Medina County is a county located in the South central part of the U.S. state Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 50,748. Its county seat is Hondo. The county is named for the Medina River. The extreme northern part of the county lies within the Edwards Plateau, which elevates into the Texas Hill Country. The Medina Dam, the fourth-largest in the nation when completed in 1913, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The irrigation project, creating Medina Lake, was built by 1500 skilled workers who worked in shifts operating 24 hours a day to complete the dam in two years. Medina County is part of the San Antonio, TX metropolitan statistical area.
History
The county is named after the Medina River, which was named in 1689 after Spanish cartographer Pedro de Medina by Spanish explorer Alonso de Leon, the first European to encounter the river. Because Pedro de Medina derived his surname from the Andalusian city of Medina-Sidonia, the name Medina comes from the Arabic for city.
The Texas Legislature formed Medina County on February 12, 1848, and enlarged it on February 1, 1850, using land taken from Bexar County. Castroville was the county seat, and the county erected the first permanent courthouse there in 1854. The county seat moved to Hondo in 1892, and a new courthouse was completed there in 1893.
Texas-Indian Wars
The county was home to tribes such as the Lipan Apache, Coahuiltecan, and Tonkawa.
The county was subject to frequent Comanche and Kiowa raids during the early-late 1800s. Battles like the Battle of Seco Creek in 1838 highlight the conflicts with Native Americans in the county. In 1862, Comanches kidnapped 3 children 10 miles south of Bandera. Also, in 1866, Lipan Apaches killed and kidnapped 2 young settlers on Hondo Creek. On June 11, 1873, Comanches attacked four settlers on Verde Creek near modern day Hondo. By 1875, the Comanches were done raiding the county. Although the Comanche were gone, other tribes, like the Lipan Apaches and Kickapoos still were raiding the county. The last Indian raid in the county happened on April 22, 1877, when 19-year-old Joe Wilton was killed by Kickapoo Indians at Black Creek near Devine, marking the end of the American Indian Wars In Medina County.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (0.7%) are covered by water.
Major highways
- 20px Interstate 35
- 20px U.S. Highway 90
- 20px State Highway 16
- 20px State Highway 132
- 20px State Highway 173
- 20px State Highway 211
Adjacent counties
- Bandera County (north)
- Bexar County (east)
- Atascosa County (southeast)
- Frio County (south)
- Uvalde County (west)