Uvalde County was established in 1856

Texas originally formed the county from Bexar County on February 8, 1850, but not enough settlers lived there to organize it. The legislature officially established Uvalde County on February 2, 1856. The county seat was first called Encina, then renamed Uvalde on June 14, 1856.

The name honors Juan de Ugalde, a Spanish governor of Coahuila who defeated Apache forces near present-day Utopia in 1790. Reading W. Black, a merchant from New Jersey, moved to the area in 1852 and settled along the Leona River, helping develop the early town. Fort Inge, a U.S. Army post established in 1849 on the Leona River, helped bring settlers to the area before and after the county's founding.