Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the

South Texas South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 4.96 ...

region of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

Nueces County Nueces County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 353,178, making it the 16th-most populous county in the state. The county seat is Corpus Christi. The county was formed in 1846 from portions of S ...

, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The population was 277,454 at the 2000 census; in 2006 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 285,175, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the three-county Corpus Christi Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger

Corpus Christi-Kingsville Combined Statistical Area The Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice Combined Statistical Area is made up of six counties in South Texas. The statistical area consists of the Corpus Christi Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Kingsville Micropolitan Statistical Area, and the Ali ...

. The translation from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

of the city's name is ''Body of Christ'', given to the settlement by the Spanish, in honor of the

Blessed Sacrament The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. The term is used in the Latin Church of the ...

(

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

). The city has been nicknamed ''The Sparkling City by the Sea,'' or "Corpitos" particularly in literature promoting tourism. Before Corpus Christi was known as Kinney's Rancho or Kinney's Ranch it was on a site known as the Old Indian Trading Grounds where traders smuggled contraband goods to sell and trade in Mexico as early as 1829.Givens, Murphey.
City Built on Old Trading Grounds
Caller-Times. November 25, 2009. Web. January 16, 2015.

Texas Revolution and Mexican–American War

Corpus Christi was founded in 1839 by

Colonel Henry Lawrence Kinney Henry Lawrence Kinney (June 3, 1814 – March 3, 1862) was an American politician, military officer, and later filibuster known for founding what became the city of Corpus Christi, Texas. Born in Pennsylvania, Kinney moved to Texas in 1838 and ...

as Kinney's Trading Post, or Kinney's Ranch, a small trading post to sell supplies to a Mexican revolutionary army camped about 25 miles west, just three years after Texas declared independence from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

but the post was located in the disputed territory south of the

Nueces River The Nueces River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, about long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande. ''Nueces'' ...

.
In July 1845, U.S. troops under General

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

set up camp there in preparation for war with Mexico, where they remained until March 1846, when they marched south to the Rio Grande to enforce it as the southern border of the United States.

Civil War

On February 23, 1861, in a statewide vote on

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

, the vote in Corpus Christi was 87 for secession and 40 against, which brought the total vote in

to 164 for and 42 against. There were many Union sympathizers in the city. Some originally came from the North and some were veterans of the Mexican War. In the second week of August 1862, five Union warships under the command of Lt. J.W. Kittredge sailed into

Corpus Christi Bay Corpus Christi Bay is a scenic semi-tropical bay on the Texas coast found in San Patricio County, Texas, San Patricio and Nueces County, Texas, Nueces counties, next to the major city of Corpus Christi, Texas, Corpus Christi. It is separated from ...

and bombarded the city. Stores and houses below the bluff made easy targets for Kittredge's guns. The bombardment did considerable damage to the town. Many of the residents had evacuated before the battle. After it was over, people began to return to town. The Confederates, provoked by the attack, then began to take revenge by plundering the homes and property of known Union supporters.

Port of Corpus Christi

The port of Corpus Christi opened in 1925 after culminating efforts that began as early as 1848 to obtain a deep-water port. The Port of Corpus Christi currently is the sixth largest U.S. port and deepest inshore port on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

, it handles mostly oil and agricultural products. In 2005 it was ranked as the 47th largest in the world by cargo tonnage.

Natural disasters

Hurricanes

Corpus Christi has been affected by many hurricanes and tropical storms. *

1916 Texas hurricane The 1916 Texas hurricane was an intense and quick-moving tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in Jamaica and South Texas in August 1916. A List of Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes, Category 4 hurricane upon landfall in Texas, it ...

* 1919 Florida Keys hurricane *

Hurricane Carla Hurricane Carla ranks as the most intense U.S. tropical cyclone landfall on the Hurricane Severity Index. It was the ninth most intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. The third named storm of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, Carla d ...

(1961) *

Hurricane Beulah Hurricane Beulah was the second tropical storm, second hurricane, and only major hurricane during the 1967 Atlantic hurricane season. It tracked through the Caribbean, struck the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico as a major hurricane, and moved west- ...

(1967) *

Hurricane Celia Hurricane Celia was the costliest tropical cyclone in Texas history until Hurricane Alicia in 1983 Atlantic hurricane season, 1983. The third Tropical cyclone naming, named storm, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 1970 Atlantic h ...

(1970) *

Tropical Storm Amelia (1978) Tropical Storm Amelia was a weak but catastrophic tropical storm that was the second-wettest tropical cyclone on record in the continental United States. Amelia developed from a tropical wave that moved through the Atlantic Ocean uneventfully. Th ...

Hurricane Allen Hurricane Allen was a rare and extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that affected the Caribbean, eastern and northern Mexico, and southern Texas in August 1980. The first named storm and second tropical cyclone of the 1980 Atlantic hurricane ...

(1980) *

Hurricane Bret (1999) Hurricane Bret was the first of five Category 4 hurricanes that developed during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season and the first tropical cyclone since Hurricane Jerry in 1989 to make landfall in Texas at hurricane intensity. Forming fro ...

Hurricane Harvey (2017) Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tr ...

Hurricane Hanna (2020) Hurricane Hanna was the first of a record-tying six Atlantic hurricanes to make landfall in the United States in one year. The eighth named storm and first hurricane of the extremely active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Hanna developed from a ...

Texas Revolution and Mexican–American War

Civil War

Port of Corpus Christi

Natural disasters

Hurricanes

Timeline

See also

References

Further reading