Goliad County

Goliad County is on the Coastal Plain twenty-five miles inland from Copano Bay in Southeast Texas. It is bounded by Bee, DeWitt, Karnes, Refugio, and Victoria counties. Goliad, one of the oldest settlements in Texas, is the county seat and largest town. The county's center point is at 28°40' north latitude and 97°23' west longitude. Goliad County, one of the original counties of Texas, was established in 1836, organized in 1837, and named for the vast Mexican Municipality of Goliad. It embraces 859 square miles, most of which is nearly level to gently rolling Rio Grande Plain, surfaced primarily by dark calcareous clays and sandy and clay loams, though land surfaces in the northeastern part of the county are primarily sandy loams and sands. The Coastal Prairie in the southeastern corner supports bluestem grassland, but most of the county lies within the post oak savannah belt and is dotted with blackjack, post, and live oak forests, intermixed with mesquite, huisache, red cedar, cacti, brush, and other vegetation; in the San Antonio River basin grow pecan and elm forests. The elevation ranges from 100 to 250 feet, and the climate is humid-subtropical. Temperatures range from an average high of 94° F in July to an average low of 46° in January, though records of 112° and 7° are recorded. The average growing season lasts 285 days, from late February to early December. The average annual precipitation is of 33.79 inches. The northeastern half of the county is drained primarily by the San Antonio River and Coleto, Manahuilla, and Perdido creeks; the southwestern area by Blanco, Mucorrera, and Sarco creeks. Coleto Creek Reservoir, an industrial reservoir on the Goliad-Victoria county line, is under the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority. Typical mammals in Goliad County include white-tailed deer, bobcats, opossums, squirrels, foxes, armadillos, skunks, bats, cottontail rabbits, Plains pocket gophers, and mice; the county provides habitat for numerous reptile, fish, and bird species, such as the horned lizard and wild turkey.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.