Kinney County, Texas
Encyclopedia
Kinney County is a county located in the U.S. state
of Texas
. In 2000, its population was 3,379. Its seat
is Brackettville
. Kinney County is named for Henry Lawrence Kinney, an early settler.
, the county has a total area of 1365 square miles (3,535.3 km²), of which 1363 square miles (3,530.2 km²) is land and 2 square miles (5.2 km²) (0.14%) is water.
of 2000, there were 3,379 people, 1,314 households, and 940 families residing in the county. The population density
was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 1,907 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 75.82% White
, 1.69% Black
or African American
, 0.33% Native American
, 0.12% Asian
, 18.61% from other races
, and 3.43% from two or more races. 50.52% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 1,314 households out of which 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 non-families. 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 spread out with 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 the median income 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.
, Coahuiltecan
, Jumanos
, Tamaulipans, Tonkawa
and Comanches. These tribes settled in rockshelters in the river and creek valleys, leaving behind artifacts and caches of seeds, implements, burial sites, and petroglyphs
.
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
. 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. 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. During the latter eighteenth century, several Franciscans established a settlement on Las Moras Creek near the center of the county. In 1834, 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 fifty-nine colonists were brought in, but the project was abandoned.
in 1850 and named it for Henry Lawrence Kinney. 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. 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. 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.
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.
was built from near Spofford
to connect with the Mexican National Railroad
at the Rio Grande. 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. James T. “Happy” Shahan constructed Alamo Village
on his ranch near Bracketville 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. Kickapoo Cavern State Park, 6400 acres (25.9 km²) in both Edwards and Kinney County, opened to the public in 1991. Formerly a private ranch. The Kinney County Groundwater Conservation District was approved by the voters in 2002.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. In 2000, its population was 3,379. Its seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
is Brackettville
Brackettville, Texas
Brackettville is a city in Kinney County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,876 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kinney County...
. Kinney County is named for Henry Lawrence Kinney, an early settler.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the county has a total area of 1365 square miles (3,535.3 km²), of which 1363 square miles (3,530.2 km²) is land and 2 square miles (5.2 km²) (0.14%) is water.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 90
State Highway 134
Adjacent counties and municipios
- Edwards County (north)
- Uvalde CountyUvalde County, TexasUvalde County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 25,926. Its county seat is Uvalde. The county is named for Juan de Ugalde, the Spanish governor of Coahuila. Uvalde County was founded by Reading Wood Black who also founded the city of Uvalde,...
(east) - Maverick CountyMaverick County, TexasMaverick County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 47,297. Its county seat is Eagle Pass. Maverick County is named for Samuel Maverick, cattleman and state legislator....
(south) - Val Verde CountyVal Verde County, TexasVal Verde County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2008, estimated population was 55,000. Its county seat is Del Rio. In 1936, Val Verde County received Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 5625 to commemorate its founding.Val Verde, which means "green...
(west) - Jiménez, Coahuila, MexicoJiménez (municipality of Coahuila)Jiménez is a one of the 38 municipalities of Coahuila, in north-eastern Mexico. The municipal seat lies at Jiménez. The municipality covers an area of 3040.9 km² and is located on the international border between Mexico and the USA, here formed by the Río Bravo del Norte , adjacent to the U.S...
(southwest)
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 3,379 people, 1,314 households, and 940 families residing in the county. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 1,907 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 75.82% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 1.69% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.33% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.12% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 18.61% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 3.43% from two or more races. 50.52% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 1,314 households out of which 27.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.80% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 6.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.40% were non-families. 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 spread out with 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 the median income for a family was $32,045. Males had a median income of $26,422 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
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.
Native Americans
First inhabitants were 6,000-10,000 years ago and later came to include Lipan Apache, Mescalaro ApacheMescalero
Mescalero is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation in southcentral New Mexico...
, Coahuiltecan
Coahuiltecan
Coahuiltecan or Paikawa was a proposed language family in John Wesley Powell's 1891 classification of Native American languages that consisted of Coahuilteco and Cotoname. The proposal was expanded to include Comecrudo, Karankawa, and Tonkawa...
, Jumanos
Suma-Jumano
The Suma and the Jumano were people in western Sonora and Trans-Pecos region of western Texas. The Suma was the western division and the Jumano were the eastern division.-History:...
, Tamaulipans, Tonkawa
Tonkawa
The Tickanwa•tic Tribe , better known as the Tonkawa , are a Native American people indigenous to present-day Oklahoma and Texas. They once spoke the now-extinct Tonkawa language believed to have been a language isolate not related to any other indigenous tongues...
and Comanches. These tribes settled in rockshelters in the river and creek valleys, leaving behind artifacts and caches of seeds, implements, burial sites, and petroglyphs
Rock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
.
Early explorations
SaltilloSaltillo
Saltillo is the capital city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. The city is located about 400 km south of the U.S. state of Texas, and 90 km west of Monterrey, Nuevo León....
