Kerr County, Texas
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History/Timeline
Kerr County was formed 1856 from Bexar County; organized the same year. It is named for a member of Austin’s Colony, James Kerr.[1]
- 10,000 years ago indian inhabitants were present, as archeological artifects have been found near the Guadalupe River. Many Settlers followed the River.[2]
- 8000 BC, the early Native American inhabitants arrived in the area, and successive groups followed. Europeans encountered Kiowa, Comanche, and Lipan Apache, who hunted in the region.[3]
- 1689 - Alonso De Leon explored the hill country and found river lined with giant cypress trees, walnut and pecan trees. There were streams tumbling over rocks, other areas it was deep and still. The river had worn through layers of limestone. He gave it a name of “Our Lady of Guadalupe.” [2]
- 1842 - Fisher Miller grant of 3,000,000 acres for 600 families tried to sell to the Adelsverein of Germany for emigration. [3]
- 1844 Henry Francis Fisher sold his interest to the Adelsverein. Prince Carl of Solms came to inspect Texas, and determined Fisher Miller was too far from the coast line. (West Texas)
- 1845, Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels secured the title to 1,265 acres of the Veramendi grant, including the Comal Springs and River, for the Adelsverein. This would be good water, wood for houses, and access for the thousands of German immigrants. [3]
- 1846 The German immigrants were stranded at Indianaola on Matagorda Bay with no food or shelter. The teamsters who had been hired by the Adelversein to transport the German settlers were offered more money to haul army supplies and army during the Mexican American War, thus abandoned the promise they had made to the Adelversein. The German immigrants had to dig holes in the sand for protection. Estimated 50% died from disease or starvation. The teamsters who were hired to move the settlers inland had abandoned the job.. See Johann Adam .
- 1844 - Joshua D Brownlived in Gonzales, and was interested in making shingles from the plentiful cypress trees near the Guadalupe River.. In some areas the cypress were less plentiful. He led 10 men to Guadalupe River from Gonzales. They set up a shingle making camp near Kerrville, but Indians drove them away.[3] [2]
- 1846-48 Joshua D Brown returned, they found a spring located near the 900 block of Water Street, Kerrville with plenty of the cypress trees. They named this Brownsborough. Other settlers also established sawmills near the river and streams. More settlers came They set up sawmills and farms. Indian raids increased.[2]
- May 14–15, 1854 -The Texas State Convention of Germans met in San Antonio. They adopted a political, social, and religious platform. [3]
- 1) Equal pay for equal work,
- 2) Direct election of the President of the United States,
- 3) Abolition of capital punishment,
- 4) “Slavery - abolition of which is a requirement of democratic principles..”,
- 5) Free schools – supported by the state, without religious influence,
- 6) Total separation of church and state.
- July 8, 1855 US Army established a post called Camp Verde located in southern Kerr Co.[3] Experimented with camels for transportation. The camp provided protection for settlers.
- Settlers continued to be plagued by Indian attacks for 20 years [3]
- Jan 26, 1856 Kerr County was formed from Bexar Land District Number 2. [2]
- 1856 Brownsborough name was changed to Kerrville, and was made county seat.
- Joshua Brown donated the land that became Kerrville, and had it named for his friend James Kerr. Kerrville was named the county seat.[3]
- 1857 - Christian Dietert, German master miller named Christian Dietert and millwright Bathasar Lich started a large grist and saw mill located near to the Guadalupe River. Because the mill's location was high, it was protected from floods. This became a permanent source of power (the river). This mill and the power soon became the most important business of its kind west of New Braunfels and San Antonio.[2]
- 1853 -57 The U.S. Camel Corps, headquartered at Camp Verde, was the brainchild of United States Secretary of War (1853–57), Jefferson Davis.[3] The soldiers in charge of maintaining the animals had difficulty with control and the smell. After the Civil War the Camel Corps were discontinued due to the costliness of the animals and the maintenance and upkeep.. Camp Verde closed. Camp Verde burned by 1910. The Officer's quarters are all that remains.[2]
- 1859 -Center Point was established
- 1860- Due to colntinuing trouble with Indians Kerr residents moved county seat to Comfort as it was establislhed.[3]
- 1860-1861, the county population was 634, including 49 slaves. (One planter owned 21 slaves, and remainder were owned by others) . [3][2]
- 1861-65 - Civil War- Kerr County voted 76 to 57 for Secession, due to the large amount of German settlers who were opposed to leaving the union. This divided the county. [2] [3]
- 1861 Secession divided the county - Kerr county voted 76 to 57 for Secession. This is due to the German settlers who were opposed to leaving Union. [3]
- 1862 Comfort became part of Kendall county, Kerr county residents moved county seat back to Kerrville.
