La Salle County Historical Commission - La Salle County

In 1856, William A. Waugh established a cow camp on the Cibolo Creek crossing on the San Antonio-Laredo Road. He built a ranch house and ran his cattle on the open range. When La Salle County was created in 1858 he found himself one of the first residents of the newly formed county. For many years Waugh continued to run his cattle on the open range. In 1877, he purchased the first land in La Salle County. His ranch consisted of 5,340 acres on which he ran 1,000 head of cattle, 60 horses, and mules. William Waugh married Maria Angelita Serna in the early 1860s. William and Angelita were the parents of one son and three daughters.

Joseph Cotulla was born in Poland and came to Texas in 1856 when he was 12; he settled along the Nueces River in 1868, where he started farming and ranching. In 1871, he married Mary Rieder in Atascosa County and returned to La Salle County to build his bride a home. At one time he owned 30,000 acres in La Salle, Dimmit, and Webb Counties. When he realized the International and Great Railroad was coming to the county, he donated 120 acres for a town to induce the railroad to come to his ranch. He named his town Cotulla. To help the town grow, Joseph Cotulla donated a block for a courthouse and a public park. He donated lots for the first school, and the Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches. Joseph and Mary Rieder Cotulla were the parents of four daughters and five sons.

In 1878, Jean Stuart Taylor Steele encountered one of the worst experiences of her life. She was home alone with her young children when a band of Mexicans, Indians, and one white man attacked the Palo Alto Ranch. John Steele, brother of her husband, William Hutton Steele, was killed. Richard and George Taylor, sons by a previous marriage, were captured and later killed and scalped. Jean Steele witnessed the massacre from her home and gathered her other small children and hid them in the tall grass along the Nueces River until the raiding party passed.

Wanting to settle where the country was more open, Amanda Nite Burks and her husband, William Franklin Burks, settled in La Salle County. He spotted a section of land where the wood and water was plentiful and immediately filed claim on it. In the summer of 1876, Amanda and William Burks came to La Salle County to build their home. Soon after establishing La Mota Ranch, William died, leaving Amanda a widow. She continued to live on and operate the ranch until her death in 1931.

When La Salle County was officially organized at Fort Ewell in 1880, George H. Knaggs was there. He was appointed temporary clerk and took the minutes of the first commissioners court meeting. In 1884, he married Carrie Jordan (below, in black), and they became the parents of four sons and three daughters. Hospitality was always the word at the Knaggs home. A warm welcome was always extended to all.

William Henry and Eliza Ann (Scholfield) Keck came to La Salle County in 1880 establishing their home in the western part of the county about 8 miles from Cotulla. Keck was a devout Methodist. When the Methodist church was erected, he preached the first sermon in the new building. He was fatally injured when he was thrown from a hay rake in June 1890. The Kecks were the parents of four children, Henry A., Edgar A., Sallie, and Thomas Randall.

Jack W. Baylor was a captain for the Confederacy during the Civil War. After the war, he made his way to La Salle County. Jack Baylor married Rhoda Burks, and they settled on La Mota Ranch. When La Salle County was officially organized, he became the first county clerk.

Often led blindfolded into a thicket to treat a wounded outlaw, Dr. Joseph W. Hargus started his medical practice in the brush south of Fort Ewell. The story goes that in the early days of his practice he treated 259 gunshot wounds and examined another 108 gunshot wounds that did not require treatment. He married Saphronia Frazier in 1880. When they moved their family to Cotulla in 1884, they built the first house in the new town. He practiced in La Salle County until 1887, when he and his family moved to Dimmit County.