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Zavala
Texas Counties
 Click Image to Enlarge Texas CountiesTexas is divided into 254 counties, more than any other U.S. 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 1931 |
Galveston County, TexasGalveston County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
Etymology - Origin of County NameBernardo de Gálvez, a Spanish governor of the Louisiana Territory and an ally of the United States during the American Revolution Demographics:County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts County HistoryGalveston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Its county seat is Galveston. After Hurricane Ike extensively damaged the courthouse and jail in September 2008, the decision was made to temporarily move the county seat and county offices to the mainland communities of Texas City and League City, while repairs were being made. League City is the largest city in Galveston County in terms of population. Galveston County was formed in 1838 under the republic from Harrisburg, Liberty, and Brazoria counties and organized in 1839. The county was organized in 1839. The first county courthouse, at Saccarappa, a community named for a river in Maine by settlers from that state, was located at the eastern end of Galveston Island. Before the Civil War,qv goods flowed into Galveston from across the county and the region. By 1839 steamers that furnished supplies to much of Texas plied the distance between the port and New Orleans, and construction of the Galveston wharvesqv began in that year. The antebellum port shipped cotton and cottonseed oil, with less important quantities of sugar, molasses, cattle, hides, and pecans, while Galveston finance and commission businesses supported the region's agriculture and commerce. Exports to foreign countries exceeded a million dollars in 1839, and in 1856 included 4,590 hogsheads of sugar and 7,878 barrels of molasses. The city's development and importance is measured by the fact that Galveston had the only legitimate labor unions active in Texas before the Civil War. Galveston itself soon developed a sophisticated and cosmopolitan society. Fleeing the revolutions in Europe, large numbers of immigrants began to arrive at the port in the 1840s and 1850s. Copies of the early Texas Almanac,qv printed at Galveston, served as Bibles for the new citizens. Since the city was usually the first Texas port of entry and received United States and foreign news before other places, it had two newspapers by 1838. The Galveston News,qv the earliest Texas newspaper still published in 1995, also had a considerable circulation on the mainland. Major construction in the city occurred in the 1850s, and German immigrants skilled in trades helped to construct many of the city's architectural landmarks. Growth declined, however, with the first yellow fever epidemic in 1839, a second wave in 1844, and six outbreaks from 1847 to 1867. A girls' school, Galveston University, the Female Collegiate Institution (Galveston Seminaryqv), and the University of St. Mary's opened at Galveston between 1838 and 1854, and early efforts to educate the poor began in 1855. County participants in the Mexican Warqv included the Galveston Riflemen in the first Regiment of Texas Infantry, the Guards, Fusiliers, Artillery, and Coast Guards. The Wigfall Guards were Irish,qv the Turner Rifles Germans.qv The inauguration of a ferry service from Virginia Point to Eagle Grove on Galveston Island improved transportation in 1838, but rail transportation soon replaced water transport. The Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad was chartered in 1853 and completed to Houston in 1859. A fourteen-mile canal constructed in 1857 connected Oyster Creek, West Bay, and the Brazos River, and ultimately became part of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.qv The first bridge from Galveston Island to the mainland was completed in 1859. More at Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/hcg2.html (accessed November 5, 2008). GeographyGalveston County is located on the plains of the Texas Gulf Coast in the southeastern part of the state. The
county is bounded on the northeast by Galveston Bay and on the northwest by Clear Creek and Clear Lake. Much of the
county covers Galveston Bay, and is bounded to the south by the Galveston Seawall and beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. Neighboring Counties:
Cities and Towns:
County Resources:Enter County Resources and Information Here |
County Resources
The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define
the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local.
And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions,
reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history. Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally." |
