Corpus Christi
Area History

Including Portland and
Padre Island

For many hundreds of years the Karankawa, Lipan, and other Indian tribes occupied the area around Corpus Christi, hunting and fishing
along the bays and islands.

In 1519, the Spanish explorer Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda sailed into the Bay on the day of the Roman Catholic Feast of Corpus Christi (Body of Christ), giving the Bay and later the city its name.

The area remained largely unoccupied until 1839, when Colonel Henry Lawrence Kinney established a trading post on the site of what is now downtown Corpus Christi. This small settlement was originally called Kinney's Trading Post, or Kinney's Ranch and by the mid 1840s became known as
Corpus Christi.

Texas had won its independence from Mexico in 1836, but the area between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande remained in dispute. In 1845, Texas was annexed by the United States to become the 28th State and President Polk sent US troops under the command of General Zachary Taylor to defend Texas' claim to the areas north of the Rio Grande. Taylor established a camp for his army just north of what is now downtown Corpus Christi and spent about eight months there preparing for war with Mexico. The presence of this large army helped Corpus Christi to flourish.

Follow the links below for more information about the History of Corpus Christi