Timeline of Corpus Christi, Texas

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.[1]

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.[2]
• 1829 - Traders are known to have landed on the coast on the Corpus Christi Bay. No civilization is apparent to traders.[2]
• 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").[3]
• 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.[3][4]
  • 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.[3]
  • Town becomes seat of newly created Nueces County.[1]
• 1847 - Town renamed "Corpus Christi" ("something more definite for a postmark on letters.")[3]
• 1852
  • September 9: Corpus Christi incorporated.
  • Residents elect city council and mayor, Benjamin F. Neal, who served from 1852 to 1855.[5]
• 1860 - Population: 175.[6]
• 1861 - Corpus Christi becomes part of the Confederate States of America.
• 1862 - August: Town besieged by U.S. forces.[3]
• 1865 - Confederate States of America collapse and possession returns to the United States of America.
• 1870 - Population: 2,140.[6]
• 1875 - Conflict between "local settlers and Mexicans."[3]
• 1876 - A city charter was adopted.[5]
• 1883 - Corpus Christi Caller newspaper begins publication.[7]
• 1890 - Population: 4,387.[6]

20th century

• 1910 - Population: 8,222.[6]
• 1911 - Corpus Christi Times newspaper begins publication.[7]
• 1912 - Roman Catholic Diocese of Corpus Christi established.[8]
• 1914
  • County courthouse constructed.[1]
  • 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.[3]
• 1926
  • September: Port of Corpus Christi opens.[3]
  • Intracoastal Waterway opens.[1]
• 1927 - Corpus Christi Public Library established.[9]
• 1928 - Grande Theatre built.[10]
• 1929
  • League of United Latin American Citizens founded.[11]
  • Corpus Christi Caller-Times newspaper in publication.[1]
• 1930
  • Oil discovered in vicinity of Corpus Christi.[3]
  • Population: 27,741.[6]
• 1935 - Del Mar College founded.[1]
• 1937 - KRIS radio begins broadcasting.[12]
• 1940
  • Beach Theater in business.[10]
  • Population: 57,301.[6]
• 1941
  • March 12: U.S. military Naval Air Station Corpus Christi commissioned.
  • "Sea wall" built.[1]
• 1947 - University of Corpus Christi founded.
• 1950
  • North Padre Island Causeway opens.
  • Population: 108,287.[6]
• 1951 - Osage Drive-In cinema in business.[10]
• 1956 - KRIS-TV and KZTV (television) begin broadcasting.[13]
• 1957
  • Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History established.[14]
  • Astor Restaurant established
• 1959 - Harbor Bridge opens.[1]
• 1960 - Corpus Christi International Airport opens.[1]
• 1968
  • Frances Farenthold elected to Texas House of Representatives from the 45th district.[15]
  • Padre Island National Seashore dedicated near city.[1]
• 1970
  • August 3–4: Hurricane Celia occurs.[16]
  • Population: 204,525.[6]
• 1972 - Art Museum of South Texas established.[1]
• 1980 - August: Hurricane Allen occurs.[1]
• 1981 - Sunrise Mall in business.
• 1983
  • "Selena Quintanilla Pérez of Corpus Christi wins the Tejano Music Award."[15]
  • Solomon Porfirio Ortiz becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 27th congressional district.[17]
• 1985 - Port of Corpus Christi designated a foreign trade zone by U.S. Department of Commerce.[18]
• 1989 - Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi active.
• 1990
  • Texas State Aquarium opens.[19]
  • Greyhound Race Track in business.[1]
• 1991 - USS Lexington Museum established.[14]
• 1995 - March 31: Pop singer Selena shot and killed.[20]
• 1998 - City website online.[21][22]
• 2000 - Population: 277,454.[6]

21st century

• 2003 - Corpus Christi designated an All-American City.
• 2004 - December 24: Snowstorm occurs.[16]
• 2007 - Senor Jaime's erected a 12 ft Rooster which is now a city monument. [23]
• 2010 - Only a Handful releases the Corpus Christi theme song "I'm from Corpus" [24]
• 2010 - Population: 305,215.[25]
• 2011 - Blake Farenthold becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 27th congressional district.[26]

