History of Corpus Christi, Texas

Last updated

Map of Corpus Christi in 1887 Old map-Corpus Christi-1887.jpg
Map of Corpus Christi in 1887
Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1860 175
1870 2,1401,122.9%
1880 3,25752.2%
1890 4,38734.7%
1900 4,7037.2%
1910 8,22274.8%
1920 10,52228.0%
1930 27,741163.6%
1940 57,301106.6%
1950 108,28789.0%
1960 167,69054.9%
1970 204,52522.0%
1980 231,99913.4%
1990 257,45311.0%
2000 277,4547.8%
2010 307,95311.0%
2020 317,8523.2%
2022 (est.)316,239 [1] −0.5%

Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, [2] it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. [3] The population was 277,454 at the 2000 census; in 2006 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 285,175, [4] making it the eighth-largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the three-county Corpus Christi Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger Corpus Christi-Kingsville Combined Statistical Area. The translation from Latin of the city's name is Body of Christ, given to the settlement by the Spanish, in honor of the Blessed Sacrament (Eucharist). The city has been nicknamed The Sparkling City by the Sea, or "Corpitos" particularly in literature promoting tourism.

Contents

Before Corpus Christi was known as Kinney's Rancho or Kinney's Ranch it was on a site known as the Old Indian Trading Grounds where traders smuggled contraband goods to sell and trade in Mexico as early as 1829. [5]

Texas Revolution and Mexican–American War

Corpus Christi was founded in 1839 by Colonel Henry Lawrence Kinney as Kinney's Trading Post, or Kinney's Ranch, a small trading post to sell supplies to a Mexican revolutionary army camped about 25 miles west, just three years after Texas declared independence from Mexico. The post was located in the disputed territory south of the Nueces River. [6] [ unreliable source? ] In July 1845, U.S. troops under General Zachary Taylor set up camp there in preparation for war with Mexico, where they remained until March 1846, when they marched south to the Rio Grande to enforce it as the southern border of the United States. [7]

Civil War

On February 23, 1861, in a statewide vote on secession, the vote in Corpus Christi was 87 for secession and 40 against, which brought the total vote in Nueces County to 164 for and 42 against. There were many Union sympathizers in the city. Some originally came from the North and some were veterans of the Mexican War.

In the second week of August 1862, five Union warships under the command of Lt. J.W. Kittredge sailed into Corpus Christi Bay and bombarded the city. Stores and houses below the bluff made easy targets for Kittredge's guns. The bombardment did considerable damage to the town. Many of the residents had evacuated before the battle. After it was over, people began to return to town. The Confederates, provoked by the attack, then began to take revenge by plundering the homes and property of known Union supporters. [8]

Port of Corpus Christi

The port of Corpus Christi opened in 1925 after culminating efforts that began as early as 1848 to obtain a deep-water port. [6] The Port of Corpus Christi currently is the sixth largest U.S. port and deepest inshore port on the Gulf of Mexico, it handles mostly oil and agricultural products. In 2005 it was ranked as the 47th largest in the world by cargo tonnage.

Natural disasters

Hurricanes

Corpus Christi has been affected by many hurricanes and tropical storms.

Timeline

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Patricio County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

San Patricio County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 68,755. Its county seat is Sinton. San Patricio County is part of the Corpus Christi metropolitan statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nueces County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Nueces County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 353,178, making it the 16th-most populous county in the state. The county seat is Corpus Christi. The county was formed in 1846 from portions of San Patricio County and organized the following year. It is named for the Nueces River, which marks the county's northwestern boundary with San Patricio County before emptying into its mouth at Nueces Bay north of the port of Corpus Christi. Nueces County is part of the Corpus Christi metropolitan statistical area.

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Kingsville is a city in the southern region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Kleberg County. Located on the U.S. Route 77 corridor between Corpus Christi and Harlingen, Kingsville is the principal city of the Kingsville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Corpus Christi-Kingsville Combined Statistical Area. The population was 25,402 at the 2020 census, and in 2022 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population at 24,833.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corpus Christi, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. It is 130 miles (210 km) southeast of San Antonio and 208 miles (335 km) southwest of Houston. Its political boundaries encompass Nueces Bay and Corpus Christi Bay. Its zoned boundaries include small land parcels or water inlets of three neighboring counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Celia</span> Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 1970

Hurricane Celia was the costliest tropical cyclone in Texas history until Hurricane Alicia in 1983. The third named storm, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 1970 Atlantic hurricane season, Celia developed from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea on July 31. Initially, the depression tracked north-northwestward, crossing over western Cuba on August 1 and becoming Tropical Storm Celia. Heavy rains on the island caused severe flooding, leading to five fatalities. The storm entered the Gulf of Mexico, and due to the warm sea surface temperatures, Celia intensified into a hurricane later that day. Storm surge and swells lashed the west coast of Florida, especially the Panhandle, causing eight people to drown. On August 2 and early on August 3, Celia slightly weakened, however, the storm underwent rapid intensification and deepening, and peaked as a Category 4 hurricane at landfall with winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) later on August 3.

