Sabinal, Texas

Everything Sabinal is known for

3 songs mention this city 1 artist from here

Music in Sabinal

Songs About Sabinal

if you were mine
miranda labert & leon bridges
16%
all my ex's live in texas
george strait
10%
Heroes
Bri Bagwell
6%
"ol' Johnny Rodriguez"

Artists From Sabinal

J
Johnny Rodriguez
country Pop: 40

Rivers & Roads in Song near Sabinal

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Sabinal.

US Route 90 6 songs Frio River 8 songs Interstate 35 27 songs

History of Sabinal

Sabinal, TX RoadyGoat

Sabinal is a place where the Frio River cuts through the landscape, a constant reminder of nature’s power, especially after the Flood of '98. But even before that, the land shaped the people. The slightly cooler summers, thanks to our elevation, probably helped keep folks going through some tough times. Ranching and farming have always been the backbone here, and that kind of life breeds a certain grit, a certain down-to-earth quality you still see in folks today. And while Sabinal might be a quiet spot, it's sent some ripples out into the world.

Sabinal, TX RoadyGoat

Sabinal's story is etched into the land itself, from the cypress trees that give the town its name, their roots drinking deep from the Sabinal River, to the rolling hills that rise gently towards the north. Founded in 1856, it grew as a ranching and agricultural hub, a place where families built lives connected to the rhythm of the seasons. You can almost hear the echoes of those early days, imagining the stagecoaches rattling through, perhaps even the whispers of that legendary gold shipment buried somewhere nearby, a tale passed down through generations. The Frio River, with its famously clear waters, has always been central to life here, a source of sustenance and recreation. Of course, history isn't always gentle. Like any community, Sabinal has weathered its storms, both literal and figurative. The Flood of '98, for instance, left a mark on the landscape and the collective memory, a reminder of nature's power and the resilience of the people who call this place home. And while Sabinal might not boast of inventions or grand pronouncements, it has cultivated its own kind of legacy. Even the success of the high school football team, those Friday night lights shining bright, speaks to a deep-seated pride and sense of community that endures.

Sabinal, TX RoadyGoat

Sabinal's story is tied to the Sabinal River itself. Those cypress trees, the *sabinos* that gave the town its name, are a testament to the reliable water source. While other settlements in the area struggled with aridity, Sabinal could depend on the river. That consistent water made it a natural spot for ranching and farming, anchoring the community's economy early on. It's a quiet place, and that’s partly by design – folks came here to get away from something, to build a life connected to the land. Now, the Frio River gets all the attention, and rightfully so. It’s beautiful and clear. But the Sabinal, quietly flowing, is the lifeblood of this town. But if you ask the locals why people *stay*, they’ll tell you it’s the peace. It's the way the land remembers the flood of '98, a constant reminder of nature's power, and how the community came together afterward. It's a place where Friday night lights at the high school still mean something, and where the legacy of agriculture and ranching continues, shaped by the gentle flow of the Sabinal.

John M. Davenport

1827

(February 8, 1827 - October 28, 1859) Stock-raiser and captain of a company of volunteer Indian fighters. Killed near here by 30 Comanches. Inquest for him was first in area for Indian victim. Settlers and soldiers from Fort Inge trailed the band 200 miles. After battle, found Davenport's gun on one of the Indians. (1969)

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Camp Sabinal

1856

Established July 12, 1856 by Capt. Albert G. Brackett, Second U. S. Cavalry as a protection to the San Antonio - El Paso Road and frontier settlers. Occupied by Federal troops until November 1856, later served as a Ranger camp.

