Timeline of Corpus Christi, Texas explained

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

Prior to 19th century

• 1519 - Spaniard Alonso Alvarez de Pineda travels to bay on day of religious Feast of Corpus Christi.

19th century

• 1821
  • Mexico gains independence from Spain
  • The Old Indian Trading Grounds become part of Mexico.
• 1828
  • Known as the Old Indian Trading Grounds.
  • Manuel de Mier y Terán toured through Mexico's province of Texas. Terán noted that some officials favored Corpus Christi as a port, referring to the area on the bay since there was no settlement called Corpus Christi at the time.^[1]
• 1829 - Traders are known to have landed on the coast on the Corpus Christi Bay. No civilization is apparent to traders.^[1]
• 1836
  • Texas gains independence from Mexico
  • The Old Indian Trading Grounds become part of the Republic of Texas although the area was claimed by both Texas and Mexico.
• 1839 - Henry Kinney sets up trading post (also known as "Kinney's Ranch").
• 1840
  • On January 17 the unrecognized country of the Republic of the Rio Grande claimed the area south of the Nueces River which included Kinney's Ranch.
  • On November 6 the Republic of the Rio Grande collapsed.
  • Possession of the area returns to the Republic of Texas while Mexico still claimed the area as its own.
• 1845
  • August: Kinney's Ranch becomes a major U.S. military outpost under command of Zachary Taylor.^[2]
  • December 29: Kinney's Ranch becomes part of the United States of America after annexation of the Republic of Texas.
• 1846
  • March: U.S. military troops depart.
  • Town becomes seat of newly created Nueces County.
• 1847 - Town renamed "Corpus Christi" ("something more definite for a postmark on letters.")
• 1852
  • September 9: Corpus Christi incorporated.
  • Residents elect city council and mayor, Benjamin F. Neal, who served from 1852 to 1855.^[3]
• 1860 - Population: 175.
• 1861 - Corpus Christi becomes part of the Confederate States of America.
• 1862 - August: Town besieged by U.S. forces.
• 1865 - Confederate States of America collapse and possession returns to the United States of America.
• 1870 - Population: 2,140.
• 1875 - Conflict between "local settlers and Mexicans."
• 1876 - A city charter was adopted.^[3]
• 1883 - Corpus Christi Caller newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1890 - Population: 4,387.

20th century

• 1910 - Population: 8,222.
• 1911 - Corpus Christi Times newspaper begins publication.
• 1912 - Roman Catholic Diocese of Corpus Christi established.^[5]
• 1914
  • County courthouse constructed.
  • August 1: Rotary Club of Corpus Christi chartered, the 125th club of Rotary International. Rotary was instrumental in the early development of Corpus Christi, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Port.
• 1919 - September: Hurricane occurs.
• 1926
  • September: Port of Corpus Christi opens.
  • Intracoastal Waterway opens.
• 1927 - Corpus Christi Public Library established.^[6]
• 1928 - Grande Theatre built.^[7]
• 1929
  • League of United Latin American Citizens founded.
  • Corpus Christi Caller-Times newspaper in publication.
• 1930
  • Oil discovered in vicinity of Corpus Christi.
  • Population: 27,741.
• 1935 - Del Mar College founded.
• 1937 - KRIS radio begins broadcasting.
• 1940
  • Beach Theater in business.
  • Population: 57,301.
• 1941
  • March 12: U.S. military Naval Air Station Corpus Christi commissioned.
  • "Sea wall" built.
• 1947 - University of Corpus Christi founded.
• 1950
  • North Padre Island Causeway opens.
  • Population: 108,287.
• 1951 - Osage Drive-In cinema in business.
• 1956 - KRIS-TV and KZTV (television) begin broadcasting.
• 1957
  • Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History established.^[8]
  • Astor Restaurant established
• 1959 - Harbor Bridge opens.
• 1960 - Corpus Christi International Airport opens.
• 1968
  • Frances Farenthold elected to Texas House of Representatives from the 45th district.^[9]
  • Padre Island National Seashore dedicated near city.
• 1970
  • August 3–4: Hurricane Celia occurs.^[10]
  • Population: 204,525.
• 1972 - Art Museum of South Texas established.
• 1980 - August: Hurricane Allen occurs.
• 1981 - Sunrise Mall in business.
• 1983
  • "Selena Quintanilla Pérez of Corpus Christi wins the Tejano Music Award."
  • Solomon Porfirio Ortiz becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 27th congressional district.^[11]
• 1985 - Port of Corpus Christi designated a foreign trade zone by U.S. Department of Commerce.
• 1989 - Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi active.
• 1990
  • Texas State Aquarium opens.^[12]
  • Greyhound Race Track in business.
• 1991 - USS Lexington Museum established.
• 1995 - March 31: Pop singer Selena shot and killed.^[13]
• 1998 - City website online.^{[14] [15]}
• 2000 - Population: 277,454.

