Encinal County, Texas

County in Texas

27°46′N 99°07′W / 27.77°N 99.11°W / 27.77; -99.11Country

United StatesState

TexasExisted1856–1899Named forSpanish word for oak grovePopulation

(1890)

• Total2,744

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Encinal County was a former Texas county. Its area is now completely contained in the present Webb County.

History

Encinal County was established on February 1, 1856^[1]^{: 963–970} and was to consist of the eastern portion of present-day Webb County. The law creating the county called for a county seat at an unspecified location to be called Encinal;^[1]^: 968 however, the seat was never established. The present town of Encinal, located nearby in La Salle County, had not yet adopted its current name at the time Encinal County was created.^[2] The county was never organized and was finally absorbed into Webb County on March 12, 1899.^[3] Had it been established in the present day, Ranchitos Las Lomas would have been the county seat.

Geography

The Texas state law that created the county of Encinal laid out the following boundaries:

The following limits, to wit: beginning at the north-west corner of Duval county, thence due west with the south line of La Salle to its south-west corner; thence due south to the line of Zapata county; thence with the lines of Zapata and Starr, to the south-west corner of Duval county; thence north with the west line of Duval, to the beginning, shall constitute the county of Encinal, the county seat therof shall bear the same name.^[1]^: 968

Adjacent counties

La Salle County (north)
Duval County (east)
Zapata County (south)
Webb County (west)

Demographics

Population statistics for Encinal County, Texas from U.S. Census data tabulated between the creation and dissolution of the county:^[4]

Census Year	Population
1860	43
1870	427
1880	1,902
1890	2,744

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "An Act to create the Counties of Concho, Wichita, Coleman, Dawson, Shackelford, McMullen, Eastland, Frio, Callahan, Zavalla, Edwards, Haskell, Knox, Hardeman, Dimmit, Baylor, Runnels, Jones, Wilbarger, La Salle, Duval, Taylor and Encinal". The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897 Vol. 4. Gammel Book Company, 1898. 1856 – via Texas Legislature.
^ Leffler, John (June 12, 2010). "Encinal, TX". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
^ "26th Texas Legislature, Senate Bill 134, Chapter 11: Encinal County Abolished". The Laws of Texas, 1897-1902, Volume 11. Gammel Book Company, 1902. 1899. pp. 10–11 – via Texas Legislature.
^ Texas Almanac: County Population History 1850-2010. "1860-1890 Census Data" (PDF). Texas Almanac: County Population History 1850-2010. Retrieved December 27, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)