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South Texas is a geographic and cultural region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is more than 5 million according to the 2024 census estimates. The southern portion of this region is often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley. The eastern portion along the Gulf of Mexico is also referred to as the Coastal Bend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nueces Hotel</span> Luxury hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas

The Nueces Hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas, was a luxury hotel that also served the city as a center of social and political life during the early 20th century and was for years the largest building in Texas south of San Antonio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Bret</span> Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 1999

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corpus Christi Bay</span> Estuary bay on the Texas coast

Corpus Christi Bay is a scenic semi-tropical bay on the Texas coast found in San Patricio and Nueces counties, next to the major city of Corpus Christi. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Mustang Island, and is fed by the Nueces River and Oso Creek from its western and southern extensions, Nueces Bay and Oso Bay. The bay is located approximately 136 miles (219 km) south of San Antonio, and 179 miles (288 km) southwest of Houston.

Old Bayview Cemetery is a cemetery located on a small hill in downtown Corpus Christi, Texas, on Ramirez St. at Padre St., bordered by the I-37 access road. It is the oldest federal military cemetery in Texas. Owned by the City of Corpus Christi, it presently comprises three and a half acres as a Historic Texas Cemetery and a State Archaeological Landmark of the Texas Historical Commission. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nueces Bay</span> Bay in Texas, United States

Nueces Bay is a northwestern extension of Corpus Christi Bay in the San Patricio and Nueces Counties of Texas. The bay is fed by the Nueces River, forming a natural estuary, which renders it ecologically and economically vital to the surrounding area. It serves as a habitat for the propagation of fish and shellfish, which sustain diverse species of birds and other wildlife. The bay is threatened by pollution from the heavy industry on its southern shore, which prevents oyster farming. Petrochemical production and oil are important to the surrounding economies of the major settlements of Corpus Christi and Portland, found on the eastern shore and connected by the Nueces Bay Causeway at the bay's confluence with Corpus Christi Bay.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Kinney</span> American politician

Henry Lawrence Kinney was an American politician, military officer, and later filibuster known for founding what became the city of Corpus Christi, Texas. Born in Pennsylvania, Kinney moved to Texas in 1838 and settled near present-day Brownsville. He served in both houses of the Texas Legislature. He was killed in a gunfight in Mexico in 1862. Kinney County, Texas is named for him.

The Port of Corpus Christi is the third-largest port in the United States in total waterborne tonnage, largest crude oil export gateway in the nation, second in the United States in LNG exports and the third-largest gateway in the world for crude oil exports. The Port of Corpus Christi is located on Corpus Christi Bay in the western Gulf of Mexico, with a 36-mile channel that is being widened and deepened to 54 feet MLLW from its current depth of 45 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Meza Harrison</span> American politician

Rose Meza Harrison is a Democratic politician and Democratic nominee for U.S. Representative in the 27th Congressional District of Texas.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of the 1919 Florida Keys hurricane in Texas</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Hanna (2020)</span> Category 1 Atlantic hurricane

Hurricane Hanna was the first of a record-tying six Atlantic hurricanes to make landfall in the United States in one year. The eighth named storm and first hurricane of the extremely active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Hanna developed from a tropical wave originating near Hispaniola. This disturbance dropped heavy rain upon parts of Hispaniola, Cuba, and Florida. The wave gradually became more organized and developed into a tropical depression in the central portion of the Gulf of Mexico. The depression strengthened into a tropical storm on July 24, setting a new record for the earliest eighth-named storm in the basin, getting its name 10 calendar days before the previous record holder, Tropical Storm Harvey of 2005. Hanna steadily intensified as it drifted toward Southern Texas, becoming the season's first hurricane early on July 25. It then began to quickly strengthen just before making landfall at 22:00 UTC later that day as a high-end Category 1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (140 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 973 mbar. Hanna weakened quickly as it moved inland and turned west-southwest, eventually dissipating over Mexico on July 26.

References

  1. DataCommons.org in Corpus Christi https://datacommons.org/tools/visualization#visType%3Dtimeline%26place%3DgeoId%2F4817000%26sv%3D%7B%22dcid%22%3A%22Count_Person%22%7D=Population in Corpus Christi . Retrieved August 24, 2024.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. "Population Estimates Boundary Changes". www.census.gov. Archived from the original on February 6, 2006. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  4. Archived February 11, 2020, at archive.today
  5. Givens, Murphey. "City Built on Old Trading Grounds" Caller-Times. November 25, 2009. Web. January 16, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Archived March 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "City of Corpus Christi". Cctexas.com. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  8. "Town bitterly divided during the Civil War". Caller.com. Retrieved May 19, 2015.

Further reading