Editing Duval County, Texas (section)

==History==
Duval County's development began during the Viceroyalty of [[New Spain]] (1521–1821). In 1804, six years before Father [[Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla]] launched Mexico's successful independence movement from Spain, Jose Faustino Contreras, [[surveyor general]] of [[San Luis Potosi]], charted the county's landscape, which attracted colonists from [[Ciudad Mier|Mier]], [[Tamaulipas]].

On February 1, 1858, the [[Texas Legislature]] established Duval County. The [[Texas Almanac]] of 1867 reported that Duval and nearby [[Dimmit County, Texas|Dimmit County]] had only four stock raisers and their population was unlikely to grow much, absent the discovery of mineral wealth. Not long after, a wave of Anglo immigrants entered the county to raise sheep. Englishmen, Frenchmen, Germans, Irishmen, and Scots came. During this boom, the county seat enjoyed formal balls and [[haute cuisine]]. The Hotel Martinet's Sunday feast drew patrons from [[Corpus Christi, Texas|Corpus Christi]], {{convert|50|mi|km}} to the East.

The death rate rivaled [[Tombstone, Arizona]]'s. Although some died under the [[code duello]], most of Duval County's deaths were murders that primarily victimized the legacy Spanish-speaking population. When a great pile of cowhides presumed to have come from stolen animals was discovered near the county line, a vigilante group from Duval and [[McMullen County]] lynched 15 Spanish-speaking Texans there.

In April of 1878, a large Indian raid carried out by the [[Kickapoo people|Kickapoo]], [[Seminole]], and [[Lipan Apache]] ended up in the deaths of more than 10 people.

Prosperity in the 1880s placated Anglo animosity. When the [[Texas Mexican Railway]] began operating in 1881, its San Diego station served as an important hub for trading hides, wool and cotton, but the boom evaporated when sheep began dying during the [[Winter of 1886–1887]], triggering the [[Sheep Wars]] that once again primarily victimized the legacy Spanish-speaking population.

During the twentieth century, the Parr family established a political machine that dominated politics in Duval and nearby Jim Wells counties. The family was instrumental in the 1948 election of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] to the US Senate,<ref name=Lynch_8_10>Lynch, Dudley M. (January 1, 1976). The Duke of Duval: The Life and Times of George B. Parr. Waco: Texian Press. pp 8-10. {{ISBN|978-0-87244-044-9}}. LCCN 76-54438. Retrieved September 9, 2013.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Caro|first=Robert|title=[[The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent]]|year=1990|publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]]|isbn=978-0394528359}}</ref> and influenced the outcome of the [[1960 United States presidential election|1960 presidential election]] which threw Texas to [[John F. Kennedy]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Caro|first=Robert|title=[[The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Passage of Power]]|year=2012|publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]]|isbn=978-0375713255}}</ref>