The county was created on February 1, 1858 and later organized on February 25, 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.
Native Americans 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 last Indian raid in the county occurred in 1877 and involved
Kickapoo Indians.
The Wild Horse Desert 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, 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.
County established and growth Zavala County was established in 1858 and named for
Lorenzo de Zavala, a Mexican colonist and one of the signers of the
Texas Declaration of Independence. The county was organized in 1858, with an error putting an additional “L” in the county. The mistake was not corrected until 1929.
Batesville became the county seat.
Crystal City won a 1928 election to become the new county seat. Grey (Doc) White and the Vivian family settled Cometa around 1867. They were joined by the Ramón Sánchez and Galván families in 1870 and by J. Fisher in 1871. Murlo community was settled about the same time. Ranching dominated the county originally, until
overgrazing destroyed the grasslands. Zavala then became the first county in Texas to grow flax commercially. Ike T. La Pryor the largest ranch in the county and advertised the land for farming. The community that sprang up was named
La Pryor. Developers E. J. Buckingham and Carl Groos purchased all of the Cross S Ranch in 1905, platted the town of Crystal City, and sold the rest as sections divided into farms.
Winter Garden Zavala,
Dimmit,
Frio, and
LaSalle Counties are considered the Winter Garden region of Texas. Irrigation and mild winter climate have made the area ideal for year-round vegetable farming. During the winter of 1917–18, spinach was introduced to Zavala. The first annual Spinach Festival was introduced in 1936, halted during
World War II, but resumed in 1982. Cartoonist
E. C. Segar, who created the spinach-eating
Popeye, received a letter of appreciation from the Winter Garden Chamber of Commerce, thanking him for his support of spinach in the American diet. Segar's written response appeared in two newspapers exhorting children everywhere to enjoy Segar's favorite vegetable. He later approved a 1937 statue of Popeye to be erected in Crystal City, dedicated "To All The Children of the World". Bermuda onions became a major crop. Spinach, sorghum, and cotton were the three biggest crops. The principal crops grown in Zavala County in 1989 were spinach, cotton, pecans, corn, and onions.
Latino Americans The
Mexican Revolution that began in 1910 resulted in thousands of laborers flowing across the border to cultivate vegetable crops. By 1917 and 1918,
Pancho Villa was sending banditos across the Rio Grande. Crystal City organized home guards for protection against Villa's associates. By 1930, Crystal City was overwhelmingly composed of
Latino Americans. That year, Zavala County had the highest percentage of laborers (1,430 per 100 farms) and the lowest percentage of tenants (33 per 100 farms) of all counties in South Texas. Owner-operators were primarily non-Hispanic white, whereas sharecroppers and farm laborers were Latino. By the late 1950s, a majority of those graduating from high school in the county were Latino American. In 1990, 89.4% of the county population of 12,162 was Hispanic.
Tejano politics Juan Cornejo of the
Teamsters Union and the
Political Association of Spanish-Speaking Organizations organized the Latino population among cannery workers and farm laborers of Crystal City in 1962–63 and succeeded in electing an all-Latino city council. The feat became known as the
Crystal City Revolts. The
Raza Unida Party was established in 1970 in Crystal City and Zavala County to bring greater self-determination among
Tejanos. ==Geography==