of those age 65 or over. The county's ''per capita'' income makes it one of the poorest counties in the United States, yet the average income of the top 1% highest earners in the county was $6,021,357, one of the highest in the United States.

Education

Most of La Salle County is served by the Cotulla Independent School District. The Dilley Independent School District serves a small portion of northwestern La Salle County. The designated community college is Southwest Texas Junior College.

Communities

Cities

* Cotulla (county seat) * Encinal

Census-designated place

* Fowlerton

Unincorporated communities

* Artesia Wells *

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

* Millett

Ghost town

* Dull

Notable people

O. Henry, the famous short-story writer, lived and worked on a sheep ranch in La Salle County from 1882 to 1884 before settling in Austin as a pharmacist and bank teller. Ray Keck, the fifth and current president of Texas A&M International University in Laredo, was born in San Antonio and reared in Cotulla, where his father, Ray Keck, Jr., was president of Stockmen's National Bank.

Politics

For most of its history, La Salle County was a solid Democratic stronghold like most of South Texas. Before 2020, the county had voted for the Republican candidate only once in over a hundred years, delivering 65% of the vote to

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

during his landslide victory in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

. In recent years, however, La Salle County has skewed significantly more Republican, as

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

flipped the county in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and further expanded his margin of victory in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. This political realignment is consistent with shifting trends among Hispanic voters in South Texas.

References

External links

*
"La Salle County Profile" from the Texas Association of Counties
{{Authority control 1880 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1880 Majority-minority counties in Texas Hispanic and Latino American culture in Texas