DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, friends — and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, Henry L. Kinney was born in 1814, and by the time he founded Corpus Christi he had already proved himself a man of grand ambitions.
But nothing — nothing — quite captured that particular mix of vision and audacity like what he cooked up by October of 1851: the Lone Star Fair. On the surface, it sounded magnificent. A grand fair to boost the local economy, publicized to attract new settlers to the area.
Kinney advertised internationally. He went deeply into debt to build the facilities. He called on Dr.
Ashbel Smith of Galveston, Governor P.H. Bell, and ex-governors J.P. Henderson and G.T.
Wood to help promote the whole affair. That is a serious list of names to have on your side. But here's where the story gets interesting.
The Lone Star Fair was — and the marker puts this plainly — a thinly-veiled attempt to recruit men for the army of General Jose J.M. Carbajal. Now, Carbajal was a Virginia-educated revolutionary who was trying to liberate northern Mexico.
So while Kinney was out there printing handbills and sending word across the world about races and circuses, he was also, quietly, building a fighting force. And the fair itself? On paper it was a spectacle.
When it opened on May 1, 1852, the main attractions included races on a brand-new racetrack, bullfights by the noted Mexico City matador Don Camarena, Maltby's Circus, a theatrical troupe all the way from New Orleans, philosophical oratory, stock and agricultural shows, and exhibitions of horsemanship and wild bull riding, with prizes for all competitive events. That is a program. That is a show.
Kinney planned for an attendance of thirty thousand people. Two thousand showed up. The failure of the fair was attributed to the remoteness of Corpus Christi, poor transportation, and — you can imagine — the revolutionary activity the whole thing was quietly supporting didn't help bring the family crowd out either.
The venture bankrupted Kinney. And before long, the founder of Corpus Christi departed for Nicaragua, hoping to recoup his fortunes somewhere far from the racetrack that never roared and the empty seats that said everything. Thirty thousand dreams.
Two thousand visitors. One man, headed south with nothing but nerve left in his pockets.
What the marker says
Henry L. Kinney (b. 1814), founder of Corpus Christi, began by October 1851 to organize the Lone Star Fair to boost local economy. The fair was publicized to attract new settlers to the area, but was a thinly-veiled attempt to recruit men for the army of Gen. Jose J.M. Carbajal, a Virginia-educated revolutionary who was trying to liberate northern Mexico. Kinney called on Dr. Ashbel Smith of Galveston, Governor P.H. Bell, and ex-governors J.P. Henderson and G.T. Wood to help promote the fair. Kinney advertised internationally and went deeply into debt to build the facilities. When the fair opened, May 1, 1852, main attractions included races on a new racetrack, bullfights by the noted Mexico City Matador, Don Camarena, the popular Maltby's Circus, a theatrical troupe from New Orleans, philosophical oratory, stock and agricultural shows, and exhibitions of horsemanship and wild bull riding, with prizes for all competitive events. Kinney planned for an attendance of 30,000, but only 2,000 visitors appeared. The failure of the fair was attributed to the remoteness of Corpus Christi, poor transportation, and the revolutionary activity the fair supported. The venture bankrupted Kinney and he soon departed for Nicaragua to recoup his fortunes.