Medina County was created in February 12, 1848 and formed from Bexar County. Medina County was named for the Medina River. The County Seat is Hondo. The Official County website is located at http://www.medinacountytexas.org. See also Extended History for more historical details.
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
Medina County Clerk has Court Records from 1848 , Land Records from 1848, Probate Records from 1848, Marriage Records from 1848 and Birth/Death Records from 1903 is located at 1100
16th St.,
Hondo, TX 78861-1399; Telephone:
(210) 741-5381. The County Clerk's Office is the record keeper of the county. The county records include birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, brand registrations, DD214s (military discharges), land / real estate / property records, probate and civil filings.
Below is a list of online resources for Medina County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Medina County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Texas Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Texas Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Vital Records,1100 West 49th Street,
Austin, TX 78756, Please allow up to approximately 6-8 weeks for processing of all type of certificates when ordered through the mail. They have the following records:
Birth Certificates: Birth records maintained by Bureau of Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health since 1903 through the present. For births that occurred within the past 75 years, copies can be requested only by the immediate family of the person whose name is on the birth certificate.
Cost: The cost of a birth record is $22.00. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $22.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Death Certificates: Death records maintained by Bureau of Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health since 1903 through the present.
For deaths that occurred in the past 25 years, copies can be requested only by immediate family members of the deceased.
Cost: The cost of a certified death certificate is $20.00 for the first copy and $3.00 for each additional copy issued at the same time for the same certificate. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $20.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Marriage & Divorce Certificates: Marriage Verifications from Jan 1966 and Divorce Verifications from Jan 1968. Certified copies of marriage licenses or divorce decrees are only available from the county clerk (marriage) or district clerk (divorce) in the county or district in which the event occurred. Marriage verification or divorce verification letters can now be ordered ELECTRONICALLY
Cost: $20 - Fee is for verification only.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Order In Person: The certificates may be ordered by coming into this office. If you want the copy the same day, our hours for same day service are 8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. Monday – Friday. The Texas Vital Statistics Office in Austin is located at 1100 W. 49th Street,
Austin, TX 78756.
Order By Mail: Mail a check or money order (no cash) payable to the "Texas Vital Records " along with the necessary information to the following address: Texas Vital Records, Department of State Health Services, PO Box 12040,
Austin TX 78711-2040. Please include return address on envelope and application form.
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Texas newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29 - Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If you're unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu. These records can be searched by father's first and last names, mother's first and maiden names, year, county, and city. The certificates include the child and parents' full names, residence, occupations, age, time and date of the birth, and the name of the physician attending the birth.
Texas Death Certificates, 1890-1976 - These records are searchable by first and last name of the deceased, year, county, and city. A certificate may include the decedent's date, place, and cause of death; age; date of birth; last residence; and marital status. If known, it will also include occupation, birth place, parents' names, and place of burial. Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu.
Click Here to Search Texas Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Medina County, Texas are 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. The Texas State Library holds microfilm editions for all of Texas' federal censuses. Although the 1850, 1860, and part of the 1870 mortality schedules have been published, all the original mortality schedules are at the Texas State Library and on microfilm The 1830 territorial census of Miller County, Arkansas, enumerates an area that is in today's Texas boundaries. The remaining 1890 population schedules which exist for Texas include: Ellis County (Justice Precinct 6, Mountain Peak, and Ovilla Precinct); Hood County (Precinct 5); Rusk County (No. 6 and Justice Precinct No. 7); Trinity County (town of Trinity and Justice Precinct 2); and Kaufman County (Kaufman). Although Greer County in present-day Oklahoma functioned as part of Texas between 1886 and 1896, the 1890 census for this county was enumerated under Oklahoma Territory.
Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Medina County, Texas are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms
Below is a list of online resources for Medina County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Medina County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Arkansas and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Texas showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Texas showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps.
