In La Salle County, Cotulla is located north of Laredo halfway to San Antonio along I-35 and Hwy 97 on the banks of the Nueces River.
Cotulla developed a reputation as a rough place during its early years on the late 1800s. According to one story, railroad conductors announced the town by calling out,"Cotulla! Everybody get your guns ready."
In 1974 the mayor of Cotulla was of Mexican descent, as were several members of the town council and two-thirds of the population. Since Cotulla had no industry, however, many residents lived in the town only part-time and seasonally migrated north to look for work. In 1982 Cotulla had a population of 3,912 and seventy-four businesses. In 1990 the population of Cotulla was 3,694.