Seguin

City of Seguin, Texas

City of Seguin, Texas

Guadalupe County Courthouse in the City of Seguin, the seat of Guadalupe County in Texas. Photograph by Billy Hathorn.
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Map of Guadalupe County

Seguin, the county seat of Guadalupe County, is on Interstate Highway 10 and the Guadalupe River, thirty-five miles northeast of San Antonio in the central part of the county. The land is suited for agriculture and ranching and is rich in oil and minerals. The Guadalupe River, the San Marcos River, and two major creeks, Cibolo and Geronimo, flow through the region. Archeological finds in the vicinity include the remains of mammoths east of Seguin and numerous Indian campsites along the Guadalupe River and various creeks in Guadalupe County. The first recorded evidence of exploration in the Seguin region was in 1718, when Martín de Alarcón, governor of the province of Texas, founded San Antonio de Béxar Presidio and San Antonio de Valero Mission in San Antonio and conducted several explorations north and east of San Antonio. Eventually Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo settlements were founded in the area that would become Seguin, where Tonkawa Indians had lived, and by 1833 there were forty land titles in the region. One of the most notable settlements was the ranch of José Antonio Navarro, three miles north of Seguin at a site now on State Highway 123. The next record of settlement in the Seguin region dates from 1831, when Umphries (or Humphries) Branch was awarded a league of land on the northeast bank of the Guadalupe, thirty-eight miles above Gonzales. In 1833 Branch and his family built a cabin, said to be the first Anglo residence on the site of what is now Seguin. The location chosen was in the western part of what had been Green Dewitt's colony, where Gonzales was the main town. Branch was assisted by his father-in-law, John Sowell. On August 12, 1838, thirty-three of the Gonzales Rangers, a volunteer group, joined Joseph S. Martin in laying out a townsite near Walnut Branch; they named the site Walnut Springs. The name was changed in February 1839 to Seguin for Juan N. Seguín.

During the Republic of Texas era, Seguin citizens petitioned to have the area made a county, and the Congress of the Republic of Texas responded by establishing Guadalupe County in 1842. This county was apparently never organized, however, because in March 1846, after the annexation of Texas, the new state legislature demarked a new Guadalupe County from Gonzales and Bexar counties. A post office was opened in Seguin in 1846. The first county judge was Michael H. Erskine. Seguin became the county seat of Guadalupe County and was governed by the county until it was incorporated on February 7, 1853, by a charter. The first acting mayor was John R. King, and the first elected mayor was John D. Anderson. Early on Seguin had Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Catholic, and Baptist congregations. It chartered its first school in 1849, and the first schoolhouse was built in 1850 by John E. Park, inventor of Park's concrete. The schoolhouse, formerly known as Guadalupe High School and in the 1980s still used by St. James Catholic Church, was recognized by the state in 1962 as the oldest continuously used school building in Texas.

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John Gesick | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Great Texas Land Rush logo
Adoption Status:
This place has been adopted and will not be available until March 6, 2025
Adopted by:
Campbell Family
Dedication Message:
Remembering Peter and Bridget Campbell and Francis and Georgia Campbell, who lived in the Seguin area 1852-1902.

Belongs to

Seguin is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Seguin is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • (Los Nogales)
  • (Walnut Springs)

Location

Latitude: 29.58543700
Longitude: -97.96697800

Has Post Office

Yes

Is Incorporated

Yes

Population Count, 2021 View more »

30,902

Place Type Population (Year/Source) Currently Exists
College or University Yes

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