Lavaca County

Lavaca County is on U.S. highways 77 and Alternate 90 east of San Antonio in the Claypan area of southeast Central Texas. The center of the county is at approximately 29°25' north latitude and 96°55' west longitude, near the county seat, Hallettsville. The county is bounded on the north by Fayette County, on the east by Colorado and Jackson counties, on the south by Victoria County, and on the west by DeWitt and Gonzales counties. Lavaca County consists of 971 square miles of flat to undulating terrain, with elevations ranging from 150 to 350 feet. The eastern part is drained by the Navidad River, and the central and western parts are drained by the Lavaca River. In the southeast section the soils are light-colored and loamy with very deep reddish or mottled subsoils. The remainder of the county has deep, alkaline, clayey soils over a chalk underlayer with a high shrink-swell potential. The vegetation in the northwest is typical of the Blackland Prairies region, with tall grasses, mesquite, and oak predominating; pecan and elm trees are found along streams. The southeast is in the Post Oak Savannah vegetation area, characterized by tall grasses and post and blackjack oaks. Between 21 and 30 percent of the land is considered prime farmland. Natural resources include oil and natural gas. Among the animals commonly found in the county are white-tail deer, bobcats, coyotes, opossums, squirrels, foxes, armadillos, skunks, bats, cottontail rabbits, raccoons, and numerous reptile, fish, and bird species. The climate is subtropical-humid, with warm summers and mild winters. The average rainfall is thirty-seven inches. The average annual temperature is 70° F; temperatures in January range from an average low of 41° to an average high of 64° and in July from 73° to 96°. The growing season averages 278 days a year, with the last freeze in early March and the first freeze in early December.

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.