Guadalupe County - Located ninety miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico in south central Texas and is bounded by Comal, Hays, Caldwell, Gonzales, Wilson, and Bexar counties. Cibolo Creek forms the border between Guadalupe and Bexar counties, and the San Marcos River separates Guadalupe and Caldwell counties. Seguin, the county seat and largest city, is on intersection of IH-10, Hwy 90, Hwy 90-A Hwy 46, Hwy 123 and the new SH-130 connecting Georgetown and Seguin. The county is twenty-five miles southwest of Austin and eighteen miles northeast of San Antonio. The county's center lies near Seguin at approximately 29°35' north latitude and 97°57' west longitude. The county covers 713 square miles of flat to rolling terrain with local depressions and escarpments, and its elevation ranges from 450 to 800 feet above sea level. The area has a mild subtropical climate, with temperatures ranging from an average high of 96° in July and an average low of 42° in January. The annual rainfall in the county averages 33 inches, and the growing season averages 275 days.
History of the County - After the Texas Revolution the new government sent volunteer troops to protect people in remote areas. Those settlers who had left because of the Indians and the Mexican army returned, and others joined them. Much of the land given to Texas veterans for their service during the revolution was located in what became Guadalupe County. A company of Texas Rangersqv commanded by Capt. John Coffee Hays set up camp at Walnut Springs near the Guadalupe River. In 1838 a group of former Texas Rangers and other settlers founded the community of Walnut Springs on the northeast bank of the Guadalupe; its name was changed to Seguin in 1839 to honor Juan N. Seguin. The presence of troops encouraged many incoming families to stay near Seguin until the area became more secure. As a result, Seguin developed earlier and more rapidly than other communities in the future county and became the region's center of social and economic life. It was the natural choice for county seat when Guadalupe County was formed. The Republic of Texas organized Guadalupe County as a judicial county in 1842, but discontinued it later that year when the Texas Supreme Court declared judicial counties to be unconstitutional. In March 1846, after the annexation of Texas to the United States, the legislature established the present county from parts of Bexar and Gonzales counties. Guadalupe County had an area of 862 square miles in 1846 but lost land in 1858 and 1874, when Blanco and Wilson counties were organized.
