This year is the 250th Annivarsary of Laredo, TX.  When were and who
founded neighboring cities such as Corpus Chrisit, Harlingen, San
Antonio, Cotulla, Alice, Brownsville, etc.  Also, was there any
relation between the founders of these and other cities in the area,
or any other pattern?

Dear laredoshistory-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question.

The town of Corpus Christi was founded by Colonel Henry L. Kinney of
Pennsylvania, who came to the Corpus Christi Bay area 1839.

Harlingen, once known as "Six-shooter Junction", was founded by a
local lawyer by the name of Lon C. Hill, in 1910, though it has been
there since 1904 out of necessity for the railroad.

San Antonio was founded May 1, 1718, when a Spanish military
expedition from Mexico established a garrison there on the west bank
of the river.

Cotulla was founded in 1881 when Joseph Cotulla donated 120 acres to
start the new town.

Alice, Texas, founded in 1888, was originally called Collins in honor
of its original founder, N. G. Collins. The name was later changed to
Kleberg, and then to Alice to honor Alice (King) Kleberg, daughter of
Richard King, founder of the famed 1.5 million acre King Ranch. King?s
fortune enabled a number of railroads that in turn resulted in the
founding of other towns, among them, Kingsville.

General Jose de Escandon was appointed by Spain to colonize Tamaulipas
(where Brownsville is now located) in 1748. The area that is today
known as Brownsville was founded in 1765 under the name San Juan de
los Esteros Hermosos. In 1796, the name was changed to Congregacion
del Refugio. In 1821, in honor of the martyred priest, Mariano
Matamoros, who lost his life in Mexico's struggle for independence
from Spain in that same year, the name was changed to Matamoros. By In
1845, when Texas was admitted into the United States, Brownsville,
then known unofficially as Fort Taylor was renamed Fort Brown in honor
of Major Jacob Brown, who was killed directing his defenses against
Mexican forces. In 1848 it was renamed Brownsville and officially
incorporated by an act of the Third Legislature of the State of Texas
in 1850.

Aside from Richard King, the wealthy rancher who was indirectly
responsible for a number of new communities through his railroad and
other investments, the other founders appear to have limited their
devotion to their own respective areas almost exclusively.

I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



INFORMATION SOURCES

ESCAPE TO CORPUS CHRISTI TEXAS
http://www.thecityofcorpuschristi.com/escape/

HARLINGEN TEXAS
http://wintertexans.com/harlingen.htm

AACCESSMAPS.COM
http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/map/US/TX/sanantonio_center

HISTORIC COTULLA
http://historicdistrict.com/museum/exhibits.htm

CELTIC TEXAS PLACES
http://users.ev1.net/~gpmoran/CelticTx2.htm

ALICE
http://www.texas-on-line.com/graphic/alice.htm

BROWNSVILLE
http://www.cob.us/history.asp



SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

Use the names of each community with:

Founder

Founded

Date

Incorporated

Charter

More than expected.  Thanks!