Kleberg County, Texas
Kingsville is home to 26 official Texas Historical Commission markers — each one telling a piece of the city’s story. Browse the markers below, then find them on the map and discover more nearby with RoadHistorical.
Formed from Nueces County, created February 27, 1913. Organized June 27, 1913. Named in honor of Robert Justus Kleberg, 1803-1888, a pioneer German settler in Texas, a veteran of San Jacinto. Kingsville, County Seat
View on map ↗In 1846 Zachary Taylor's army marched from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande. On March 10,11, 12, 13, the four regiments in succession camped at this spot on Santa Gertrudis Creek. War with Mexico over the boundary of…
View on map ↗A major South Texas way-station on cotton road, lifeline of southern states in the Civil War. Had water, food, mules, oxen and bunks for drivers of wagons hauling cotton to trade for war goods. Also bivouacked…
View on map ↗Military post on San Fernando Creek, near this site. Guarded the lifeline of the Confederacy, the cotton road, export-import route that ran from the Sabine River in East Texas to the Rio Grande. Manned 1862 by 32nd…
View on map ↗In 1894 this vat-- believed to be the first in the world-- was built to stop the spread of tick fever, which was destroying thousands of U.S. beef cattle. By the 1880s, the disease had become widespread, and official…
View on map ↗As a favored camp, important in Mexico's relations with early Texas. Visited June 1832 by Matamoros citizens on their way to compliment Irish settlers with a feast at Banquete Lake, 25 miles to the north. Gen. Juan…
View on map ↗(Feb. 11, 1887-Dec. 20, 1938) Born in Bastrop County. A state game warden 1930-1938; stationed in Kingsville. He was killed on duty in Jim Wells County when he and other wardens caught men "spotlighting" deer. Married…
View on map ↗(1915 - 1917) Established in September 1915 by Lt. Joseph Dorst Patch, acting under orders of the United States Army during the troubles on the Mexican border. This camp served as the operational base for companies K, L…
View on map ↗Business founded by Capt. Richard King to advance economic recovery after the Civil War had ended in 1865. The King Ranch beef herds were "money on the hoof", but cull animals also had value if by-products (hides for…
View on map ↗(January 30, 1842 - March 29, 1915) Merchant, banker, builder of railroad to the Rio Grande. Born in Albany, N.Y. Came to South Texas in 1868. Chartered the Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande narrow gauge railroad…
View on map ↗Fifty-two years before the celebrated landing of English settlers at Plymouth Rock, in what is now Massachusetts, three Englishmen traveled this South Texas area. They were sailors who had gone to sea in 1567 with Sir…
View on map ↗Natural gas was first encountered in 1912 by Frank House while drilling for water on the Oscar Rosse farm. Other efforts to obtain fresh water resulted in more gas pockets or water contaminated with salt or oil. An…
View on map ↗Styled by standard plans of the builder, the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railroad Company; erected in 1904 of locally made adobe brick, this structure is one of oldest in Kingsville. It has seen interesting events…
View on map ↗Promotional efforts by William D. McNeill (1860-1925) of North Carolina resulted in construction of the Kingsville Cotton Mill on this site in 1921. Interested citizens supported the project with an investment of…
View on map ↗Richard King (1824-1885), a Rio Grande steamboat captain, bought two Spanish land grants on Santa Gertrudis Creek and founded the legendary King Ranch in 1853. He brought longhorn cattle from Mexico and battled droughts…
View on map ↗Completed in 1909, this school building originally housed all grades of the Kingsville school system. The site and funds for construction were donated by school benefactor Henrietta M. King (d. 1925), the widow of King…
View on map ↗Begun by the Woman's Club in 1909, Kingsville's Public Library was moved to this building in 1927. B. E. Giesecke and A. W. Harris of Austin designed the Spanish colonial revival structure, which was built under the…
View on map ↗On this site, part of the De La Garza Santa Gertrudis land grant purchased by Captain Richard King in 1853, has stood each of the King Ranch headquarters. The first, an adobe jacal, was replaced by a frame cottage which…
View on map ↗Kingsville's St. Paul Lutheran Church grew from early missionary efforts of the Rev. Frederick H. Eickhoff, an Indiana pastor working for the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod of Texas. It began in January 1912 as one of…
View on map ↗In July 1904, the railroad reached the new town of Kingsville. The next month, twelve local residents, led by Bro. R. L. Pearce as pastor, organized a Baptist church. Pearce served until 1907. That year, members built…
View on map ↗Tradition holds that Presbyterians in Kingsville first held services under mesquite trees before formally organizing on January 8, 1905. That day, the Rev. A.H.P. McCurdy led several men and women in services at the…
View on map ↗In order to better market and transport cattle from area ranches at the turn of the twentieth century, Henrietta King, owner of the King Ranch, and other ranchers joined to bring the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico…
View on map ↗ON OCT. 11, 1911, THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF KINGSVILLE WAS ORGANIZED, MANY OF ITS CHARTER MEMBERS BEING EMPLOYEES OF THE TOWN’S NEW RAILROAD. WHEN THERE WAS A LACK OF FUNDS TO CONSTRUCT A CHURCH, THE COMMUNITY…
View on map ↗MEXICAN-AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATIONS BEGAN TO APPEAR IN TEXAS IN THE LAST DECADE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. WITH THE POPULATION INCREASE IN TEXAS FOLLOWING THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION, THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BEGAN TO…
View on map ↗As the state sought to expand its normal college system to train teachers, local Kingsville citizens, such as J.N. Bigbee, Maria Toner, Charles Flato, Claude Pollard, R.J Kleberg, and Caesar Kleberg, demonstrated the…
View on map ↗FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF KINGSVILLE The first Methodist worship service in Kingsville was on March 4, 1904. The Reverend C. S. Mills, a pastor from Corpus Christi, conducted the service with thirty-one…
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