Formed January 22, 1888 (149th county)
Zavala County (11,677), Crystal City (7,138)
A Modern one-story steel and concrete building is the courthouse in Crystal City. It was built in 1970 on the square at the intersection of 1st and Dimmit. The site is seven blocks east of United States Highway 83 passing through the city. Gene P. Hobart provided the courthouse designs. Batesville housed the first courthouse (1885) after the January 22, 1888 organization as the 149th county. Crystal City assumed the role in 1928 having the last two courthouses. Zavala County was taken from parts of Maverick and Kinney counties as the 149th county. The county was named for Lorenzo de Zavala, Texas patriot and Mexican politician. Crystal City got its name from local citizens to boost its attractiveness for newcomers.
Zavala County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners. Two District Court Judges serve Zavala, Dimmit, and Maverick counties and One County Court Judge serves Zavala County. The county is in southwest Texas to the southwest of San Antonio, Texas and north of Laredo, Texas. The Nueces River crosses the county from north to south. The county center is 19.8 miles North-Northeast of Crystal City nearer Batesville. The county is surrounded clockwise by Uvalde, Medina, Frio, La Salle, Dimmit, Maverick, and Kinney counties.
The area of the county is 1302 square miles. It is 33 out of 254 in the state. It ranks 157 out of 254 in population in the state. It has a density of 8.97 persons per square mile making it 176 out of 254 in the state. Zavala County has 61.1% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 57 goes from east to west, Frio County to Maverick County. United States Highway 83 crosses north to south from Uvalde County into Dimmit County. A rectangle shaped county has Crystal City located at the extreme south near the border with Dimmit County. Crystal City is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 61.1% of the county population. The county is pronounced ZA-VAL-A.
Crystal City
