History of Corpus Christi (Texas)
The city of Corpus Christi is a coastal city in southern Texas . At the 2010 census, 305,215 people were living in Corpus Christi. In its early days, it was known for being a smuggling town that sold contraband to Mexico.
history
Old Indian Trading Grounds
On Corpus Christi 1519, the Spanish navigator Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda was the first European to reach Corpus Christi Bay. The name was therefore chosen in honor of the holiday. Around 1828 the place was known as the Old Indian Trading Grounds . It belonged to Mexico when it became independent from Spain in 1821. In 1829 traders came to Corpus Christi Bay. When Texas gained independence from Mexico in 1836, Old Indian Trading Grounds fell to Texas, although both Mexico and Texas had claimed it.
Kinney's Ranch / Kinney's Trading Post
In 1839 Colonel Henry Lawrence Kinney founded the place as Kinney's Ranch or Kinney's Trading Post, on the site of the Old Indian Trading Ground , to sell weapons to the Mexican revolutionaries. On January 17, 1840, the Republic of the Rio Grandes claimed the land south of the Nueces River , which also included Kinney's Trading Post / Kinney's Ranch. This failed, however, as the republic collapsed on November 6th. The ownership of Mexico remained, with Texas still prevailing. In July 1845 General Zachary Taylor's troops took up position there in the course of the Mexican-American War and stayed there until March 1846. After the war, the mayor is said to have proclaimed that the Mexicans were the greatest plague in the world and had been destroyed by the US Navy should be.
Corpus Christi
In 1847 Kinney's Trading Post / Kinney's Ranch was renamed Corpus Christi. On September 9, 1852, Corpus Christi received local government and Benjamin F. Neal (1852–1855) was elected mayor. The population of Corpus Christi reached 175 in 1860 (according to the US Census ). A year later the place became part of the Confederate States of America . In the February 24, 1861 election of Corpus Christi, 87 voted for and 40 against the secession of the southern states , resulting in the Nueces County result of 164 for and 42 against. Among them were many people from the north who sympathized with the Union, as well as several veterans of the Mexican-American War .
The second week of August 1862 brought about decisive changes. Union warships under Lt. HW Kittredge drove off the Bay of Corpus Christi, a side bay of the Gulf of Mexico , and destroyed parts of the city. Thereupon the Confederates looted the homes of the Union sympathizers. After the collapse of the Confederation, Corpus Christi fell back to the United States in 1865 .
In 1926 the port of Corpus Christi was ceremoniously opened, the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi was established in 1941. In 1959 the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge was inaugurated. The Mexican-American pop singer Selena was shot dead in Corpus Christi in 1995. A highlight in recent history was the 2003 All-American City award .
Corpus Christi Harbor
Corpus Christi deep water port opened in 1926.
Today it is the sixth largest port in the United States. Mainly oil and agricultural products are handled. In 2005, the port reached 47th place in the world rankings for freight tons. This makes the port vital to the economy of Corpus Christi and the region.
Natural disasters
In 1916, Corpus Christi was hit by a Category 4 hurricane . The destruction was limited.
Just three years later, the Florida Key Hurricane hit Corpus Christi and caused massive destruction. After that, a breakwater was built in 1925 so that the next time it would at least not be hit as badly by the destruction caused by the flood. The 1919 hurricane killed over 778 people.
In 1967, after a long break, the next major hurricane hit Corpus Christi - Beulah. It even reached strength 5 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. A total of 688 people were killed and total damage of over a billion US dollars was caused.
The next major hurricane disaster was not long in coming. Hurricane Celia hit the coast of Texas in 1970 and caused great damage, which was particularly serious in Corpus Christi and Aransas Pass . In total, the hurricane killed 15 people and caused over $ 250 million in damage.
Tropical Storm Amelia in 1978 was the next natural disaster. In contrast to the two previous hurricanes Beulah and Celia, however, it probably did not cost anyone their lives and caused only minor damage.
The last major hurricane to date, Bret, hit Corpus Christi in 1999. It was the first of five category four hurricanes in the 1999 season, causing over $ 100,000 in damage.
Individual evidence
- ^ Congressional Record. In: congress.gov. June 26, 2003, accessed May 29, 2017 .