Editing Bastrop County, Texas (section)

==History==
In 1834, the provincial legislature of [[Coahuila y Tejas]] – established by the Mexican [[1824 Constitution of Mexico|Constitution of 1824]] – met in [[Saltillo]] and established the Municipality and County of Mina, consisting of parts of present-day Mason, Kimble, Llano, Burnet, Williamson, Gillespie, Blanco, Comal, Hays, Travis, Caldwell, Bastrop, Lee, Gonzales, Fayette, Washington, and Lavaca Counties.

On December 14, 1837, the second [[Congress of the Republic of Texas]] adjusted geographical limits to create Fayette County, and remove Gonzales and Caldwell Counties from Mina's boundaries. On December 18, 1837, Sam Houston signed acts that (a) incorporated the town of Mina and (b) changed the name of the county and town of Mina to [[List of Texas county name etymologies|Bastrop]] to honor [[Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop]], an early Dutch settler who helped [[Stephen F. Austin]] obtain land grants in [[Texas]].

On May 24, 1838, the [[Republic of Texas]] added parts of Kimble and Comal Counties to contain parts of present-day Blanco, Burnet, Williamson, Travis, Hays, Comal, Caldwell, Bastrop, Lee, Gonzales, and Fayette Counties.

From January 25, 1840, to January 25, 1850, Bastrop county limits shifted nearly to its present dimensions, including small portions of Lee, Williamson, Caldwell, Gonzales, and Fayette Counties.<ref name=TxGenWeb>{{cite web|title=TxGenWeb|url=http://www.txgenweb8.org/txbastrop/|access-date=March 6, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203044442/http://www.txgenweb8.org/txbastrop/|archive-date=February 3, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/TX_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|title=Texas: Individual County Chronologies|work=Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries|publisher=[[Newberry Library|The Newberry Library]]|date=2008|access-date=May 28, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513024355/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/TX_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|archive-date=May 13, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://texasalmanac.com/topics/government/bastrop-county|title=Bastrop County|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|website=Texas Almanac|access-date=June 23, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618235706/http://texasalmanac.com/topics/government/bastrop-county|archive-date=June 18, 2015}}</ref>

In December 1942, Bastrop was the site of an alleged military murder, in which Sgt. Walter Springs was gunned down by a White military police officer following a dispute. Springs was shot in the back, but the case remains largely unsolved to this day. A memorial scholarship in his honor has been active at his ''alma mater'', [[Regis University]], for most of the period since 1952 and has the backing of former NBA All Star [[Chauncey Billups]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Reed|first=Byron|date=May 17, 2021|title=Regis University restarting scholarship named for Walter Springs|url=https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/regis-university-walter-springs-scholarship/73-5d591dc8-8bd8-46c4-b38d-394237b304f0|access-date=June 6, 2021|website=KUSA.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

In September 2011, Bastrop County suffered the [[Bastrop County Complex Fire|most destructive wildfire in Texas history]], which destroyed over 1,600 homes.

In March 2022, [[the Refuge Ranch]], a facility in rural Bastrop County for girls who had been victims of [[Sex trafficking in the United States|sexual trafficking]], was ordered closed down after allegations that the girls had been subjected to further exploitation by ranch staffers.<ref>[https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/10/texas-shelter-sex-trafficking-children/ Oxner, Reese. "Kids in foster care who’d been victims of sex trafficking endured fresh abuse at a state shelter, report says"] ''[[Texas Tribune]]'' March 10, 2022</ref><ref>[https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/11/texas-foster-care-shelter-abuse/ Oxner, Reese. "State-licensed shelter where sex trafficking victims were reportedly abused ordered to close: The Refuge, which closed Friday, said it fired an employee accused of coercing the victims to sell nude photos as soon as it found out. The Bastrop-based shelter has not addressed the other eight staff members also accused of causing harm to the girls." ''Texas Tribune'' March 11, 2022]</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/03/11/foster-care-sex-trafficking/ Bever, Lindsey. "Victims of child sex trafficking went to a foster facility that allegedly trafficked them again"] ''[[The Washington Post]]'' March 11, 2022</ref>