- The Sons of Hermann lodge, for descendents of German heritage, was established in the county.
- Immigrants moved from Fredericksburg. Cattle and sheep ranching was dominant[3]
- Unionists from Gillespie, and Kendall Counties formed the Union League, a secret organization to support President Lincoln’s policies.
- July, 1862 - Kerr and other counties declared in rebellion against state of Texas and Confederate forces ordered to suppress the rebellion.[3]Unionists from Kerr, Gillespie, and Kendall Counties had formed Union League, to support President Lincoln’s policies.
- Men from the county served in the war on both sides.
- 1863 -Confederate authorities imposed martial law on Central Texas.
- Aug 10, 1866 Monument- "The Treue der Union Monument" ("Loyalty to the Union") in Comfort was dedicated to the Texans slain at the Nueces massacre. It is the only monument to the Union outside of the National Cemeteries on Confederate territory. This is 1 of 6 sites allowed to fly the United States flag at half-mast in perpetuity.
- The disagreement over secession, the Treue der Union Monument, and others caused bitterness which attributed to the problems with the county economy recovering following the war.
- Windmills and barbed wire were introduced.
- 1870 -Sheep ranching was the highest producing unit of ranching
- 1880 the both Sheep and cattle ranching dominated
- 1880 Y O Ranch (600,000 acres ) was founded by Charles Armand Schreiner. He was in the Civil War, later was Texas Ranger, then banking. [3]Charles Schreiner had one of the largest and most lucrative country stores in the state. He was involved in the General Store, the Ranch, sheep raising, and banking and philanthropy by establishing The Schreiner Institure, now called Schreiner College. He could be described as the man who was a large presence in the formation of Kerr County and Kerrville.
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| Here's an image. |
- 1887, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway was built through Kerrville.
- 1880's and 1890's -Real, Doebbler, Karger, Heinen, Schwethelm, Starkey, Reese, Lackey and Auld families established successful sheep, cattle and goat ranches in the area. Cattle drives punctuated the boom years of the late 1880s and 1890s.[2]
- 1900 - agriculture was cattle, sheep, and goat ranching
- 1920 - continued growth of population .[3]
- 1917-1923 the Schreiner Institute was established in Kerrville, now Schreiner University, private.
- 1919 - The American Legion of Texas begin Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Kerrville.
- 1929 - Mooney Aircraft was established in 1929 in Kerrville.
- 1930 - Kerrville was begun to be called the "Mohair Capital of the World" in 1930.
- 1949 - The Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital was completed.
- 1951 -Kerrville State Hospital opened.
Government Offices
Kerr county has had five (5) courthouses.[5]
1) 1856 Kerrville 1856 - no picture.[5]
2) 1861 - courthouse in Comfort, Texas when the county seat was moved to Comfort due to the Indian problems- no picture[5]
3)1876 courthouse in Kerrville, Texas - This courthouse became the jail for Kerrville after the 1886 Courthouse was built.[5]
4) 1886 Courthouse in Kerrville. (the image is prettiest) - Photographer's Note: The 1886 Kerr County courthouse was designed by noted Texas courthouse architect Alfred Giles. :AFTER completion of the 1886 courthouse, the former 1876 courthouse was turned into the county jail. by Terry Jeanson.[5]
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| 1886 Kerr county courthouse in Kerrville. |
5) 1926 - KERRVILLETHE MOST RECENT
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| Kerr County courthouse |
Joshua Brown donated the land that became Kerrville, and had it named for his friend James Kerr, one of the Old 300 Colonists. Kerrville was named the county seat.
