Live Oak County Communities

Live Oak County is a timeless frontier. The heart of the Brush Country pulses through the veins of Live Oak County. This section of the website will focus on the marvelous people and their communities in the county. We begin with Ray Point because the state and county are working together to preserve one of the few truss bridges still in existence today. The bridge has already received appropriate lead removal treatment and will be moved when finally prepared to Kopplin Park in Three Rivers.

In the early 1800's, unsuccessful colonization of Coahuila y Tejas in the northern regions of Mexico led to the Mexican government's acceptance of American and Irish colonization. Moses Austin brought in the First 300 colonists. Among a later wave of Irish were Empresarios James McGloin and John McMullen who agreed to bring 200 Irish Catholic families to what became the San Patricio Colony. From this colony, came a number of later state of Texas counties. The county of Live Oak was one established in 1856 after Texas had won its independence. 

Few communities existed in the distant land, later Live Oak County, before ratification of  county status by the state on February 2, 1856. These were: Fox Nation which became Gussettville before county ratification, Lagarto, and On the Sulphur which became Oakville just before ratification. Apparently when Live Oak County was ratified by the state, many more settlers chose to come to the area. Numerous other communities sprang up. Few of them lasted as anything more than a small community after the coming of the San Antonio, Uvalde, and Gulf Railroad. George West and Three Rivers are now the only incorporated towns in the county. 

In this large landed county consisting primarily of farms and ranches, these two towns have populations nearing 2,000 each since about the 1950s. Yet, the county is near 12,000.

Here you can read about the small communities that became home to many who loved and whose descendants and many newcomers still love Live Oak County.