DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'll do my best to do it justice — here's the story of Henry Lawrence Kinney. Now, if you're rolling through Corpus Christi right now, looking out at that bay, you might want to tip your hat to one Henry Lawrence Kinney. Born in Pennsylvania in 1814, trained up as a merchant by his father Simon Kinney, Henry didn't exactly follow a straight road to glory.
He helped lay out the town of Peru, Illinois first — which tells you he had a knack for being somewhere before it was somewhere. And then, in 1838, he made his way down to this particular stretch of Texas. He didn't waste any time.
In 1839, Kinney planted a trading post on a bluff overlooking Corpus Christi Bay. That post opened the way for settlement of what would become the town of Corpus Christi itself. Now, you might picture a wholesome frontier merchant stacking dry goods and keeping honest ledgers.
Well. Much of Kinney's initial trade was in smuggled goods — for Mexican Federalists, no less. The man had range.
And then came a stroke of fortune that only Texas could produce. General Zachary Taylor chose Kinney's outpost as a camp site for his army. An entire army, camped on your doorstep.
Profits multiplied rapidly, the marker says, and I believe it. When the troops moved to the Rio Grande in 1846, Kinney went with them — serving as Quartermaster. He knew which side of a transaction to be on.
Back home, he parlayed all that momentum into politics. Colonel Kinney, as he was known by then, represented his district in the state legislature at various times from 1846 all the way until 1861. He eventually came to own most of the land that now makes up Nueces County.
He sold town lots in Corpus Christi to many of the soldiers from Taylor's army — men who'd camped on his land and apparently liked what they saw. But here's where the story gets complicated, because Kinney was a man who couldn't leave well enough alone. In 1851 he organized something called the Lone Star Fair, meant to draw settlers in.
That enterprise failed. Later attempts to control part of Nicaragua — yes, Nicaragua — failed too. The big vision didn't always match the outcome.
Henry Lawrence Kinney died in Matamoros, Mexico. He is buried there, in an unmarked grave. The founder of Corpus Christi — smuggler, soldier, politician, land baron, showman, and dreamer — resting in foreign soil without so much as a stone to mark the spot.
Texas has a way of producing men too large for a tidy ending.
What the marker says
Known as the founder of Corpus Christi, Pennsylvania native Henry Lawrence Kinney (1814-1861) was trained to become a merchant by his father, Simon Kinney. He helped lay out the town of Peru, Illinois, and eventually made his way to this part of Texas in 1838. The trading post he established in 1839 on a bluff overlooking Corpus Christi Bay opened the way for settlement of the town of Corpus Christi. Much of Kinney's initial trade was in smuggled goods for Mexican Federalists. General Zachary Taylor's choice of Kinney's outpost as a camp site for his army helped to multiply profits rapidly. Kinney served as Quartermaster when the troops moved to the Rio Grande in 1846. A successful politician as well, Col. Kinney, as he was known, represented his district in the state legislature at various times from 1846 until 1861. He eventually came to own most of the land that now makes up Nueces County, selling town lots in Corpus Christi to many of the soldiers in Taylor's army. Not always a success, Kinney organized the "Lone Star Fair" in 1851 to attract settlers. The enterprise failed, as did later attempts to control part of Nicaragua. Henry Lawrence Kinney died in Matamoros, Mexico, and is buried there in an unmarked grave. (1986)