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Uvalde sits at the crossroads…literally. U. S. highways 83 and 90 cross in the middle of town. These highways go from Canada to Mexico and Florida to California. But Uvalde has always been “on the road” with Spanish trails running from Mexico through Uvalde to San Antonio and Native American trails running north and south along our rivers.
We are at the crossroads of cultures with our language and customs being a mix of Mexican, Spanish, English and German elements. |
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We are also at the crossroads of ecology with the hill country and river canyons to our north, flat brushland to the south and Chihuahuan desert to our west.
Uvalde is the iconic Texas of western movies. Indigenous peoples used the hill south of town on the Leona river as a look out for centuries and in 1849 the United States Army chose this strategic location to build Ft. Inge. Uvalde is on the edge of the infamous Nueces Strip where lawmen hunted down outlaws headed toward the border. One of the outlaws later became Uvalde’s Sheriff, John King Fisher.
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After the Civil War, cattle was the chief agricultural product and cowboys let off steam at one of Uvalde’s many saloons before they started up the trail to Kansas. Later wool and mohair became the mainstay of Uvalde’s economy with the introduction of angora goats to the hills above town. Our sheep shearers traveled as far as Montana and California shearing and won many trophies in shearing contests across the country.
Honey from Uvalde hives was well known across the country and Uvalde was known as the Honey Capital (Uvalde Honey Festival). Our first football team was the Honey Bees and we still play football in the Honey Bowl.
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We don’t raise bees just for honey. This is the Winter Garden of Texas with vegetable crops grown all year, from spinach in the fall to cabbage and carrots in the winter and onions in the spring. We keep the pollinators busy.
The town of Uvalde was originally named for one of our most prized natural features. Reading W. Black laid out the town of Encina, named for our magnificent live oak trees in 1855. The town was incorporated in 1888 and has grown slowly but steadily ever since.
In World War II Uvalde was the home to a pilot training school and Garner Field remains as our municipal airport and home to innovative aircraft companies.
We dream big in Uvalde and our citizens often go on to fame in many fields. We have had a vice president, a governor, Hollywood actors, Grammy award winning musicians, professional athletes and some train robbers who all called Uvalde home. We hope you'll make it your home too!
