Kenedy

Duane's take

The marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passing it along. Now settle in, because this little town has packed a whole lot of living into one spot on the South Texas map. The town of Kenedy sits on ground that once was part of a royal Spanish land grant to Don Carlos Martinez.

That's where the story starts — with old-world claims on land that would eventually belong to a very different era. American settlement in the area came after the Texas War for Independence in 1836, and the land started drawing new eyes. Then, in 1886, a railroad promoter by the name of Mifflin Kenedy purchased land for a townsite right here, and the community took his name.

A post office followed the very next year. Now, you don't get a post office unless people are showing up, and people were showing up because Kenedy sat as a major stop on the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad. The railroad made it real.

Early on, the town had what a growing place needs — a church, a store, a cotton gin. Modest enough beginnings. But by 1906, Kenedy had newspaper offices, a bank, livery and feed stables, and one of the largest cotton compresses in the entire state.

That is not a modest place anymore. Then came incorporation in 1910, and with it — well, a reputation. Kenedy earned itself the name Six Shooter Junction, on account of its standing as a town with a taste for gunfighting.

They say a name like that has a way of sticking. Five years later, in 1915, hot mineral water was discovered near the depot, and the Hot Wells Hotel and Bath House opened up and stayed a thriving business for nearly twenty-five years. Healing waters and a gunfighter's reputation — this town contained multitudes.

Then came World War II, and Kenedy held something darker on its outskirts: an alien detention camp. That chapter belongs to the full story too, and it doesn't get skipped. Passenger train service no longer runs through Kenedy today, but the town is still standing, still serving as an economic center for the agricultural land all around it.

From a Spanish land grant to Six Shooter Junction to those mineral springs — Kenedy has been a lot of things, and it isn't finished yet.

What the marker says

The town of Kenedy occupies a site that once was part of a royal Spanish land grant to Don Carlos Martinez. American settlement in the area began after the Texas War for Independence (1836). Land for a townsite was purchased in 1886 by railroad promoter Mifflin Kenedy, for whom the community was named, and a post office was established the following year. Kenedy's early growth was attributed to its position as a major stop on the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad. Early buildings in Kenedy included a church, store, and cotton gin. By 1906, businesses in the town included newspaper offices, a bank, livery and feed stables, and one of the largest cotton compresses in the state. Incorporated in 1910, Kenedy gained a reputation for gunfighting that earned it the name "Six Shooter Junction." In 1915, hot mineral water was discovered near the depot, and the Hot Wells Hotel and Bath House was a thriving business for nearly 25 years. An alien detention camp was located on the outskirts of town during World War II. Although passenger train service no longer runs through Kenedy, this historic town remains an economic center for the surrounding agricultural area.