Below is a list of online resources for Medina County Maps. Email us with websites containing Medina County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Texas Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Medina County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Medina County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Texas (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Texas tax records constitute one of the most complete sets of available records generated at the county level (by the Commissioners Court) because these documents are maintained by the state. These lists may only include approximately sixty percent of eligible males over the age of twenty-one. Persons exempted from taxes included native Americans, "idiots," "incompetents," and those exempted because of age. This final category of exemptions varied over time. Years without an older age exemption were 1840 and 1862-70. Between 1841-44 exemptions began at forty-five years; in 1845 and from 1850-61 the upward age was set at fifty years. In 1837, 1848, and 1849 the limit was established as fifty-five, and in 1846-7, and 1871 the upward limit was set at sixty years.
Texas Ad Valorem (poll, personal, and real property) tax records for 1836 through 1976 are available in microfilm at the Texas State Library from the date of respective county organization; these are arranged by county and date and are somewhat alphabetized within each division. Microfilm copies are housed in the Genealogy Section. Tax lists for the various counties from creation to 1901 may be borrowed through interlibrary loan. Tax records through 1901-1947 are readily accessible, but not on interlibrary loan. Those for 1948 through 1976 can be obtained upon request.
Below is a list of online resources for Medina County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Medina County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Medina County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Medina County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Texas State Library and Archives Commission, P.O. Box 12927, Austin, TX 78711-2927 Holdings under the auspices of the Texas State Library are divided. Most important for genealogical research are the Texas State Archives with its Local Records Department, the Records Management Division, and the Information Services Division, which includes a Genealogy Section and a Reference Department.
The Genealogy Section maintains vertical ties that contain notes, clippings, pamphlets, and correspondence on Texas families. These files may be accessed in person, by phone (512-463-5463, forty-five minute limit), or through correspondence.
Texas Historical Commision The Texas Historical Commission (THC) is the state agency for historic preservation. THC staff consults with citizens and organizations to preserve Texas' architectural, archeological and cultural landmarks. The agency is recognized nationally for its preservation programs.
Texas Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Texas Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
During Texas's colonization period Roman Catholics were the most numerous, but early citizens included those representing other religious faiths such as Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Christian or Disciples of Christ.
Many cemetery records have been collected and transcribed, including the largest of which is multi-volumes compilation by the DAR and two volumes for Peters Colonists and descendants. The DAR collection, also microfilmed, is available at the Texas State Library and through the FHL.
Some Texas county historical and genealogical societies have published local cemetery and/funeral home records. These are normally available for purchase through the respective society. Two references can help determine which cemeteries have been recorded: Kim Parsons', A Reference to Texas Cemetery Records (Humble, Tex.: by author, 1988), arranged by county; and Sharry Crofford-Gould's, Texas Cemetery Inscriptions: A Source Index (San Antonio, Tex.: Limited Editions, 1977).
Below is a list of online resources for Medina County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Medina County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Texas obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Texas newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Texas.
Click Here to Search Texas Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Medina County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Medina County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Texas Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Medina County is in an area that has been the site of human habitation for many thousands of years. Evidence of early man has been discovered at a site known as Scorpion Cave on the Medina River in the northeastern part of the county. Archeologists believe that ancestors of either Coahuiltecan or Tonkawa Indians occupied this cave continuously for several thousand years before the arrival of the first Europeans. The first Spaniard to set foot in the region was probably Alonso De León, governor of Coahuila, who passed through the area in 1689 en route to East Texas, and named the Medina River and Hondo and Seco creeks. Two years later Domingo Terán de los Ríos, the first provincial governor of Texas, tracked across southern Medina County, laying the foundation for El Camino Real (Old San Antonio Road). The Upper Presidio Road, as the Camino Real was known in 1807, purposely skirted the Indian strongholds of the Hill Country beyond the Balcones Escarpment. Throughout the 1700s the area was frequented by roving bands of Lipan Apaches and Comanches, whose seasonal raiding parties traveled south from the plains area of North and West Texas and New Mexico on their way to Mexico. From this vantage point the Apache-Comanche Indians would attack San Antonio with impunity. The Republic of Texas was convinced that if this large block of land were settled it would provide a protective zone against any invasion forces approaching San Antonio from the south and west. They negotiated an empresarial contract with Frenchman Henri Castro on February 15, 1842, to settle the area. One of Castro's land grants began four miles west of the Medina River. He purchased the sixteen leagues between his granted concessions and the river from John McMullen of San Antonio. The Old San Antonio Road to Laredo and the main road from San Antonio to Eagle Pass both crossed the land grant.
