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Texas Counties

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Texas Counties

Texas is divided into 254 counties, more than any other U.S. state Texas was originally divided into municipalities, a unit of local government under Spanish and Mexican rule. When the Republic of Texas gained its independence in 1836, there were 23 municipalities, which became the original Texas counties. Many of these would later be divided into new counties. The most recent county to be created was Kenedy County in 1921. The most recent county to be organized was Loving County in 1931

Kenedy County, Texas

Kenedy County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Sarita
Year Organized: 1911
Square Miles: 1,457

Court House:

P.O. Box 37
County Courthouse
Sarita, TX 78385-0037

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Mifflin Kenedy, an early rancher in the area

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Kenedy County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Its seat is Sarita, and the county is named for Mifflin Kenedy, an early rancher in the area. Kenedy County has the distinction of having the fourth lowest-population of any county in the United States, following Loving County, Texas, Kalawao County, Hawaii, and King County, Texas. It is also the easternmost county in the United States that has more square miles than people. The county was created in 1921 from parts of Hidalgo and Willacy counties. In 1999, Hurricane Bret struck the county, but damage was minimal due to the county's low population. A wind turbine plant is being built near Sarita and is expected to slightly raise the population of the area.

Kenedy County, among the last Texas counties formed, was not established until 1921, when Willacy, Cameron, and Hidalgo counties were reorganized. The stated reason for the county's formation was the considerable distance to the county seats of the other counties. But perhaps more important was the attempt of ranching interests to stave off the growing power of farmers who were beginning to develop the Rio Grande valley. The new county seat was established at Sarita, where John G. Kenedy, son of the founder of the King Ranch, had built his headquarters. Since that time the county has changed little. Although Kenedy County was a ranching area from the advent of the Spanish to the early 1990s, there have never been more than twenty-five ranches in the county, and most of the land still remains in the hands of the Armstrong, King, Kenedy, and Yturria interests. In 1930 there were thirteen ranches in Kenedy County, with an average size of 61,500 acres. By 1945, after several consolidations, there were only seven ranches, averaging 70,130 acres. During the peak years of ranching there were more than 80,000 head of cattle in the county. Although that number subsequently decreased, the county remains an important ranching center. Small amounts of sorghum, hay, and cotton are grown, but livestock and livestock products still account for more than 90 percent of agricultural receipts. In the early 1990s about three-fourths of the land was in farms and ranches, with less than 1 percent under cultivation. Oil was discovered in the county in 1947, and in the early 1990s oil and natural gas accounted for the largest source of nonfarm earnings. Production of crude oil in 1990 was 643,446 barrels; between 1947 and January 1, 1991, a total of 31,800,494 barrels was produced.

More at Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/KK/hck4.html (accessed November 6, 2008).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,946 square miles (5,039 km²), of which, 1,457 square miles (3,773 km²) of it is land and 489 square miles (1,266 km²) of it (25.12%) is water. The area made Kenedy the 13th largest county in Texas in total area. In land area only, it is the 25th-largest county in Texas.

Neighboring Counties:

Kleberg County (north)
Gulf of Mexico (east)
Willacy County (south)
Hidalgo County (southwest)
Brooks County (west)

Cities and Towns:

- Sarita (County Seat)

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."