In this county, the first European settlement in Texas, Fort St. Louis, was built by the French explorer La Salle in 1685. Between 1722 and 1726, a Spanish presidio and the Mission of Espiritu Santo were established. Colonists under Martin de Leon settled the area in 1824 and named their capital, later the county seat, Victoria. The county, created March 17, 1836, took its name from that capital.