La Salle County
Cotulla, La Salle County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Presidio Rio Grande Road brought travelers to this area for centuries. In 1852 the U. S. Army built and garrisoned Fort Ewell, for protection. The first permanent settler, William A. Waugh, opened a rancho near the Cibolo Crossing on the Spanish Road in 1856. On Feb. 1, 1858, the county was created and named for Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle (1643-1687). The first French explorer of Texas. The county's first post office opened in 1871 at the Guajuco Crossing. County government was organized Nov. 2, 1880, at Crarey's Rancho. Various courthouses existed before 1883, when Cotulla became county seat.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Travelers had crossed this land on the old Presidio Rio Grande Road for centuries before the U.S. Army built and garrisoned Fort Ewell here in 1852 for protection. The first permanent settler, William A. Waugh, opened a rancho at the Cibolo Crossing in 1856, and in 1858 the county was created and named for the French explorer La Salle. County government organized in 1880, and Cotulla became the county seat in 1883.
Why it matters
La Salle County's layered origins—Spanish road, frontier fort, pioneer rancho, and a name honoring the first French explorer of Texas—compress the region's shift from contested borderland to organized American county.
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Related people
- · William A. Waugh
- · René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle
Themes & tags
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