Corpus Christi History by Murphy Givens

Questions and answers

Q. There's an old railroad car north of Harbor Bridge. Do you know where it came from?
   -Ernest Ramey
   A. I didn't, but I made a few calls. I was told the car belongs to Jack Pope. It is on land owned by the port, but at one time was owned by W.E. Pope and descendants. The old railroad car was one of six obtained by the city in the 1970s. The city and the now defunct South Texas Railroad Historical Society planned to open a railroad museum, but plans fell through and the Corpus Christi Museum disposed of the cars. I hear that some deal is in the works to restore this old car and move it next to the Concrete Street Amphitheater for some commercial purpose.
   Q. I bought a saddle with a label that says it was made by Joe Mireur, 1903. Who was he?
   -Catherine Barbaro,
   Portland
   A. Mireur owned, for more than half a century, a saddle and leather goods shop in Corpus Christi. His first shop was at Schatzel and Chaparral. He moved to Mesquite Street, across from the Bidwell Hotel. The 1903 saddle was from his first shop.
   Q. Would you write about the old lighthouse at Corpus Christi?
   -Samuel Guerrero
   A. The Corpus Christi lighthouse on the bluff, above where the Caller-Times is now, at the intersection of Buffalo and Upper Broadway, was built in 1857 to guide ships crossing the bay. During the Civil War, Confederates tried to blow it up, to prevent it from being captured, but the explosion only damaged the tower. It was declared a public nuisance and torn down in 1878.
   Q. Where was Zachary Taylor's camp? Some say it was on North Beach, and others say it was around Artesian Square.
   -Jonathan (no last name)
   A. Fort Marcy, as Taylor called it, stretched for two miles from North Beach to Artesian Square. I found a map showing where the various army units were located. On North Beach (where the Radisson Sandy Shores is now) was the Louisiana Infantry, a volunteer unit. Next, going south, was the Third Infantry, then the 4th Infantry (where the Lexington approach is located). Across what once was once Hall's Bayou was the 5th Infantry (where the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History is located), followed by the 7th Infantry, and then the 8th Infantry (behind the new Federal Courthouse). The 2nd Cavalry was near Artesian Park.
   Q. I have fond memories of La Retama Library when it was in an old house. My buddy and I rode bicycles from Six Points to the library and I can still remember the smell of wooden floors and books. Where was this house?
   -Joyce Price Spellman Lanphier
   A. This was the old W. W. Jones mansion in the 500 block of S. Upper Broadway. La Retama was housed in the old mansion for almost two decades, from 1937 to 1955. The home was torn down in 1957 to make way for a parking lot for the First Presbyterian Church. Jones, a rancher, owned the Nueces Hotel.
   Q. Your mention of Spohn Park in a column baffled me. I've lived here most of my life, and the only Spohn I know is the hospital.
   -Bert Rucker
   A. I don't think most people call it Spohn Park, but it's located where the Gold Star Court is on the bluff. This tract was given to the city in 1919 by John G. Kenedy. He reserved the right to reclaim the land should the city fail to live up to provisions of the deed, which stipulated that it be maintained as a park, that it be kept free of weeds, and that it be referred to as Spohn Park.
   Q. I'd like to know when Kathy Grant - the former Kathryn Grandstaff - lived in Robstown. She grew up in West Columbia, Texas, where both of her parents were school teachers. She went off to college and then California, where she met Bing Crosby. If she was a "Robstown beauty," I'd like to know when she lived there.
   -Marguerite Naiser
   A. She was a senior at Robstown High when she won the Miss Buccaneer Navy Beauty Pageant in 1949. She went to the University of Texas and then to UCLA. She became an actress, changed her name to Kathy Grant, and married Bing Crosby.
  
   Murphy Givens can be reached at 886-4315 or by e-mail at givensm@caller.com.
  
  
  

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