Formed March 1, 1846 (48th county)
Lavaca County (20,337), Hallettsville (2,723), Yoakum (5,904)
The stately Romanesque Revival courthouse in Hallettsville is the center of attraction on the square at La Grange and 3rd streets. United States Highways 77 and 90 intersect one block south of the location. Eugene T. Heiner designed the sandstone building. The structure was restored in 2010. Hallettsville has been the location for the last three courthouses after the county was created March 1, 1846, although Petersburg was designated as the first county seat. The county was carved from parts of Colorado, Jackson, Gonzales, and Victoria counties as the 48th county. Lavaca County gets its name from the Spanish for “cow.” Port Lavaca, county seat of Calhoun County, has the same source for its name. Hallettsville is named for the widow of early settler John Hallett. Margaret Hallett donated the land for the town.
Lavaca County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners. Two District Court Judges serve Lavaca, Colorado, Gonzales, and Guadalupe counties and One County Court Judge serves Lavaca County. The county is in the river estuary area of south-central Texas. The Lavaca River goes through the middle of the county. Houston, Texas is east and San Antonio, Texas is west of the county. The county center is 2.7 miles Southwest of Hallettsville. The county is surrounded clockwise by Fayette, Colorado, Victoria, De Witt, and Gonzales counties.
The area of the county is 970 square miles. It is 81 out of 254 in the state. It ranks 117 out of 254 in population in the state. It has a density of 21.0 persons per square mile making it 130 out of 254 in the state. Lavaca County has 47.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 77 comes from the north, Fayette County, and goes to the south, DeWitt County. United States Highway 77 Alternate originates in Lavaca County and goes southwest into DeWitt County. United States Highway 90 Alternate crosses east to west from Colorado County to Gonzales County. A 45-degree diamond with a flat top is the county shape. Hallettsville is near the geographical center of the county. Yoakum is located on the western border of the county and extends into DeWitt County. Hallettsville is the county seat and Yoakum is the largest city. Hallettsville is 13.4% of the county population while Yoakum is 29.0% of the county population. The county is pronounced LA-VA-KA.
Hallettsville
Moulton
Shiner
Yoakum
