Sparkling City by the Sea - Mini History of Corpus Christi, Texas

With a population of more than 300,000, Corpus Christi-a city known for swirling seagulls, swaying palms and a sparkling bay--is the largest of Texas' coastal cities. It's the state's deepest port, and the sixth-busiest harbor in the United States.

Legend says the city got its alliterative name from Spanish explorer Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda, who sailed the Gulf of Mexico in 1519. While mapping the features of what would become the Texas coast, Pineda and his officers named one of the bays they found in honor of the Catholic feast day of Corpus Christi, June 24.

Though the French attempted to establish a colony and the Spanish eventually located a mission within 40 miles of the bay, the first permanent settlers did not come to what is now Corpus Christi until 1839. That year, Henry Lawrence Kinney and William Aubrey established a trading post on the western side of the bay.

Another six years went by before Kinney and Aubrey had much business. Their market finally improved in 1845, when U.S. Gen. Zachary Taylor landed a sizable army at the bay following Texas' admission to the Union. By the spring of 1846, Corpus Christi had a post office and a newspaper. Texas' legislature soon created Nueces County and named Corpus Christi county seat in 1847.

When the military left for war with Mexico, Corpus Christi resumed its status as a sleepy coastal outpost. In 1848 its population was only 350.

In the years before the Civil War, the town continued a slow growth. The bay was not deep enough for sea-going vessels, though some dredging had already been done. In 1862, Union warships bombarded Corpus Christi in what was mostly a symbolic act. Both sides claimed victory, but the town was eventually captured by federal troops. Far deadlier than the opposing military forces was yellow fever, which periodically ravaged the community.

Following the war, Corpus Christi voters approved a $25,000 bond issue to fund the dredging of a channel to connect the shallow bay with the Gulf of Mexico. In 1874, an eight-foot channel allowed steamships to reach the town for the first time. By 1880, some 3,200 people lived in Corpus Christi and it had its first railroad.

The modern history of Corpus Christi began in 1926 with completion of its deep-water port. The same year, Nueces County was the leading cotton-producing county in the nation. In the 1930s, oil and gas discoveries added to the city's economy. Refineries were constructed and Corpus Christi became a major petrochemical port.

World War II brought another economic boom with the location there of a naval air station. In 1985, the Navy chose Ingleside as a homeport. That brought more military dollars to the city's economy.

In addition to its agricultural, petrochemical, and governmental economic mainstays, Corpus Christi is Texas' second leading tourist destination.