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Uvalde  County TX
Uvalde County


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UVALDE, TEXAS


Uvalde County Seat, Texas Hill Country

29°12'52"N 99°47'23"W (29.214313, -99.789644)

US 90 and 83
State Highways 55, 117, and 140
65 miles W of San Antonio
40 miles E of Brackettville
72 miles E of Del Rio
ZIP codes 78801-78802
Area code 830
Population: 16,001 Est. (2019)
15,751 (2010) 14,929 (2000) 14,729 (1990)

Book Hotel Here › Uvalde Hotels


Uvalde Grand Opera House & street scene
Uvalde at Dusk
TE photo

History in a Pecan Shell

The town was founded by Reading W. Black in 1854. The name he chose for the new town was Encina.

A monument to Black in the form of a huge petrified tree trunk sits in the very spacious and under-used Pioneer Cemetery which is the entire 500 block of N. Park Street.

A historical marker telling the story of notorious King Fisher is also found here.

The flamboyant and handsome John King Fisher was a gunman turned lawman. He occasionally protected the area against banditti from Mexico - but it may have also been to protect his huge claim of land. Fisher wore Leopard chaps - obtained legend says, when he shot a caged tiger at a circus and paid the circus manager the going rate for leopards.

Fisher was shot in the staircase of a Vaudeville theater in San Antonio with Ben Thompson, Austin's Marshall. Both were slain by assassins before they could draw their guns in the narrow stairwell.
Fort Inge, just one and a half miles south and east of town, protected Uvalde's citizens from Indian raids. The county was organized in 1856 and the following year they were granted a post office.

The town and county were named after Juan de Ugalde, the former Spanish Governor, but the name was corrupted with time into the current spelling.

The population of Uvalde was 2,000 people in 1890 and in addition to the East-West Railroad - shorter lines extended North and South to Camp Wood and Crystal City.
John Nance Garner, Vice-President of the United States under Roosevelt bequeathed his home for use as a museum and is buried just west of town. Garner was famous for his fairness, his outspoken manner and his crusty personality.

Garner loved this part of Texas. He was very good friends with fellow Texan Sam Rayburn of Bonham.

Uvalde TX - John Nance Garner Home
Home of John Nance Garner
Click on image to enlarge

1949 Photo courtesy Dan Whatley Collection


Uvalde, Texas Landmarks / Attractions



1927 Uvalde County courthouse, Uvalde Texas
Uvalde County courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, December 2007

  • The Uvalde County Courthouse

  • Garner State Park : 26 miles North of town off Hwy 83

  • Pioneer Cemetery

  • Fort Inge County Park on the Leona River -
    site of former U.S. Cavalry outpost c. 1849.

  • For scenic drive, continue onto Leakey,
    take FM 337 to Vanderpool to Lost Maples Natural Area.

  • Aviation Museum of Texas: Just East of Uvalde at the airport.

  • Garner Memorial Museum: 333 N. Park St.

  • Grand Opera House c. 1891:
    Open Monday through Friday 9 to 3 for tours.

  • Fish Hatchery: FM 481 South -
    A Federal facility for warm water fish.

  • Uvalde Hotels
  • Chamber of Commerce: 300 E. Main St. Uvalde, TX 78801
    830-278-3361 Website: www.uvalde.org



    Garner Museum in Uvalde
    Garner Memorial Museum in Uvalde
    TE photo

    Uvalde Grand Opera House

    The Uvalde Grand Opera House c. 1891

    TE photo

    Uvalde founder headstone
    Uvalde founder tombstone plaque Founder's plaque
    TE photo

    Uvalde High School
    tombstone in Uvalde's Pioneer Cemetery
    One of Uvalde's former citizens was brought home from Mexico for burial
    TE photo
    Uvalde High School.
    TE photo

    Railroad bridge Uvalde Texas
    Railroad bridge on US 90 near Uvalde
    TE photo, 2001


    PEOPLE


  • Vice Presidential Library of John Nance Garner
    or
    Mr. Smith Goes to Uvalde


  • FDR by Mike Cox ("TexasTales" Column)
    ... In his memoir, Smith remembered Sept. 27, 1942 as a quiet, hot day. When the special pulled into the small Uvalde depot about noon that Sunday, only one man in town, and only a handful in Texas, knew why the train had stopped or who sat in one of the cars... more

  • Pat Garrett by Clay Coppedge

  • The Day I Rode with the Newton Boys by Linda-Kirkpatrick
    The notorious Newton Boys played havoc on banks and trains during the Roaring Twenties... The Boys called Uvalde home off and on and it is ironic that the movie of their life starred Uvalde native, Matthew McConaughey.


  • New Preacher by Mike Cox
    Preaching in Texas in the 1800s

  • TX Uvalde  County 1907 Postal Map
    Uvalde County 1907 postal map
    From Texas state map #2090
    Courtesy Texas General Land Office


    TX Uvalde County 1920s Map
    Uvalde County 1920s map
    From Texas state map #10749
    Courtesy Texas General Land Office

    Take a road trip
    Uvalde, Texas Nearby Towns:
    Sabinal
    Hondo
    San Antonio
    Brackettville
    Del Rio
    See Uvalde County | Texas Hill Country

    Book Hotel Here:
    Uvalde Hotels | More Hotels

    Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and recent or vintage/historic photos, please contact us.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


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