Atascosa County is south of San Antonio on Interstate Highway 37 in south central Texas. Jourdanton, the county seat, is located on state highways 16 and 97 in central Atascosa County thirty-three miles south of San Antonio and 100 miles northwest of Corpus Christi.
Atascosa County was legally organized by an act of the Sixth Legislature of the State of Texas on January 25th, 1856. As early as 1722 El Camino Real (The King's Highway) from the Rio Grande to San Antonio passed near present-day Pleasanton. The Spanish word Atascosa, denoting boggy ground that hindered travel, gave the region its name. The County was created in 1856 from land formerly in Bexar County. Jose Antonio Navarro, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence whose 1831 claim was the first grant recorded in area, gave land in 1857 for the first county Seat, Navatasco, named in honor of Navarro. Because of Indian problems, it became necessary to move the county seat. In 1858, with a majority of 98 votes, a site was selected on John Bowen's place near the confluence of Bonita Creek and the Atascosa River.
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