Castro, with the assistance of German wine merchant Ludwig Huth and his son Louis August Ferdinand Huth, arranged the transport of German and French-speaking farmers from the Alsace region of northeastern France, brought them overland from the Texas coast to San Antonio, and on September 2, 1844, set out with them in the accompaniment of Texas Ranger John Coffee (Jack) Hays and five of his rangers to decide upon a site for settlement. Castroville, founded on September 3, 1844, was the westernmost settlement in Texas. It received the first post office in the county on January 12, 1847. In a relatively short time the settlements of Quihi (1845), Vandenburg (1846), New Fountain (1846), and Old D'Hanis (1848) were established. The layout of each of these settlements was similar to that of Castroville, in a pattern reminiscent of their European villages. The settlements were laid out in town lots surrounded by outlying twenty and forty acre farming plots. Settlers lived in the protective environs of their towns and farmed their nearby fields. The immigrants brought with them their unique culture and a distinctive architecture. By the mid-1850s buildings were being made of rough-cut native limestone, sandstone, or some combination of stone and timber; lime plaster was used to coat the exterior walls and adobe the interior walls. The colors found in the stone ranged from an offwhite, common in the Castroville area, to a rich blend of ochres and gold characteristic of the New Fountain and Quihi communities. Houses were designed with a characteristic rectangular shape, short in the front and long at the rear roofline, common to the rural structures of their homelands. Most homes and buildings had fireplaces built with internal angular flue systems.
Medina County was separated from Bexar County by the legislature on February 12, 1848, and enlarged on February 1, 1850, again gaining lands from Bexar County. At this time the population of Medina County was estimated to be predominantly Catholic at a ratio of five out of every six people. The first church in the county, the Catholic Church of St. Louis Parish in Castroville, was completed in November 1846. The Lutherans organized churches at Castroville and Quihi in 1852 and 1854. The Catholic church organized a school in Castroville in 1845; the Protestants did likewise in 1854. The first public school in Medina County was also established in Castroville in 1854. By 1858 the county had five schools for 453 pupils and five churches, three Protestant and two Catholic. A short-lived Mormon community was established in northeastern Medina County in 1854. By 1858 stock raising and the cultivation of corn were the chief agricultural pursuits in the county. Much of the labor needed to clear the land for homes and farms was done by Mexican laborers. Statistics taken in that year show 10,000 acres of corn planted and 100 acres of wheat on 240 farms; there were 11,000 cattle, principally in the Castroville, D'Hanis, Quihi, and Vandenburg areas; sheep were raised principally in the northern hilly and rocky areas. Peach trees were abundant; cypress and pecan grew along streams and rivers; mesquite, live oak, post oak, and cedar were prevalent trees in the prairies. Castroville, with a population of 366, was the twelfth-largest town in Texas and an important commercial center by 1850. Fort Lincoln had been erected in 1849 near Old D'Hanis to furnish protection for the new settlements and commercial traffic between San Antonio and Mexico. Most settlers operated subsistence farms while they learned stock raising, which many realized was best suited to the area. The typical diet consisted of corn-meal mush, garden vegetables, and wild game. In 1850 there were only twenty-eight slaves in the estimated 909 citizens of Medina County. In 1858 the estimated population of 1,300 included 104 slaves. In 1860 there were 108 slaves. Two conditions in Medina County served as a deterrent to slavery; its proximity to Mexico offered sanctuary for runaway slaves, and the Unionist sentiment disfavoring the institution of slavery was general among the European settlers. In February 1861 the vote was 140 for and 207 against secession. August Santleben, a Union sympathizer, was one of many Medina County citizens who fled to Mexico to avoid recriminations at the hands of Confederate allies like Charles DeMontel, who as provost marshal was responsible for apprehending those who attempted to escape Confederate service. The value of Medina County land during the Civil War dropped by almost 50 percent. Education and schools suffered during the war as funding plummeted. However, communities like Castroville, situated on the commercial routes to Mexico, prospered. After the war a number of German immigrants arrived. By 1870 a majority of the 2,078 people in the county were of German or French origin; there were ninety-two blacks, forty Mississippians, and thirty-three Mexicans.
