Zavala County, Texas
| Zavala County, Texas | |
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Zavala County Courthouse in Crystal City
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 Location in the U.S. state of Texas |
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 Texas's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1884 |
| Named for | Lorenzo de Zavala |
| Seat | Crystal City |
| Largest city | Crystal City |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,302 sq mi (3,372 km2) |
| • Land | 1,297 sq mi (3,359 km2) |
| • Water | 4.3 sq mi (11 km2), 0.3% |
| Population | |
| • (2010) | 11,677 |
| • Density | 9.0/sq mi (3/km²) |
| Congressional district | 23rd |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www |
Zavala County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,677. Its county seat is Crystal City. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1884. Zavala is named for Lorenzo de Zavala, Mexican politician, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and first vice president of the Republic of Texas.
Radiocarbon assays indicate the county’s Tortuga Flat Site was used in the 15th and 16th centuries by Pacuache. Archeologist T. C. Hill of Crystal City conducted excavations in 1972-1973 at the site, uncovering artifacts. More than 100 archeological sites have been identified by researchers of the University of Texas at San Antonio at the Chaparrosa Ranch. Coahuiltecan, Tonkawa, Lipan Apache and Mescalero Apache and Comanche have inhabited the area after the Pacuache.
The area between the Rio Grande and the Nueces River, which included Zavala County, became disputed territory known as the Wild Horse Desert, where neither the Republic of Texas nor the Mexican government had clear control. Ownership was in dispute until the Mexican-American War. The area became filled with lawless characters who deterred settlers in the area. An agreement signed between Mexico and the United States in the 1930s put the liability of payments to the descendants of the original land grants on Mexico. According to a list of Spanish and Mexican grants in Texas (found in the Book, "With All Arms," by Carl Laurence Duaine, New Santander Press, Edinberg, TX, 1987), Pedro Aguirre owned 51,296 acres in Zavala County, while Antonio Aguirre had 34,552. Seven other people (including two women—Juana Fuentes and Maria Escolastica Diaz—each had 4,650 acres.
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