21st century

• 2003 - Corpus Christi designated an All-America City.
• 2004 - December 24: Snowstorm occurs.
• 2007 - Senor Jaime's erected a 12 ft Rooster which is now a city monument.^[16]
• 2010
  • Only a Handful releases the Corpus Christi theme song "I'm from Corpus" ^[17]
  • Population: 305,215.^[18]
• 2011 - Blake Farenthold becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 27th congressional district.^[19]

See also

• History of Corpus Christi, Texas
• List of mayors of Corpus Christi, Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Nueces County, Texas
• Timelines of other cities in the South Texas area of Texas: Brownsville, Laredo, McAllen, San Antonio

Bibliography

• Book: Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory. 1890. . Detroit. Internet Archive. Corpus Christi. https://archive.org/stream/texasstategazett31rlpo#page/n623/mode/2up.
• Book: Mary A. Sutherland . Story of Corpus Christi . Daughters of the Confederacy, Corpus Christi Chapter . 1916 .
• Coleman McCampbell, Saga of a Frontier Seaport (Dallas: South-West, 1934)
  • • Coleman McCampbell, Texas Seaport: The Story of the Growth of Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend Area (New York: Exposition, 1952)
• Corpus Christi: 100 Years (Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 1952)
  • Dan E. Kilgore, "Corpus Christi: A Quarter Century of Development, 1900–1925," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 75 (April 1972).
• Dan Kilgore, Nueces County, Texas, 1750–1800: A Bicentennial Memoir (Corpus Christi: Friends of the Corpus Christi Museum, 1975)
• Bill Walraven, Corpus Christi: The History of a Texas Seaport (Woodland Hills, California, 1982)
• Eugenia Reynolds Briscoe, City by the Sea: A History of Corpus Christi, Texas, 1519–1875 (New York: Vantage, 1985)
• Book: Paul T. Hellmann. Historical Gazetteer of the United States. 2006. Taylor & Francis. 1-135-94859-3. Texas: Corpus Christi. .
• Book: Bruce A. Glasrud . etal . African Americans in Corpus Christi. 2012. Arcadia . Images of America . 978-0-7385-8528-4.
• Book: Alan Lessoff. Where Texas Meets the Sea: Corpus Christi and Its History. University of Texas Press. 978-0-292-77192-5 . 2015. .
• Book: David G. McComb . The City in Texas: a History. University of Texas Press. 978-0-292-76746-1 . 2015. Coastal Ports: Corpus Christi. 83+.

External links

• Web site: Corpus Christi, TX . Handbook of Texas Online . . Christopher Long .
• Web site: Local History Department . Corpus Christi Public Libraries .
• Items related to Corpus Christi, Texas, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)

Notes and References

1. Givens, Murphey. "City Built on Old Trading Grounds" Caller-Times. November 25, 2009. Web. January 16, 2015.
2. Book: Ernie Gross. This Day in American History. registration. 1990. Neal-Schuman . 978-1-55570-046-1.
3. Web site: City of Corpus Christi. Cctexas.com. May 19, 2015.
4. Web site: US Newspaper Directory . Washington DC . . Library of Congress . May 1, 2017 .
5. Web site: Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: USA . . Norway . May 1, 2017 .
6. Web site: Historical Timeline of CCPL . Corpus Christi Public Libraries . May 1, 2017 .
7. Web site: Movie Theaters in Corpus Christi, TX . CinemaTreasures.org . Cinema Treasures LLC . Los Angeles . May 1, 2017 .
8. Book: Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada . 2002 . 15th . 0759100020 . American Association for State and Local History . Texas . Rowman Altamira .
9. Web site: Timeline . Women in Texas History . Ruthe Winegarten Memorial Foundation for Texas Women's History . Austin . May 1, 2017 .
10. Web site: This Day in Weather History . . Aberdeen, South Dakota . May 1, 2017 .
11. Book: Official Congressional Directory . Washington, D.C. . Government Printing Office . 1983 . Texas . https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.31158007157232?urlappend=%3Bseq=224 . Official Congressional Directory . 1991/1992- : S. Pub. . 2027/uc1.31158007157232?urlappend=%3Bseq=224 .
12. Book: Vernon N. Kisling, Jr. . Zoo and Aquarium History. 2001. . USA . 978-1-4200-3924-5 . Zoological Gardens of the United States (chronological list) . 375+ .
13. Book: Cordelia Chávez Candelaria . Cordelia Candelaria . Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture . 2004 . Greenwood . 978-0-313-33210-4 .
14. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/19981203014829/http://www.ci.corpus-christi.tx.us/main_frame.html . City of Corpus Christi's Information and Services Directory . December 3, 1998 . dead . .
15. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20000824030840/http://officialcitysites.org/Texas/Cities/C/ . United States of America: Texas . dead . August 24, 2000 . Official City Sites . Kevin Hyde . Tamie Hyde . Utah . 40169021 .
16. Web site: Senor Jaime's Mexican Restaurant . . en . July 27, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120727011600/http://www.senorjaimes.com:80/ . 2023-05-18 .
17. Web site: I'm From Corpus . Only a Handful. . 21 July 2010 . Corpus Christi, TX . March 8, 2019 .
18. Web site: Corpus Christi city, Texas . QuickFacts . U.S. Census Bureau . May 1, 2017 .
19. Web site: Members of Congress . . Civic Impulse, LLC . Washington DC . May 1, 2017 .