Wilson County moved its seat until Floresville finally held it

Texas created Wilson County on February 13, 1860, from land in Bexar and Karnes counties. The new county took the name of James Charles Wilson, a lawmaker and Mier Expedition veteran. Voters organized the county that August.

The hard part was choosing the seat. County government moved among early communities while residents argued over the center of local life. In 1873, an election settled the courthouse in Floresville.

The courthouse standing there came in 1884. Alfred Giles designed it, and local brick gave the building its place-specific color. The square made the county-seat choice visible in a way a boundary line never could.

Wilson County's origin story is therefore not just a date on a marker. It is a map still being worked out on the ground, until a vote, a square, and a brick courthouse fixed the center.