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Sabinal Christian College

1907

Sabinal Christian College was founded in 1907 on eight acres one mile east of Sabinal in Uvalde County by members of the Church of Christ, aided by citizens of Sabinal and the surrounding territory. J. F. Dunn, D. F. Nichols, and Monroe Fenley arranged for S. T. Hutchinson, a Sabinal contractor, to begin construction of the college. Hutchinson used red bricks from Laredo and lumber from two Sabinal lumberyards to construct the main college building, a two-story structure consisting of six classrooms and a 300-seat auditorium. The purpose of the founders was to provide Bible teaching and religious training in addition to the usual literary curriculum. Courses in Bible, business administration, music, and speech, as well as usual academic studies, were taught at primary, intermediate, high school, and academy levels. The college was supported by tuition fees and donations. Students were required to pay $3.50 a week for board; tuition costs ranged from fifty cents a week for primary schooling to a dollar a week for college courses. The plant consisted of an administration building, a dining hall, a girls' dormitory, two boys' dormitories, and a music hall. The first session opened on September 10, 1907; G. H. P. Showalter was president, and 139 pupils were enrolled. A smallpox epidemic was responsible for a reduced first-year session. The second session opened on September 1, 1908, with W. A. Schultz as president; the school had a faculty of six and an enrollment of 143. In the face of growing financial difficulties at the college, President Schultz retired. In May 1909 Isaac E. Tackett, formerly connected with Southwestern Christian College at Denton, became president. He served four years, and during his administration the college reached a peak enrollment of 200 and had a faculty of nine. While Tackett was there Sabinal College published a yearbook called The Mirage . J. Paul Slayden became president in May 1913 and remained two terms. J. O. Garrett, who succeeded to the presidency in 1915, also supervised the school for two sessions. The college received inadequate financial backing because of World War I , the depressed market for cotton, and crop failures resulting from drought; it was closed on May 15, 1917.

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Sabinal

1700

Named by Spanish for Rio Sabina and Cypress trees along river. Town founded in 1854 by Thomas B. Hammer who operated a stage shop and was first postmaster. Despite Indian depredations, town thrived as settlers built homes, and a railroad reached here in 1881. In 1906, town was incorporated. Telephone service started. City water works and volunteer fire department organized. In 1907, Sabinal Christian College was founded. Closed in 1917. Cotton industry was foremost in early 1900's. Today, farming and ranching flourishing in community. (1967)

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Knippa, TX

1880

Knippa, originally known as Chatfield, is on the Southern Pacific Railroad, U.S. Highway 90, and the Frio River, between Sabinal and Uvalde in southeastern Uvalde County. It was named for founder George Knippa, who moved his family to the site in the 1880s. Knippa had been a frequent visitor to the semiarid Frio River area of Uvalde County in the 1870s and early 1880s, a period of abundant rainfall in the area, and witnessed an open country of luxuriant grazing land traversed by spring-fed rivers. He moved his family from Fayette County to the railroad siding of Chatfield soon after the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway had extended its railroad line west from San Antonio to Uvalde. The period of abundant rainfall in the Frio River region ended with the drought of the early 1890s, dashing the hopes of many of the farming families who had followed Knippa to the area. Around 1900 the rains returned, and a new wave of settlers, mostly Germans, moved to Knippa. A post office was opened in 1898. On February 16, 1898, the Uvalde County Commissioners Court established School District No. 12 at Knippa and authorized a school building. In 1900 fourteen students attended the one-teacher school. A two-room school was built in 1907. A mine for traprock, an igneous rock used in road construction, was opened west of Knippa around 1905 and attracted Mexican laborers to the area. The traprock quarried at Knippa was used to ballast the Southern Pacific Railroad. Because the quarry was originally opened up as a gold mine, it was said that all of the railroad ballast contained a small amount of gold. Most of the original settlers in the community were Lutherans. A Lutheran church was built on land donated by George Knippa in 1910. Church services, directed by Rev. Gottlieb Langer, were conducted in German. At the beginning of World War I , however, the Uvalde Council of Defense prohibited the use of German. The community responded by taking the council to court, and the prohibition was eventually rescinded by the United States Supreme Court. By 1914 Knippa had a population of fifty, telephone connections, two cotton gins, two general stores, and two lumber companies. The St. Joseph's Church, a Catholic mission, was constructed in 1913 through the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Knippa. In 1915 a Baptist church was built in the community, with Reverend Rubottom as minister. A two-room school building was built in 1907. The school was moved to a brick structure in 1924 and was accredited in 1926. A small one-room school, constructed in 1927, served as a catechetical center and was the site of many Mexican-American social events. In 1929 Knippa had a estimated population of 400 and twelve businesses; by 1933 the population had dropped to an estimated 150. By the end of World War II and for the four succeeding decades the population was 325. In 1944 the Methodist, Baptist, and Church of Christ congregations were holding regular services at Knippa; the Church of Christ constructed a new building in 1948. Rev. Raymond Wolf, pastor of the Knippa Lutheran Church between 1957 and 1967, was selected Rural Minister of the Year for Texas in 1964. In 1990 St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, and the Church of Christ were active in Knippa. The population was 360, and the town had nine businesses. In 2000 the town had 739 inhabitants and nineteen businesses.

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Everything Near Sabinal

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