Hondo Became the County Seat After the Railroad Arrived in 1881

The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway reached the county in 1881, and the town of Hondo grew around it. Voters moved the county seat from Castroville to Hondo in an 1892 election. The courthouse was completed in 1893 on land that the railroad's president had donated years earlier.

Hondo is still the county seat today, with a population of around 9,000. During World War II, it hosted an Army Aviation Navigation School. The county courthouse and government offices are based in Hondo.