Biohazard Cleanup Near Cuero Historic District Cuero, TX

Cuero is the county seat of DeWitt County in South Texas, a role it has held since 1876; the county was founded in 1846 and named for empresario Green DeWitt.

Cuero got its start as a way-station on the Chisholm Trail cattle route to Kansas — Gustav Schleicher founded the townsite in 1872, and it was officially founded in 1873.

Cuero's name is the Spanish word for "hide," a nod to the leather made from animal hides in the town's earliest days.

The first cattle drive on the Chisholm Trail originated at Cardwell's Flat, near present-day Cuero, on April 1, 1866.

Cuero bills itself as the "Turkey Capital of the World" — its turkey industry began large-scale operations in 1908, and growers once drove flocks of up to 20,000 turkeys down Main Street to the packing plant, just like a cattle drive.

Cuero's first Turkey Trot celebration was held in 1912, and the event grew into a three-day festival of parades, live entertainment, food booths, and street dances that still anchors the town's calendar.

Cuero had 8,128 residents in the 2020 census, with about 2,247 households and a large average household size of 2.90 people.

About 62% of Cuero's homes are owner-occupied, and the median value of an owner-occupied home is about $176,900.

Cuero sits near the mouth of Sandies Creek where it empties into the Guadalupe River, spread over about 4.9 square miles.

Cuero was named one of the "Coolest Small Towns in America" by Budget Travel magazine in 2010.