ST HEDWIG, Texas — Thursday marked a historic day in St. Hedwig, a small city in east Bexar County.
The city held its first jury trial.
St. Hedwig leaders say it's a sign of the growth happening all around them, and they're keeping up at their own pace.
"It's the second-largest city in Bexar County after the City of San Antonio, geographically," said St. Hedwig Mayor Dee Grimm. "We may be very large in size, but we're very small in population. Our population is only about 2,400."
St. Hedwig, located 18 miles east of San Antonio, is comprised of 32 square miles of agricultural land.
Early settlers, the majority of them arriving from Poland, were farmers and ranchers.
To this day, the city has maintained its rural character. The town remains the largest ranching and farm area in Bexar County.
"We have an ordinance that does not allow you to subdivide your property less than five acres. That's to help keep the developers at bay and to allow the agricultural environment out here to remain what it is," said Grimm. "We're very proud of our rural background, and of course everybody would like it to stay that way. But as you know, growth is always going to come to where you are."
With more people driving through St. Hedwig, leaders focused on safety improvements.
Roughly two years ago, the city created its police force: the City of St. Hedwig Marshal's Office. They now have one marshal, one lieutenant and one sergeant—all full-time employees.
St. Hedwig also added additional city staff, including a city manager and city secretary. Soon, the marshal's office and maintenance department will move into a new, bigger space in a building next to City Hall.
The extra space will be needed, as Grimm hopes to add a couple of new positions within the marshal's office.
Before the new additions, the city staff consisted of only a mayor, secretary and maintenance employee—all working part-time.
Once the process began to create the police force, it also opened the door for court services. Previously, court matters were handled through Bexar County.
"If you have a marshal's office, you need to have a court," Grimm explained.
Since then, she says the city's had court sessions. But on Thursday, July 25, 2024, their first jury trial was conducted inside St. Hedwig's City Council chambers.
Grimm presided as judge.
"Texas government code allows a city to have the mayor be the ex-officio judge, as opposed to having someone from the outside come in," said Grimm, who has a law degree.
The city has never had to sent out a jury summons before. Did any contact the city wondering if the notice they received was real?
"Yeah!" Grimm said, laughing. "We had a couple of people wondering if we were kidding. We said, 'No! We really have a court and we really have a trial coming up and we need you as jurors!'"
36 people showed up for jury duty Thursday, ready to play a role in the city's already rich history.
The City of St. Hedwig is only handling Class C misdemeanors, such as traffic and ordinance violations that can't be over a certain fine amount. Anything with a larger fine will still go through Bexar County.
Thursday's first trial in St. Hedwig handled a speeding ticket. The defendant was found not guilty.
As the city continues to grow, a new middle school is on the horizon in St. Hedwig. Grimm says there have also been conversations about starting a Founder's Day Parade.