Irishtown

Duane's take

The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passing it along. Now, picture a stretch of Corpus Christi tucked between Twigg and Tiger Streets, pressed up against Hall's Bayou on one side and Corpus Christi Bay on the other. That little patch of Ward One went by the name Irishtown — and if you think a neighborhood named Irishtown was home strictly to Irish folks, well, the history is a good deal more interesting than that.

Yes, there were Irish residents at the heart of it, but Irishtown also claimed Anglo Americans, Mexican Americans, African Americans, Greeks, and others besides. It was a neighborhood the way a good stew is a stew — every ingredient contributing something to the whole. Now, how did the Irish get to this corner of South Texas in the first place?

By the eighteen-thirties, Irish settlers were migrating to San Patricio, drawn in by advertising in the northeastern United States — advertising placed by empresarios McMullen and McGloin. Others arrived with the establishment of Henry L. Kinney's trading post.

And still others came after serving under General Zachary Taylor during the U.S.-Mexican War, which ran from 1846 to 1848. Three different currents, all washing up on the same bay shore. The people who settled in Irishtown were working people.

Carpenters and laborers. Farmers and cattlemen. Merchants and blacksmiths.

Folks who built things and tended things and sold things. And they built more than just their own homes. In 1853, a Methodist church took root in Irishtown, and that building did double duty — worship services on one hand, school on the other.

That same year, builders constructed the first Nueces County Courthouse right there in the neighborhood. Then came a second courthouse in 1875, known as the Hollub Courthouse. And a third in 1914.

Three courthouses. One neighborhood. That's a lot of civic weight to carry.

The late eighteen-eighties brought the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway rolling into the city, with a depot sitting right on Tiger Street. Irishtown had a railroad stop. By nineteen hundred, the community had a volunteer firefighting unit — Shamrock Hose Company Number Four, which, given the neighborhood, is about the most perfectly named fire company in the history of Texas.

They also had a baseball team, playing on a field at the intersection of Chaparral and Fitzgerald Streets. And nearby stood Artesian Park, where bands featuring neighborhood musicians held concerts and festivals, and where politicians came to make their case to the voters. A neighborhood with baseball, live music, and a fire company named after a shamrock — that is a neighborhood that knows how to live.

But neighborhoods, like people, feel the weight of change. Irishtown began to decline after the Bascule Bridge was replaced by Harbor Bridge in 1959, and again after the loss of county offices in 1977. Two blows, years apart, each one reshaping what the neighborhood was and what it could be.

And yet — the land remembers. The Bayfront Science Park rose up to become home to museums, convention and event facilities, and Heritage Park, which includes several residences of old Irishtown. That working, storied, stew-pot of a neighborhood didn't simply disappear.

It transformed. And today, the marker says, it continues to be an area rich in culture and heritage. Some places just refuse to let go of what they were — and Irishtown, sitting right there between Twigg Street and Corpus Christi Bay, is one of them.

What the marker says

Bounded by Twigg and Tiger Streets, Hall's Bayou and Corpus Christi Bay, the section of the city's Ward One known as Irishtown included primarily Irish residents, although there were also Anglo Americans, Mexican Americans, African Americans, Greeks and others. By the 1830s, Irish settlers migrated to San Patricio in response to advertising in the northeastern U.S. by empresarios McMullen and McGloin. Others came with the establishment of Henry L. Kinney' trading post or after serving under Gen. Zachary Taylor during the U.S.-Mexican War (1846-48). Many early settlers were carpenters, laborers, farmers, cattlemen, merchants or blacksmiths. In 1853, a Methodist church began in Irishtown; its building provided space for school as well as worship services. Builders constructed the first Nueces County Courthouse that year, followed by the second, built in 1875 and known as the Hollub Courthouse, and third, built in 1914. By the late 1880s, the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway reached the city, with a depot on Tiger Street. By 1900, Irishtown had a volunteer firefighting unit, Shamrock Hose Co. No. 4. The community also had a baseball team which played on a field at the intersection of Chaparral and Fitzgerald Streets. Nearby was Artesian Park, where bands featuring neighborhood musicians held concerts and festivals, and politicians campaigned for office. Although Irishtown declined after the replacement of the Bascule Bridge with Harbor Bridge in 1959 and the loss of county offices in 1977, the Bayfront Science Park would become home to museums, convention and event facilities, and Heritage Park, which includes several residences of old Irishtown. Today, the historic neighborhood continues to be an area rich in culture and heritage. (2007)