- National Museum of the Pacific War is located in Fredericksburg, Texas,
Settlers
Settlers were:
- Spanish
- Mexican
- American
- German
- other
- Of note: from The handbook of Texas: The 1990 United States census revealed that 1,175,888 Texans claimed pure and 1,775,838 claim partial German ancestry. This equals to 2,951,726 Texans with German ancestry (17½% of the state's total population). This gives a result that Germans rank behind Hispanics, and are the 3rd largest national origin group. [6] Most of the emigrant German's tended to settle in a broad, yet fragmented belt.
This is evident in Galveston, Houston, Kerrville, Boerne, Fredericksburg, Mason county, Hondo, Lindsay in Cooke County, Waka in Ochiltree County, Hurnville in Clay County, Russian German Baptist; and Lockett in Wilbarger County into the very heavily settled Hill County north and near San Antonio, Austin, Texas. [6]A majority settled in a broad, fragmented belt across the south central part of the state. This belt stretched from Galveston and Houston on the east to Kerrville, Mason, and Hondo in the west; from the fertile, humid Coastal Plain to the semiarid Hill Country and even Muenster, in North Texas. [6]
- Contributions are Chester W. Nimitz (military), Robert J. Kleberg (ranching), Gustav Schleicher (politics), and Charles A. Schreiner of Kerrville (retail business) German settlements contributed to architecture, food, customs, rock fences, Gothic churches, sausage and sauerkraut and beer-- Texas German beers as Pearl and Shiner (see PEARL BREWING COMPANY, and SPOETZL BREWERY) [6]
Geography
Kerr county is another county of the Hill Country of Texas. Kerr County is fifty miles northwest of San Antonio in the Edwards Plateau region of south central Texas. The irregularly shaped county is bounded on the NE by Gillespie County, on the E by Kendall County, on the S by Bandera County, on the SW by Real County, on the W by Edwards County, and on the NW by Kimble County. The center of the county lies at approximately 30°04' north latitude and 99°20' west longitude. It is named for James Kerr, one of the Old Three Hundred Colonists.
The county covers 1,107 square miles of hilly land with elevations that range from 1,500 to 2,000 feet above sea level. Annual rainfall is thirty inches. January's average minimum temperature is 32° F; July's average maximum is 94° F. The county has a growing season of 216 days.
(1-10 %) of the land is considered prime farmland. In the NW area of the county soils are dark and loamy over limestone; In south and east soils are variable with light colored brown to red soils in some areas and dark loamy or loamy soils over clayey subsoils elsewhere. The county is in the Edwards Plateau vegetation area, characterized by buffalograss, wildrye, and switchgrass, and by live oak, shinnery oak, junipers, and mesquite trees.
The Guadalupe River is an asset for Kerr county and other counties. It begins from springs in the NW part of Kerr County, then flows 255 miles to the Gulf of Mexico . Usually, the river flows gently southeastward. Due to the altitude and a drop of its first 24-30 miles, if at flood stage (when heavy rains have occurred, the river sometimes descends was a wall of water, washing away anything in the path and destroying any obstacles.[2]
The Karst topography contributes to porous rocky surface resulting in many underground caverns.
Adjacent counties
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| Adjacent counties. |
- Kimble County (north)
- Gillespie County (northeast)
- Kendall County (east)
- Bandera County (south)
- Real County (southwest)
- Edwards County (west)
Formed From
Bexar Colony (Land District No. 2.)
Protected areas
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| Capt Charles Schreiner home. |
- Cascade Caverns
- Treue der Union Monument
- Inner Space Caverns
- Natural Bridge Caverns
- Bracken Cave
- Longhorn Cavern State Park
- Caverns of Sonora
- Cave Without a Name.