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

References

1. Hellmann 2006.
2. Givens, Murphey. "City Built on Old Trading Grounds" Caller-Times. November 25, 2009. Web. January 16, 2015.
3. Federal Writers' Project 1940.
4. Ernie Gross (1990). This Day in American History. Neal-Schuman. ISBN 978-1-55570-046-1.
5. "City of Corpus Christi". Cctexas.com. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
6. "City Population History from 1850–2000", Texas Almanac, Texas State Historical Association
7. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
8. "Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: USA". Norway: Roman Catholic Diocese of Oslo. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
9. "Historical Timeline of CCPL". Corpus Christi Public Libraries. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
10. "Movie Theaters in Corpus Christi, TX". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
11. Lessoff 2015.
12. Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States: Texas", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636
13. Charles A. Alicoate, ed. (1960), "Television Stations: Texas", Radio Annual and Television Year Book, New York: Radio Daily Corp., OCLC 10512206
14. American Association for State and Local History (2002). "Texas". Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada (15th ed.). ISBN 0759100020.
15. "Timeline". Women in Texas History. Austin: Ruthe Winegarten Memorial Foundation for Texas Women's History. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
16. "This Day in Weather History". Aberdeen, South Dakota: National Weather Service. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
17. "Texas". Official Congressional Directory. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1983.
18. U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board Order Summary, U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, retrieved May 1, 2017
19. Vernon N. Kisling, Jr., ed. (2001). "Zoological Gardens of the United States (chronological list)". Zoo and Aquarium History. USA: CRC Press. p. 375+. ISBN 978-1-4200-3924-5.
20. Cordelia Chávez Candelaria, ed. (2004). Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture. Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-33210-4.
21. "City of Corpus Christi's Information and Services Directory". Archived from the original on December 3, 1998 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
22. Kevin Hyde; Tamie Hyde (eds.). "United States of America: Texas". Official City Sites. Utah. OCLC 40169021. Archived from the original on August 24, 2000.
23. . Corpus Christi, TX http://www.senorjaimes.com/. Retrieved March 8, 2019. Missing or empty |title= (help)
24. Only a Handful. "I'm From Corpus". Corpus Christi, TX. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
25. "Corpus Christi city, Texas". QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
26. Civic Impulse, LLC. "Members of Congress". GovTrack. Washington DC. Retrieved May 1, 2017.

Bibliography

• "Corpus Christi". Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory. Detroit: R.L. Polk & Co. 1890 – via Internet Archive.
• Mary A. Sutherland (1916). Story of Corpus Christi. Daughters of the Confederacy, Corpus Christi Chapter.
• Coleman McCampbell, Saga of a Frontier Seaport (Dallas: South-West, 1934)
• Federal Writers' Project (1940), "Corpus Christi", Texas: A Guide to the Lone Star State, American Guide Series, New York: Hastings House, pp. 215–223 – via HathiTrust
• Federal Writers' Project (1942), Corpus Christi, a History and Guide, American Guide Series, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, OCLC 2674098
• 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)
• Harland Bartholomew and Associates (1967), Comprehensive Plan: Corpus Christi, St. Louis
• 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)
• Paul T. Hellmann (2006). "Texas: Corpus Christi". Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 1-135-94859-3.
• Bruce A. Glasrud; et al. (2012). African Americans in Corpus Christi. Images of America. Arcadia. ISBN 978-0-7385-8528-4.
• Alan Lessoff (2015). Where Texas Meets the Sea: Corpus Christi and Its History. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-77192-5.
• David G. McComb (2015). "Coastal Ports: Corpus Christi". The City in Texas: a History. University of Texas Press. pp. 83+. ISBN 978-0-292-76746-1.

External links

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

Images

• 
  After Hurricane Allen, 1980
• 
  Snow in Corpus Christi, 2004