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History in
a Pecan Shell
The town was named for Joseph Cotulla, a Polish immigrant from Panna
Maria who gave land to the International-Great Northern Railroad
in order to induce them to stop on his land. In 1882 the depot was
built and Joseph sold lots in the new town he modestly named after
himself.
Cotulla welcome sign TE photo
Downtown Cotulla TE Photo
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By 1883 the
town had a post office, jail, hotel and various stores. That year
- a county election declared Cotulla to be the county seat (over
the rival town of La Salle), and by 1890 their were 1,000 Cotullans
that read two weekly newspapers, went to two churches, drank in
one saloon, and kept their money in one bank.
Three sheriffs are said to have been killed in gunfights, although
Sheriff Joseph Tumlinson (January 1893) may have been a suicide.
The Methodist Church as it appears in 2001 TE Photo
An old postcard of Cotulla TE Postcard Archives
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In 1914 Cotulla
had 1,800 citizens and most of the towns interests were in ranching
cattle and sheep.
An early
Cotulla Business Letterhead
Courtesy Texas General Land Office Archives and Documents Dept.
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In the prosperous
20s - new schools were built. When the Great Depression came to
town Cotulla's population stood at over 3,000 and surprisingly stayed
at that level through the 30s.
Their first library was built in 1937 and in the early 80s Ida and
Ben Alexander donated the Alexander Memorial Library.
The
1931 La Salle County Courthouse
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The
1928 High School
TE Photo |
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In 1941 Cotulla
had over 3,600 people and in the 50's the local economy got a boost
with the discovery of oil.
The Brush Country Museum
is sponsored by the La Salle County Historical Commission.
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Museum
and water tower
TE Photo |
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The Cotulla
Cemetery is on the North side of town and contains the family
plot for town founder Joseph Cotulla.
Other notable
headstones in the cemetery are an unusual life mask of a man in
the Hispanic section and a statue erected to a young girl - probably
from a prominent family.
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That's
why they're called headstones TE Photo
The grave of Janie McMahon TE Photo |
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Cotulla
Chronicles:
Bloody
Christmas by C. F. Eckhardt
The Murder of LaSalle County Sheriff Charles B. McKinney
The
Texas Onion
"It's generally accepted that sweet onion production in Texas
can be traced back to a single packet of seed from Bermuda being
planted near Cotulla in 1898. ..." more
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Flood scene of the Nueces River, Highway No. 2 south of Cotulla |
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