La Salle, Texas, La Salle County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

Settled with the arrival of the International Great Northern Railroad in 1881, it is said to have been founded by Jesse Laxton, the postmaster of Iuka, Texas. Laxton, who had advance warning of the railroad's expansion, platted his town in front of the railroad's advance. His dreams of becoming a town builder were larger than most. He wanted his town to be a county seat and knew of a state law that gave county seat preference for towns that shared the county's name.

In 1882, La Salle was designated temporary County Seat - and although county records were indeed transferred there, voters decided on Cotulla. But the point was moot since Cotulla was just across the railroad tracks. Cotulla - despite the fact that La Salle had built a jail and a (temporary) courthouse - became the county seat and eventually absorbed La Salle.

La Salle, Texas 1883 canceled postmark:

"La Salle - the temporary county seat just across the tracks from Cotulla to which lost the seat election in 1883 (that's why the post office shut down then). The first postmaster switched from La Salle to become the first postmaster at Cotulla. The person who wrote the letter used his stationery and scratched out the corner card. The La Salle PO was only in existence for slightly less than two years." - John J. Germann

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