Refugio County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some places earn their names through blood and sweat and a whole lot of arguing. Refugio County?

Its name came from something a little older, a little quieter, and a whole lot more deliberate. Way back in 1791, a mission was established out here on this stretch of Texas earth. They called it Our Lady of Refuge, and its purpose was to civilize and christianize the Indians of the region.

That mission planted a name in this ground so deep that no amount of time or politics could pull it loose. First, in 1835, this territory was organized into the Mexican municipality of Refugio, carrying that mission's name forward. Then history moved fast, the way it tends to do in Texas.

On March 17, 1836, Refugio was created as a county of the same name, and by 1837 it was organized and open for business. Same name. Same ground.

A mission from 1791 still echoing through the paperwork of a brand new republic. The county seat? They kept the name going.

Refugio. When a name survives a mission, a municipality, a revolution, and the founding of a county, you don't go changin' it. Some things just fit the land they're rooted in.

What the marker says

Organized in 1835 into the Mexican municipality of Refugio. Created a county of the same name March 17, 1836, organized 1837. Named for the Mission "Our Lady of Refuge" established in 1791 to civilize and christianize the indians. Refugio, the county seat.