Wilson County Timeline

The following entries are those that directly impacted Wilson County.  Several maps to assist with visualization are listed, however other maps on the Maps page can also help out.

early 1700s The first Europeans to reach this region were Spanish explorers, who traveled through the area in the early eighteenth century.  
1716-1789 Spain establishes Catholic missions in Texas, and along with the missions, the towns of San Antonio, Goliad and Nacogdoches.  
mid 1700s The first two land grants in the (Wilson County) area were to Luis Menchaca and Andrés Hernández, who established ranches extending across the southern portion of the present county.  
1810 Mexico declares its independence from Spain  
  -- Permanent settlement in the area began before 1830 --  
before 1832 Lodi established when Don Francisco Flores de Abrego established his hacienda there before 1832.  This was the first settlement in what would become Wilson County.  X
1836 02 March.  Texas declares its independence, officially forming the Republic of Texas, and breaking free from part of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. X
1836-1846 Texas Revolution.  
1845 28 February.  U.S. Congress passes a bill to authorize the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.

A community established around St. James Church in Bexar County would later become Gray's Rancho.  When its post office was established in 1860, the community was in Bexar County, but a boundary change put it in Wilson County in 1869. Sometime before 1881 the name became Graytown.

29 December.  Texas becomes a state.

 X
1850 A town that would later become LaVernia was established "around 1850."  Originally name Live Oak Grove , in 1853 a post office was established under the name Post Oak, which was changed to La Vernia in 1859.  
1851 Sutherland Springs established.  
1857 Nockenut settled  in Guadalupe County until the boundary was changed in 1869, when it became part of  Wilson County.  
late 1850s Fairview established by German and Polish settlers.  
1859 La Vernia officially named.  (see 1850.)  
1860 13 February.  Wilson County established  from Bexar and Karnes Counties,  
1860 08 June. Wilson County organized.  
1861-1864 Union settled "just before the Civil War."

Caddo settled.

Cañada Verde settled.

  
1863 Stockdale established.  
1860s Wright , Bexar County established in the early 1860s.  A boundary change put the site in Wilson County in 1869.  In 1882 a post office was granted and the name was changed to Calaveras.  
1865 - ? Kicaster founded "after the Civil War."  
1867 County records moved to Lodi by John W. Longsworth, appointed judge and county clerk by the military government during congressional Reconstruction

Floresville established.

  
1868-69 The Constitutional Convention  altered the boundary between Wilson and Guadalupe Counties and changed the name to Cibolo County but the name was never applied.  
1870 Thomas Dewees settles what will become the town of Dewees.  
1871 March.  The county seat was returned to Sutherland Springs

July.  The county seat moved back to Lodi

  
1873 November.  Election held to determine the location of county government. The new town of Floresville, near the geographic center of the county, was selected as the new county seat.  
1874 Another boundary change in  increased the area, and the name was changed back to Wilson County.  
1882 Wright, Wilson County became Calaveras.  (See 1860s, this timeline.)  
1883 Citizens of Sutherland Springs called for a new election to regain the county seat.  Floresville won again by a margin of 250.  
1886 The community of Marcelina was established; in 1901 it would  be renamed Poth.

San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway reaches Floresville causing a huge population growth.  The railroad not only brought new settlers, but also increased access to markets, which in turn helped to bolster the growth of the economy and encourage more diversified farming.

  
1890 Kosciusko established.  
1890-1895 Loire settled.  
1893 Carpenter established.  
1895-1898 Denhawken settled by settled by German farmers.

Pandora established in the late 1890s as a stop on the San Antonio and Gulf Railroad. The first store opened there around 1900, and a post office was established in 1906.

 
1900 The community of Alum was settled before 1900. In 1910 it reported a population of 25.

Three Oaks settled.

  
1901 Poth officially named. (see 1886.)

Saspamco established.