BUILDING THE SEAWALL: The seawall in the 1940s, after it was built. The seawall and the Port of Corpus Christi were both milestones in the city’s development. Caller-Times file

City has 150 years of history
Karankawas, explorers, adventurers all played roles in its development

By Tricia Schwennesen, Caller-Times  

City History From the expert on local history READ IT: Viewpoints editor Murphy Givens’ history column appears each Wednesday in the Caller-Times. HEAR IT: Also, Givens has a radio commentary that airs on Fridays at 7:35 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on KEDT (90.3 FM) and KVRT in Victoria (90.7 FM). CLICK IT: Read past columns at caller.com, keyword Murphy Givens.

An American Indian tribe, a Spanish explorer and a general influenced what would become Corpus Christi, a coastal community now home to nearly 300,000 people.
   Historians credit the nomadic Karankawas with being some of the first people to inhabit this area. And some believe Spanish explorer Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda made the first sighting of the area, on the feast day of Corpus Christi in 1519.
   That historic sighting occurred more than 300 years before the city was incorporated in 1852 - the year city officials use to mark the "Sparkling City by the Sea's" birthday. At the start of 2002, city officials unveiled a new city logo and later held a 150th birthday bash.
   By the time the city held its first City Council meeting on Sept. 9, 1852, it already had a storied history.
   In 1839, Henry L. Kinney, founded a trading post here and called the area Kinney's Rancho, but soon after, in letters, he was calling the town "Corpus Christi," after the bay.
   Six years later, Gen. Zachary Taylor used the area as a military base before the onset of the Mexican War from 1846 to 1848.
   During the war, Corpus Christi became the county seat for the newly formed Nueces County in 1846. The town later became an Army supply headquarters in the 1850s and was incorporated in 1852.
   Corpus Christi thrived as a ranching center and, by 1870, life revolved around ranching and livestock, with South Texas evolving into one the largest wool markets in the world.
   One year later, the city approved a bond measure to dredge a channel across the bay, a move that paved the way for continued economic development in the 20th century. Milestones include the construction of the seawall, and the Port of Corpus Christi, now a gateway for international trade.