The arrival of barbed wire and the railroads during the 1880s was a significant turning point for Medina County. Cattle raising had more than doubled during the 1870s. Property values tripled during the same period. Barbed wire effectively ended the practice of free-range cattle ranching; disputes over grazing access led to many conflicts. Livestock raising was the dominant agricultural activity in 1882; large sections of land supported 33,000 cattle, 33,000 sheep, 8,000 horses and mules, and 4,000 hogs. The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway and the International and Great Northern Railroad extended their lines west and south through Medina County in 1881 and 1882, respectively. The towns of Hondo, La Coste, Dunlay, and New D'Hanis were established along the GH&SA; the towns of Devine and Natalia were established along the IG&N. The citizens of Castroville, after having been given the initial opportunity to have the GH&SA pass through their township, voted against the issuance of bonds necessary to support such a route. The rapid commercial and population growth of the newly established railroad towns, particularly at Hondo and Devine, significantly altered the future demographic makeup of the county. The number of county schools between the years 1882 and 1894 increased from four to thirty-six. The population increased from 4,545 in 1880 to almost 8,000 by 1900. After several unsuccessful attempts to move the county seat from Castroville to Hondo during the 1880s, the change was finally approved in 1892 by a vote of 767 to 687. By then Hondo and the other railroad communities had become the most convenient and economically accessible marketing centers. Changes in demographic influence were evident in the embryonic newspaper publishing industry as well. The county's first newspaper, the Castroville Era, began operations in 1876. This newspaper was changed to the Quill in 1879 and was sold to a group in Hondo in 1884, when it was renamed the Medina County News. Without a newspaper of its own and apprehensive of Hondo's attempts to gain the county seat, Castroville began publishing the Anvil in 1886. By 1903 the Anvil had been consolidated with Hondo's Herald to become the Hondo Anvil Herald. The developing railroad community of Devine was publishing the Devine Wide-Awake in 1892 and the Devine News in 1898. By 1900 more acreage was devoted to the production of cotton than corn (22,293 acres for cotton to 16,385 for corn). However, by 1905 the boll weevil had come in from Mexico and eventually devastated the cotton industry. In 1920, 44,061 acres were devoted to corn, and 32,196 acres were used for cotton production. By 1940 only 5,986 acres were devoted to the production of cotton.
The completion of the Medina Dam in 1913, at that time the fourth-largest dam project in the United States, provided water sufficient to irrigate an estimated 60,000 acres. Six million dollars had been raised through the sale of bonds to British subscribers to finance the project. The onset of World War I cut off the flow of British capital, significantly reducing the sale of farmland dependent upon the irrigation system. The irrigation project was placed in receivership by the federal courts in 1914 and remained in this suspended condition until 1924, when it was ordered to be sold at public auction in Hondo. Dust bowl victims from Oklahoma and Kansas made up a large portion of the prospective buyers of farmland. Many of the landowners in the irrigation project were beset with heavy mortgages, but they were ultimately rescued by successful application to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation of the United States in 1934 that resulted in a reduction of the farmers' bonded indebtedness from $2.5 million to $250,000. Row crop tractors replaced the early hay burners and horses and mules that had been used into the 1930s. Pull-type combines replaced the labor-intensive threshers and reapers. Until the advent of the state and federal highway systems the railroads were the principle transportation of agricultural products and livestock; they also offered passenger service until the 1940s. The use of trucks to transport products to market increased in popularity, leading to the increased production of truck crops, such as spinach, sweet potatoes, cabbage, beans, turnips, tomatoes, Irish potatoes, and strawberries. Broom corn was one of Medina County's most lucrative cash crops in 1930s and 1940s. By 1945 farmers were producing broom and Indian corn on 42,774 acres, sorghum on 16,398 acres, oats on 14,549 acres, nuts (principally pecan) on 6,272 acres, and honey on sixty-seven farms. The honey produced from the numerous guajillo blossoms common to the southern regions of the county was reputed to be of excellent quality. More than half the farms (629 of 1,100) were operated by tenant farmers in 1945 (see FARM TENANCY). Prodigious ranching operations in the county sustained 61,304 cattle, 34,191 sheep, 26,182 goats, and 6,882 hogs and swine in 1950. Poultry farms the same year had 105,652 chickens. By 1982 Medina County was one of the most prolific producers of Spanish peanuts in southwest Texas; Devine was recognized as the largest shipping point. That year 84 percent of the county was used for farming or ranching, and 21 percent of the farmland was under cultivation. Crops grown included sorghum, corn, grasses, wheat, carrots, watermelons, and pecans. Cattle, sheep, and hogs were the principal livestock.
