Kinney County, Texas

Kinney County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,598.[1] Its county seat is Brackettville.[2] The county was created in 1850 and later organized in 1874.[3] It is named for Henry Lawrence Kinney, an early settler.

For people named Kinney, see Kinney (disambiguation).
Kinney County
U.S. county
The Kinney County Courthouse was built in 1910 and is an example of Beaux Arts Classicism architecture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 29°21′N 100°25′W
Country United States
State Texas
Founded1874
Named forHenry Lawrence Kinney
SeatBrackettville
Largest cityBrackettville
Area
 • Total1,365 sq mi (3,540 km2)
 • Land1,360 sq mi (3,500 km2)
 • Water5.1 sq mi (13 km2)  0.4%%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total3,598
 • Density2.6/sq mi (1.0/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district23rd
Websitewww.co.kinney.tx.us

History

Native Americans

The first inhabitants were 6,000-10,000 years ago and later came to include Lipan Apache, Mescalero Apache, Coahuiltecan, Jumanos, Tamaulipans, Tonkawa, and Comanches. These tribes settled in rock shelters in the river and creek valleys, leaving behind artifacts and caches of seeds, implements, burial sites, and petroglyphs.[4][5]

Early explorations

Saltillo Alcalde Fernando de Azcué in 1665 passed through the southeast corner of the county on an expedition, becoming the first European to cross the Rio Grande.[6] Franciscan Brother Manuel de la Cruz explored the county in 1674. In 1675, Fernando del Bosque traversed the area on an expedition up the Rio Grande from the city of Nuestra Sra. de Guadalupe. He was accompanied by the Franciscan Friars Juan Larios and Dionisio de San Buenaventura.[7] Alonso De León in 1688 discovered French explorer and La Salle expedition deserter Jean Henri in a somewhat confused state of mind, among the Coahuiltecan Indians near the site of present Brackettville, generally believed to be at Anacacho Mountain.[8] During the latter eighteenth century, several Franciscans established a settlement on Las Moras Creek near the center of the county.[9] In 1834, while the area was still under Mexican control, English land speculators John Charles Beales and James Grant attempted to establish an English-speaking colony called Dolores at the site. Streets were laid off and 59 colonists were brought in, but the project was abandoned.[10]

County established

The state legislature formed Kinney County from Bexar County in 1850, five years after Texas statehood, and named it for Henry Lawrence Kinney.[5] The United States Army established Fort Clark in June 1852 on Las Moras Creek, and named it after John B. Clark, who had died in the Mexican War.[11] Brackettville was founded in 1852 originally as the town of Brackett and named for Oscar B. Brackett, who came to set up a stage stop and opened the town's first dry-goods store. Brackett became a stop on a stage line from San Antonio to El Paso, but the settlement grew very slowly because of continuous Indian attacks. The town received its first post office in 1875.[12] On February 18, 1861, on orders from United States Army General David E. Twiggs, Fort Clark was surrendered to the Texas Commission. Twiggs was dismissed by the United States for the act, and subsequently joined the Confederacy. The fort was evacuated by federal troops on March 19 and occupied by Confederate troops under the command of Confederate Colonel John R. Baylor. It remained in the hands of the Confederates until the end of the war, but was not garrisoned. In December 1866, it was reestablished as a federal fort.[13]

Black Seminoles

In early 1872, a number of Black Seminole Indians living along the border were organized into a company of scouts and brought to Fort Clark. Others joined them, and by the mid-1870s, they numbered some 400 or 500. For the next quarter century, they lived on a reservation along Las Moras Creek. In 1914, the Black Seminoles were removed from the Fort Clark reservation, but some of their descendants still live in the county. The Seminole Indian Scouts cemetery was founded on Fort Clark in 1872.[14][15]

County organization and growth

The county was organized in 1874. County government followed in 1875. In 1876, Brackettville was designated county seat after the final boundaries of the county were set by the legislature.[12] In 1870, the county had 14,846 cattle, and large numbers of cattle were driven north during the great drives of the middle 1870s. By 1880, sheep outnumbered cattle 55,597 to 7,966, and Kinney County became an important source of wool.[5] The construction of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway (later part of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and today part of the Union Pacific Railroad)[16] through Spofford in 1883 gave the wool and mohair industry access to markets. At the same time it also helped to bring in numerous new settlers. In 1925, a branch line of the Texas and New Orleans Railroad was built from near Spofford to connect with the Mexican National Railroad at the Rio Grande.[17] A large Civilian Conservation Corps camp constructed adjacent to Fort Clark helped to employ some people during the Great Depression. With the onset of World War II, wool and mohair were in demand for the defense industries. Fort Clark was closed in 1946.[5]

James T. “Happy” Shahan constructed Alamo Village on his ranch near Brackettville during the late 1950s, for filming of the 1960 John Wayne epic The Alamo. Preserved as a tourist attraction, Alamo Village continued to serve as a set for hundreds of movies and documentaries. In 1969, Happy Shahan hired 18-year-old Johnny Rodriguez to sing at Alamo Village, an opportunity that rocketed Rodriguez to stardom.[18] Kickapoo Cavern State Park, 6,400 acres (26 km2) in both Edwards and Kinney Counties, opened to the public in 1991. It was formerly a private ranch.[19] The Kinney County Groundwater Conservation District was approved by the voters in 2002.[20]

