Editing Edna, Texas (section)

==History==

Edna, the county seat of Jackson County, was established in 1882 when the [[New York, Texas and Mexican Railway]] line was built from Rosenberg to Victoria and bypassed [[Texana, Texas|Texana]], then the county seat. Construction of the railroad began in September 1881. Edna was laid out on land owned by Mrs. Lucy Flournoy, who conveyed right-of-way and a half interest in the townsite to the railroad, which was promoted and built by Italian Count Joseph Telfener. The town was named for a daughter of the count. The NYT&M, nicknamed the "Macaroni", was constructed by Italian laborers, most of whom were brought from [[Lombardy]] by Telfener. After completion of the road, the majority of the crew remained in the area and established homes. The first train arrived on July 4, 1882; the first merchant was Gideon Egg, who moved his general merchandise store from Texana in 1882, and the first child born in the new community was Edna Louise Traylor.

In an election of January 22, 1883, residents voted to make Edna the county seat in place of Texana. The contract for a new courthouse was awarded on February 11, 1884. A post office opened in 1886. The first church congregations in Edna were the [[Methodism|Methodist]] and [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]], whose memberships moved from Texana almost intact. The latter brought their 1859 sanctuary with them {{convert|8|mi|0}} overland. The building was also used by other denominations for worship services and is now the oldest public building remaining in the county. The Texana Presbyterian Church has been restored and serves in Edna as an area cultural center. It is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] and is a [[Recorded Texas Historic Landmark]].

The first newspaper in Edna was the ''Jackson County Progress''. The newspaper plant, along with a large part of the business district, was destroyed in 1906 in the town's second disastrous fire. Succeeding the ''Progress'' was the ''Edna Herald'', first published on November 22, 1906.

The 1954 Supreme Court case ''[[Hernandez v. Texas]]'' concerned the racial context of the jury selection for a trial that took place in Edna. The landmark decision of the case determined that [[Mexican Americans]] and all other racial groups in the United States had equal protection under the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|14th Amendment]] of the [[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]].