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
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
. Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
Brother Manuel de la Cruz
Manuel de la Cruz
Manuel de la Cruz, a Spanish painter, was born at Madrid in 1750, and died in the same city in 1792. He distinguished himself by his pictures in the cathedral of Carthagena and in the monastery of San Francisco el Grande at Madrid...
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
Monclova
On the other hand, temperatures during late spring and summer can have bouts of extreme heat, with evenings above 40°C for many consecutive days. In recent decades the hottest records have climbed as high as 43°C on July 13, 2005 and 45°C on May 4, 1984. However nighttime low temperatures are...
. He was accompanied by the Franciscan Friars Juan Larios and Dionisio de San Buenaventura. Alonso De León
Alonso De León
Alonso de León wasexplorer and governor, who led several expeditions into the area that is now northeastern Mexico and southern Texas.-Early life:...
in 1688 discovered French explorer and La Salle expedition deserter Jean Henri
Jean Gery
Jean Gery was a French explorer and a deserter from the La Salle expedition of 1685. After leaving the expedition, Gery became chief of a group of Coahuiltecan Indians, claiming that he had been sent by God to rule over them...
in a somewhat confused state of mind, among the Coahuiltecan Indians near the site of present Brackettville
Brackettville, Texas
Brackettville is a city in Kinney County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,876 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kinney County...
, generally believed to be at Anacacho Mountain. During the latter eighteenth century, several Franciscans established a settlement on Las Moras Creek near the center of the county. In 1834, 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 fifty-nine colonists were brought in, but the project was abandoned.
County Established
The state legislature formed Kinney County from Bexar CountyBexar County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,392,931 people, 488,942 households, and 345,681 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,117 people per square mile . There were 521,359 housing units at an average density of 418 per square mile...
in 1850 and named it for Henry Lawrence Kinney. 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. 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. On February 18, 1861, on orders from United States Army General David E. Twiggs
David E. Twiggs
David Emanuel Twiggs was a United States soldier during the War of 1812 and Mexican-American War and a general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
, 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
John Baylor
John Robert Baylor was a politician in Texas and a military officer of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
. 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.
Black Seminoles
In the early 1872 a number of Black Seminole IndiansBlack Seminoles
The Black Seminoles is a term used by modern historians for the descendants of free blacks and some runaway slaves , mostly Gullahs who escaped from coastal South Carolina and Georgia rice plantations into the Spanish Florida wilderness beginning as early as the late 17th century...
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.
County Organized and Growth
The county was organized in 1874. 1875 saw the first county government in place. In 1876 Brackettville was designated county seat after the final boundaries of the county were set by the legislature. In 1870 the county had 14,846 cattle, and large numbers of cattle were driven north during the great drives of the middle 1870s. By1880 sheep outnumbered cattle 55,597 to 7,966, and Kinney County became an important source of wool. The construction of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway 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 RailroadTexas and New Orleans Railroad
The Texas and New Orleans Railroad is a former railroad in Texas and Louisiana. At one point the company was the largest railroad in Texas, with of trackage in 1934, but by 1961 there were only remaining when it was merged with parent company Southern Pacific....
was built from near Spofford
to connect with the Mexican National Railroad
National Railroad of Mexico
The National Railroad of Mexico was one of the primary pre-nationalization railways of Mexico. Incorporated in Colorado in 1880 as the Mexican National Railway , and headed by General William Jackson Palmer of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway, it completed a narrow gauge main line from Mexico...
at the Rio Grande. A large Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
camp constructed adjacent to Fort Clark helped to employ some people during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. With the onset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
wool and mohair were in demand for the defense industries. Fort Clark was closed in 1946. James T. “Happy” Shahan constructed Alamo Village
Alamo Village
Alamo Village is a movie set and tourist attraction north of Brackettville, Texas, United States. It was the first movie location built in Texas, originally constructed for and best known as the setting for The Alamo , directed by John Wayne and starring Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey and...
on his ranch near Bracketville during the late 1950s, for filming of the 1960 John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
epic The Alamo
The Alamo (1960 film)
The Alamo is a 1960 American historical epic released by United Artists. The film was directed by John Wayne, who also starred as Davy Crockett. The cast also includes Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie and Laurence Harvey as William B...
. 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
Johnny Rodriguez
Johnny Rodriguez is an American country music singer. He was the first famous Latin American country music singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and even singing verses of songs in Spanish....
to sing at Alamo Village, an opportunity that rocketed Rodriguez to stardom. Kickapoo Cavern State Park, 6400 acres (25.9 km²) in both Edwards and Kinney County, opened to the public in 1991. Formerly a private ranch. The Kinney County Groundwater Conservation District was approved by the voters in 2002.
Cities and towns
- BrackettvilleBrackettville, TexasBrackettville is a city in Kinney County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,876 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kinney County...
- SpoffordSpofford, TexasSpofford is a city in Kinney County, Texas, United States. The population was 75 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Spofford is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
- Fort Clark Springs
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Kinney County, Texas