Starr County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passing it along to you straight. Alright, now, some counties just sit there on the map, quiet and unremarkable. And then there's Starr County, carved out of Nueces County and brought into the world on February 10, 1848.

That's the creation date. But a county isn't truly a county until it gets itself organized, and Starr County got that done by August 7, 1848. Fast work.

The kind of county that means business from the start. Now, a name like Starr, you'd want to know who earned it. The county carries the name of Dr.

James Harper Starr, born in 1809, died in 1890. Pioneer Texas surgeon. Indian fighter.

The man landed at Nacogdoches in 1837, which tells you something right there. Nacogdoches, deep in East Texas, one of the oldest towns in the state, and there comes Dr. Starr, planting himself in the thick of things.

He didn't stop there. By 1839 he was serving as Secretary of the Treasury of the Republic of Texas, and he held that post through 1840. Think about that for a moment.

The Republic of Texas, its own nation, its own treasury, and this man from Nacogdoches was the one minding the books. Then the years turned, the nation turned, and Dr. James Harper Starr turned with them, taking on the role of Assistant Postmaster General of the Confederacy.

Surgeon, fighter, treasurer, postal official. One life, a lot of Texas history packed into it. And the county seat of all this?

Rio Grande City, sitting right there on the river. That's Starr County, and now you know exactly whose name you're riding through.

What the marker says

Formed from Nueces County; created February 10, 1848; organized August 7, 1848. Named for Dr. James Harper Starr 1809-1890; pioneer Texas surgeon and Indian fighter, located at Nacogdoches in 1837; Secretary of the Treasury of the Republic of Texas 1839-1840; Assistant Postmaster General of the Confederacy. Rio Grande City, the county seat.