During the early decades of the twentieth century the population of Medina County fluctuated markedly. In 1910 the population was 13,415; in 1920 it fell to 11,679; and in 1930 it rebounded to 19,898. During the years of the Great Depression it fell again, and by 1940 it stood at 17,733. Throughout this period the Mexican population was significant, due to the lure of jobs in the cotton and corn fields, in railyards, at the lignite coal mines near Natalia, at the Medina Dam construction site, on ranches, and at the D'Hanis Brick and Tile Company and the Seco Pressed Brick Company around D'Hanis. Between 1900 and 1910 the number of Mexicans in the county jumped from 842 to 3,147 and represented almost one quarter of the county's citizenry. By 1930 Mexicans numbered 6,172. This trend, however, was dramatically reversed by the effects of the depression and by advances in agricultural mechanization, and by 1940 the number of Mexicans in the county dropped to 1,304 and represented less than 10 percent of the population.
During the 1920s and 1930s a number of roads were built or upgraded. In 1921 the Old San Antonio Road was graded and designated State Highway 2; later it was widened and improved to become U.S. Highway 81, which served as the main north-south route until Interstate 35 was completed in 1964. State Highway 3, completed in 1922, was improved through Castroville, Dunlay, Hondo, and D'Hanis; it was later designated U.S. Highway 90 and serves as the main east-west route. The opening of the Army Aviation Navigation School in Hondo in late summer of 1942, the largest of its kind in the world at the time, provided an economic boom for Hondo and the rest of the county. As many as 3,000 people were employed by the H. B. Zachry Company of San Antonio during air field construction; over 5,300 military personnel were stationed at the base by November 1942. In 1950 all the common school districts in the county consolidated into seven independent districts: Devine, D'Hanis, Hondo, Natalia, Castroville, LaCoste, and Yancey. In 1960 the LaCoste and Castroville school districts combined to form the Medina Valley Independent School District. In 1960, 14 percent of adults twenty-five years and older in Medina County had completed high school, and 3 percent had completed four years of college. In 1984 the Devine School District, organized in 1902, had 1,450 pupils and 106 teachers; both Spanish and English were taught. The D'Hanis School District, formed in 1909, had 250 pupils and 21 teachers. The Hondo School District, organized in 1883, had three campuses, Meyer Elementary, McDowell Junior High, and Hondo High School. The Hondo School District had 1,724 pupils and 111 teachers. The Medina Valley School District had four campuses split between Castroville and LaCoste for 1,700 pupils and 108 teachers. The Natalia Independent School District had three campuses for 725 students and 55 teachers.
Medina County industries with the most employment in 1982 were agribusiness, tourism, general construction, and the manufacture of plumbing fixtures and aircraft engines and their parts. Federal expenditures in the county in 1983 were $43,378,000, including $10,936,000 by the United States Department of Defense. After World War II the population of Medina County rose steadily, to 17,013 in 1950, 18,904 in 1960, 20,249 in 1970, 23,164 in 1980, and 27,312 in 1990. The largest minorities in 1990 were Hispanic (44.4 percent), Native American (0.4 percent), and African-American (0.3 percent). The largest community was Hondo with 6,018 residents. Other sizable towns included Devine (3,928), La Costa (1,021), Lytle (340 in Medina County, partly in Atascosa County), and Natalia (1,216).
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29