Editing Wilson County, Texas (section)

===Explorations and county established===

In September 1718 [[Martín de Alarcón]] crossed the area on his way to explore the bay of Espíritu Santo. Pedro de Rivera y Villalón crossed the county in 1727 as part of an expedition to inspect the frontier defenses of [[Viceroyalty of New Spain|New Spain]].<ref name="Pedro de Rivera y Villalón">{{Handbook of Texas | name=Pedro de Rivera y Villalón| id= fri27| author=Blake, Robert Bruce | retrieved=May 13, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association</ref>
In 1766–67 the [[Cayetano Pignatelli, 3rd Marquis of Rubí|Marqués de Rubí]] included the area in his inspection of the Spanish frontier,<ref name="Wilson County">{{Handbook of Texas | name=Wilson County| id= hcw12| author=Long, Christopher | retrieved=May 13, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association</ref> and the 1798 explorations of the coast by [[Francisco Vásquez de Coronado]]<ref name="Southern and Western Texas Guide for 1878">{{cite book | last =Flint | first =Richard | last2=Flint | first2=Shirley Cushing  | title =The Coronado Expedition to Tierra Nueva: The 1540–1542 Route Across the Southwest  | publisher=University Press of Colorado| year =2004 | isbn =978-0-87081-766-3}}</ref> skirted the area.

The first two land grants in the area were to Luis Menchaca and Andrés Hernández,<ref name="Menchaca-Hernández Compromise">{{cite web | title=Menchaca-Hernández Compromise | publisher=Texas General Land Office | url=https://scandocs.glo.state.tx.us/webfiles/landgrants/pdfs/1/0/3/4/1034775.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://scandocs.glo.state.tx.us/webfiles/landgrants/pdfs/1/0/3/4/1034775.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live | access-date=May 13, 2010 }}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Texas General Land Office</ref> who established ranches circa 1832–1833.

Anglos began arriving in the 1840s,<ref name="Wilson County"/> and Southern planters in 1850 and 1860, followed by [[Germans|German]] and [[Polish people|Polish]] immigrants from other counties.

Wilson County was formed in 1860 from [[Bexar County, Texas|Bexar County]] and [[Karnes County, Texas|Karnes County]].   [[Sutherland Springs, Texas|Sutherland Springs]]<ref name="Sutherland Springs, Texas">{{cite web | title=Sutherland Springs, Texas | publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. | url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Texas_ghost_towns/SutherlandSpringsTexas/SutherlandSprings.htm | access-date=May 13, 2010}} Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC.</ref> was designated the county seat.

Wilson County voted in favor of [[Texas in the American Civil War|secession]]<ref name="Wilson County"/> from the Union, and sent several military units to serve. Wartime hardships were compounded by a three-year drought.

Following the civil war, the county seat<ref name="Floresville, Texas">{{cite web | title=Floresville, Texas | publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. | url=http://www.texasescapes.com/SouthTexasTowns/Floresville-Texas.htm | access-date=May 13, 2010}} Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC.</ref> was moved to [[Floresville, Texas|Floresville]]. The 1872 courthouse was destroyed by fire and replaced in 1884 with a new building<ref name="Wilson County Courthouse">{{cite web | title=Wilson County Courthouse | publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. | url=http://www.texasescapes.com/SouthTexasTowns/Floresville-Texas-Wilson-County-Courthouse.htm | access-date=May 13, 2010}} Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC.</ref> designed by [[Alfred Giles (architect)|Alfred Giles]].

[[Fence Cutting War]]s in Texas lasted for approximately five years, 1883–1888. The {{convert|40000|acre|km2|adj=on}} ranch of Houston and Dilworth became the focal point in Wilson County. As farmers and ranchers began to compete for precious land and water, cattlemen found it more difficult to feed their herds, prompting cowboys to cut through fences.  [[John Ireland (politician)|Texas Governor John Ireland]]<ref name="Fence Cutting Wars, Texas Adjutant General R.N. Steagal Letter To John Ireland March 31, 1884">{{cite web | title=Fence Cutting Wars, Texas Adjutant General R.N. Steagal Letter To John Ireland March 31, 1884 | publisher=Texas State Library and Archives Commission |url= http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/governors/west/ireland-fence.html|access-date=May 13, 2010}} Texas State Library and Archives Commission</ref> prodded a special assembly to order the fence cutters to cease. In response, the legislature made fence-cutting and pasture-burning crimes punishable with prison time, while at the same time regulating fencing. The practice abated with sporadic incidents of related violence 1888.

The [[San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway]]<ref name="San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway">{{cite web| title=San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway| url=http://saap.tnorr.com/| access-date=May 13, 2010| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060912172901/http://saap.tnorr.com/| archive-date=September 12, 2006}}</ref> reached Floresville in 1886. In 1898 the San Antonio and Gulf Railroad<ref name="Texas and New Orleans Railroad">{{Handbook of Texas | name=Texas and New Orleans Railroad | id=eqt06| |author=Williams, Howard C | retrieved=May 13, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association</ref> was extended to Stockdale.