More About Seguin

and Guadalupe County

Seguin is a city of about 25,000 inhabitants on the IH-10 about 35 miles east of San Antonio. The Guadalupe River passes through the west and south portion of the city. The total population of Guadalupe County is about 30,000, with the city having about 80% of that number. It's not exactly unsetled territory.

The town was first organized in the late 1830, centered about some springs of good fresh water emerging from a limestone outcroping about a half mile north of the river. Since times immemorial these springs nurtured large populations of animals and birds making the area an attractive hunting site for many Indians. In the later years beginning about 1600 the area attracted Lipan Apache and Tonkawa Indians. Later the Lipan at any rate found it safer to move to the hill country to the northwest leaving the area in the range of the newly arrived Comanche.

The area did not come to the attention of the Spanish until the very late Spanish period and the first patent placing the land with the springs in European hands was apparently not issued until the early 1830 after Mexico had replaced Spain as sovereign. Today a granite monument in a park area near the springs just west of the business district tells us something about the early beginning of the town:

First town meeting was held Sept. 28, 1838 at the cabin of French Smith. Jeremiah Roberts was the Chairman and Cyrus Crosby was the Clerk. James Campbell proposed the frontier town be named, "Walnut Springs." His motion carried 16 votes to 9.

Five months later on Feb. 25, 1839 settlers again met on this site and voted to rename the town. J. H. Russell moved the town be named "Tuscumbia after a popular song and dance tune. Following the suggestion of John Rhodes King, James Campbell moved the town be named "Seguin" in honor of Colonel Juan Seguin a nearby rancher-landowner and gallent soldier of the day. Votes were taken with 7 favoring "Tuscumbia" and 18 for Seguin.

Though Seguin had a permanent name its founders delayed formal incorporation until 1853, and it was another century before growth entitled it to claim the status of a small Texas city. Today the city boasts a Motorola manufacturing plant, a steel mill whose speciality is the making of reinforcing bar from old rail road rails and other scrap, a poultry packing plant, a live stock feed manufacturing plant, a plant manufacturing lawn mowers and other power yard and garden machinery, and a reasonably prosperous farm and ranching industry. Meanwhile, Walnut Springs, originally the town's principal resource has dwindled to a mere trickle of its former self.

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