The 1958-59 syndicated Western television series Mackenzie's Raiders, starring Richard Carlson as Colonel Ranald Mackenzie, is set at the former Fort Clark in Kinney County. Mackenzie was stationed at Fort Clark during much of the 1870s, the time frame of the fictional series.[21]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,365 sq mi (3,540 km2), of which 1,360 sq mi (3,500 km2) are land and 5.1 square miles (13 km2) (0.4%) are covered by water.[22] The county is separated from Mexico by the Rio Grande, and drained by numerous small tributaries of that river.[23]

Major highways

Adjacent counties and municipios

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
186061—
18701,2041,873.8%
18804,487272.7%
18903,781−15.7%
19002,447−35.3%
19103,40139.0%
19203,74610.1%
19303,9806.2%
19404,53313.9%
19502,668−41.1%
19602,452−8.1%
19702,006−18.2%
19802,27913.6%
19903,11936.9%
20003,3798.3%
20103,5986.5%
2019 (est.)3,667[24]1.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[25]
1850–2010[26] 2010–2014[1]

As of the census[27] of 2000, 3,379 people, 1,314 households, and 940 families resided in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile (1/km2). The 1,907 housing units averaged per square mile (1/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 75.82% White, 1.69% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 18.61% from other races, and 3.43% from two or more races. About 50.52% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 1,314 households, 27.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.80% were married couples living together, 6.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.40% were not families. About 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the county, the population was distributed as 25.70% under the age of 18, 5.30% from 18 to 24, 21.50% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 24.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,320, and for a family was $32,045. Males had a median income of $26,422 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,350. About 19.20% of families and 24.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.00% of those under age 18 and 16.10% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

Politics
Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[28]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2020 71.4% 1,144 27.8% 446 0.8% 13
2016 65.5% 936 32.0% 458 2.5% 36
2012 61.8% 880 36.6% 522 1.6% 23
2008 58.5% 907 40.8% 633 0.7% 11
2004 65.7% 1,051 33.9% 542 0.4% 7
2000 64.5% 932 33.7% 486 1.8% 26
1996 51.8% 650 40.1% 503 8.2% 103
1992 41.2% 634 38.9% 598 20.0% 307
1988 53.2% 771 46.1% 669 0.7% 10
1984 61.3% 774 38.5% 486 0.2% 3
1980 51.9% 543 45.1% 472 3.0% 31
1976 37.7% 318 61.2% 516 1.1% 9
1972 64.4% 425 35.5% 234 0.2% 1
1968 33.1% 198 55.6% 333 11.4% 68
1964 26.1% 155 73.9% 439
1960 37.1% 211 62.9% 358
1956 55.8% 368 43.8% 289 0.5% 3
1952 55.7% 384 44.4% 306
1948 30.4% 175 64.4% 370 5.2% 30
1944 33.2% 200 66.6% 401 0.2% 1
1940 27.0% 156 72.4% 418 0.5% 3
1936 32.9% 175 67.1% 357
1932 11.6% 89 88.3% 678 0.1% 1
1928 47.6% 182 52.4% 200
1924 50.2% 158 45.7% 144 4.1% 13
1920 55.5% 137 39.7% 98 4.9% 12
1916 45.5% 201 52.7% 233 1.8% 8
1912 34.8% 97 27.2% 76 38.0% 106[lower-alpha 1]

See also

Notes
  1. The leading "other" candidate, Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, received 91 votes, while Socialist candidate Eugene Debs received 14 votes, and Prohibition candidate Eugene Chafin received 1 vote.

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. "Texas: Individual County Chronologies". Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  4. "Mescalero Apache History and Culture". Mescalero Apache Telecom, Inc. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  5. Long, Christopher. "Kinney County, Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  6. Chipman, Donald E. "Fernando de Azcue". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  7. Chipman, Donald E. "Fernando del Bosque". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  8. Chipman, Donald E. "Alonso De León". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  9. "Las Moras Creek". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  10. Riser, Carl Coke. "Beale's Rio Grande Community". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  11. Hudnall, Ken and Sharon (2005). Spirits of the Border V: The History and Mystery of the Lone Star State. Omega Press. pp. 266–267. ISBN 978-0-9626087-9-7.
  12. "Brackettville, Texas". Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  13. David E Twiggs at Find a Grave
  14. Eckhardt, C F. "Lt. John Lapham Bullis and the Seminole Negro Scouts". Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  15. Harvey, Bill (2003). Texas Cemeteries: The Resting Places of Famous, Infamous, and Just Plain Interesting Texans. University of Texas Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-292-73466-1.
  16. Orsi, Richard J (2005). Sunset Limited: The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Development of the American West, 1850-1930. University of California Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-520-20019-7.
  17. "Spofford, Texas". Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  18. Haenn, Bill and William F (2002). "Filming The Alamo and Creation of Alamo Village". Fort Clark and Brackettville: Land of Heroes. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 115–129. ISBN 978-0-7385-2063-6.
  19. "Kickapoo Cavern State Park". Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. Archived from the original on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  20. Schreiber, Colleen (2 March 2004). "Kinney County Another Field Of Battle In Texas Water War". Livestock Weekly.
  21. Billy Hathorn, "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967", West Texas Historical Review, Vol. 89 (2013), p. 112
  22. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  23. Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879). "Kinney" . The American Cyclopædia.
  24. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  25. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  26. "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  27. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  28. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-07-26.

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