Edwards County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Edwards County. Way out in the Texas Hill Country, carved from Bexar County and called into legal existence on February 1, 1858.

Now, that's the creating. The organizing took a little longer, the way things do out in that country. It wasn't until September 10, 1883, that Edwards County finally got itself organized, got its feet under it, and got down to business.

The county seat at that point was Leakey, also in 1883. But Rocksprings stepped in and has held that title since 1890. Some places take the crown and keep it.

The county's name, though, that's where the story really starts reachin' back. Edwards County is named in honor of Haden Edwards, born 1771, died 1849. Empresario.

That's a word that carries some weight in early Texas history, and Haden Edwards carried it right into one of the more dramatic chapters of the frontier era. He led what came to be known as the Fredonian War, in 1827. An empresario leading an armed conflict, the county seat movin' once before it settled in for good, and the whole thing carved out of Bexar County in the first place.

Edwards County didn't just happen. It accumulated. And out there in the Hill Country, it's still accumulating.

What the marker says

Formed from Bexar County; created February 1, 1858. Organized September 10, 1883. Named in honor of Haden Edwards 1771-1849. Empresario leader of the Fredonian War in 1827. County seat, Leakey 1883 Rocksprings, since 1890.