Jim Wells County Has Spanish-Era Roots Going Back to the 1750s

Spanish settlers started ranching in what is now Jim Wells County around 1754. They came as part of Spain's push to control South Texas. Indigenous peoples already lived in the region at that time.

Over the next century, control of the land shifted. Mexico gained independence from Spain. Then the Mexican-American War ended in 1848, and the area became part of the United States. Anglo ranchers moved in after the Civil War.

The first recorded American settlement was a town called Collins, founded around 1878. When the railroad was built nearby and bypassed Collins, people did something bold. They loaded their buildings onto train cars and moved them to the new rail stop. That spot became Alice, the county seat.

Jim Wells County was formed in 1911. Its history layers Spanish, Mexican, Tejano, and Anglo settlement one on top of another. That mix still shapes the culture of the county today.