Demographics
In 2000, there were 43,653 people, 17,813 households, and 12,308 families residing in the county. The population density was 40 people per square mile. Racial makeup of the county was 88.89% White, 1.78% Black or African American, with 19.13% of the white population were Hispanic
Median income for a household in the county was $34,283, and the median income for a family was $40,713. Some fall below the poverty line. The county includes many retired people.
- Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Kerrville, in 1919.,
- Schreiner University- Private university - accredited by Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award masters, baccalaureate and associate degrees, Vocational Nursing, and State board for teacher certification programs.
- The Schreiner Institute was established in Kerrville from 1917 to 1923.
Mooney Aircraft was established in 1929 in Kerrville.
- Kerrville was begun to be called the "Mohair Capital of the World" in 1930
Hospitals--
- Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital, completed in 1949
- Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Kerrville, in 1919.
- Kerrville State Hospital opened in 1951
Highways:
- Interstate 10
- US Highway 83
- US Highway 87
- Texas State Highway 16
- Texas State Highway 27
- Texas State Highway 39
- Texas State Highway 41
- Texas State Highway 173
Cities
Town
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| Old Camp Verde. |
Resources
- Guadalupe River
- Colleges:Schreiner University
- Museum -
- National Museum of the Pacific War- located in Fredericksburg, Texas, (40 miles)
- Kerrville Folk Festival
- Kerrville Kroc Center
- Kerrville-Schreiner Park
- Museum of Western Art
- Riverside Nature Center
- Capt. Charles Schreiner Mansion
Census
- 1860 -- 634
- 1870 -- 1,042 64.4%
- 1880 -- 2,168 108.1%
- 1890 -- 4,462 105.8%
- 1900 -- 4,980 11.6%
- 1910 5,505 10.5%
- 1920 5,842 6.1%
- 1930 10,151 73.8%
- 1940 11,650 14.8%
- 1950 14,022 20.4%
- 1960 16,800 19.8%
- 1970 19,454 15.8%
- 1980 28,780 47.9%
- 1990 36,304 26.1%
- 2000 43,653 20.2%
- 2010 49,625
Notables
- Charles Schreiner (Texas rancher)
- Capt. Charles Schreiner Mansion
- Charles Schreiner, III
- Joshua Brown
- Hermann the Cherusker
- James Kerr
- James Avery - jewelry James
- Florence Butt - founder of H-E-B grocery stores in 1905
- Konni Burton - Republican member of the Texas State Senate born in Kerrville in 1963
- Kinky Friedman - Texas musician, politician, and iconoclast
- Harvey Hilderbran - Republican departing state representative from Kerr County, 1989-2015; defeated for state comptroller in 2014 Republican primary election8
- Jesse Edward Grinstead - author of Western fiction and founding owner and editor of The Kerrville Mountain Sun and one-time mayor of Kerville
- Ray A. Laird, president of Laredo Community College in Laredo, Texas, 1960 to 1974; retired to Kerrville and died there in 1986
- James E. Nugent - former Kerr County attorney and former member of the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Railroad Commission
- Lou Halsell Rodenberger - Texas author; lived in Kerrville in the 1940s when she was a journalist for the Kerrville Times
- Jefferson W. Speck, Arkansas politician, spent later years in Kerrville
- Chester W Nimitz Admiral of the Navy - lived in Kerrville from about age six until his admission to the Naval Academy while in his senior year
Cemeteries
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- Kerr county cemeteries, TXGEN
- Texas Historic Cemeteries/
- Kerr county cemeteries]
- Kerr County Cemeteries, Find a Grave
Sources
- ↑ https://texasalmanac.com/index.php?q=topics/government/kerr-county
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 http://www.co.kerr.tx.us/historical/history.html
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hck06
- ↑ https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsc15
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Kerrville/Kerr-County-Courthouse-Kerrville-Texas.htm#1886
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/png02
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