Medina County, Texas: History
The county is named after the Medina River, which was named in 1689 after Spanish cartographer Pedro de Medina by Spanish explorer Alonso de Leon, the first European to encounter the river. Because Pedro de Medina derived his surname from the Andalusian city of Medina-Sidonia, the name Medina comes from the Arabic for city.
The Texas Legislature formed Medina County on February 12, 1848, and enlarged it on February 1, 1850, using land taken from Bexar County. Castroville was the county seat, and the county erected the first permanent courthouse there in 1854. The county seat moved to Hondo in 1892, and a new courthouse was completed there in 1893.
The county was home to tribes such as the Lipan Apache, Coahuiltecan, and Tonkawa.
The county was subject to frequent Comanche and Kiowa raids during the early-late 1800s. Battles like the Battle of Seco Creek in 1838 highlight the conflicts with Native Americans in the county. In 1862, Comanches kidnapped 3 children 10 miles south of Bandera. Also, in 1866, Lipan Apaches killed and kidnapped 2 young settlers on Hondo Creek. On June 11, 1873, Comanches attacked four settlers on Verde Creek near modern day Hondo. By 1875, the Comanches were done raiding the county. Although the Comanche were gone, other tribes, like the Lipan Apaches and Kickapoos still were raiding the county. The last Indian raid in the county happened on April 22, 1877, when 19-year-old Joe Wilton was killed by Kickapoo Indians at Black Creek near Devine, marking the end of the American Indian Wars In Medina County.