The Kenedy family was instrumental in the settling of South Texas and introducing large scale ranching to the coastal plains. Mifflin Kenedy, a Quaker from Pennsylvania, ferried supplies up the Rio Grande in a steamboat to the Texas troops during the Mexican-American and Civil Wars. Captain Mifflin Kenedy and Captain Richard King became friends and partners in acquiring huge tracts of land in South Texas where immense herds of wild horses roamed the plains. In 1875 Kenedy and King became chief supporters and financial backers of Colonel Uriah Lott in building a railroad from Corpus Christi to Laredo which became known as the Corpus Christi, San Diego & Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Railroad Company. During the last half of the 19th century Mifflin Kenedy created a huge fortune and left a legacy to his family and South Texas. |
Materials originally held by the Agrasanchez Film Archive in Harlingen, Texas. 360 movie posters, 6.727 movie stills, and 253 lobby and window cards pertaining to Mexican cinema from the 1936's through the 1980's, as well as 49 Mexican movies in VHS format, and 100 area theater records, including Kingsville, Alice, and Falfurrias, Texas. |
The Armstrong Family is one of South Texas' oldest and outstanding pioneer families. This collection of approximately 200 negatives and photographs cover the years from 1890 to 1930 but focus on the early Armstrong family around the 1920s and 1930s. |
Col. Benjamin F. Wilson Jr. was born July 4, 1913, he was the third child of Judge Benjamin F. Wilson Sr. and Alice Warnock Wilson. He attended the University of Texas and graduated from Texas A&I University (then College) in 1940 with a MBA degree. Ben Jr. married Florence Collins in Kingsville in 1941. He was mobilized when the Texas National Guard, 36th Division was called into Federal service. He served throughout World War II in North Africa, Italy, and the European operations. Awarded the Bronze Star in 1945, Ben Jr. returned home to Kingsville. He bought and operated Wilson's True Value Hardware. Ben and Florence had two sons; Ben F. Wilson III in 1947 and Allen Collins Wilson in 1950. |
517 photographs taken during Billy Newton's journalistic career in the Kingsville / Bishop, Texas area. Categories include: Kingsville Chamber of Commerce; Mug Shots; Bishop scenes; Bishop churches; servicemen; the 1953 flood; political campaigns; Boy Scouts; Bishop Lions; Celanese; news releases; and school activities. |
The descendants of Blas Maria de la Garza Falcon, father of Nueces County's first settler, his namesake, and a captain who explored much of South Texas and Northern Mexico, have preserved and guarded Spanish colonial documents for almost 300 years. Each generation has added genealogical data and some photographs. The documents span the reigns of five Spanish kings: King Charles II; King Philip V; King Louis I; King Ferdinand VI; and King Charles III. The earliest documents are primarily court records and transcripts. Later documents include materials to support the family’s claim to disputed land holdings in South Texas. |
Don Bryan, a resident of Bishop, Texas, and an amateur historian, gave the South Texas Archives permission to re-photograph the 1,192 postcards & photos, 18 pamphlets, 38 news clippings, and 14 documents from his extensive collection of memorabilia about and from the Border Service, which served on the U.S. / Mexico border following the Mexican Revolution of 1910. |
Professor Emeritus Drewey Wayne Gunn served as an active Texas A&M University-Kingsville University faculty member from 1968 to the present (except for a sojourn in Denmark as a Fulbright teacher and in France as an ESL teacher from 1972 to 1977). He is a literary historian, editor, translator and author. Dr. Gunn donated a collection of Tennessee Williams literature. It includes articles, maps, and plays featuring literature he loves and a field he enhanced with his publications and work. |
The Emily Rutland Art Collection depicts rural scenes from farm life in the early and middle 20th century. Animals and landscapes of South Texas are illustrated in a variety of media including charcoal, watercolor, pen and ink, and lithographs. |
Professional papers, files, and publications from the career of Dr. Frank Dotterweich, who established the Natural Gas Engineering Program at the Texas College of Arts & Industries in 1936. As part of the first of-a-kind program, Dr. Dotterweich published many articles that even today continue to offer foundation research. Included in this collection are copies of most of his publications, some of which are the only copies available, as well as scrapbooks, news clippings, and papers left by his wife, June Dotterweich, who was active in local civic organizations. |
Photographs, records, and original artwork from record album covers of the Falcon Record Company. Arnaldo Ramirez started one of the first two major recording companies dealing primarily with conjunto and later Tejano music. Artists who published on his label included Lydia Mendoza, Freddie Fender, Beto Villa, Los Alegres de Teran, Wally Gonzalez, Tony de la Rosa, Carlos Guzman, and many more. This collection also includes some biographical information. |
The Floyd Elton & Jewell Griffith Rees Collection consists of over 650 books and journals, approximately 2 cubic feet of manuscript material, and over 1000 railroad related photographs. The collection of books focuses on the Civil War and the Confederacy, Texas and Mexican History, and Railroad History. The photographs document every type of railroad activity (especially accidents), objects (like rolling stock and locomotives) and locals (depots and train yards) related to railroads in Texas, and especially in South Texas from the late 1800’s through the 1970's. The manuscript materials deal mostly with railroad activities and history. |
The Fred C. Bryant Collection focuses on range and wildlife management research publications organized for learning and teaching and correspondence. Materials covers time spent teaching at Texas Tech and as director of Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. Wildlife populations are described as to habitats, foraging, and diseases. Planting, propagation and harvesting are examined predominately in the South Texas region. Basic range and wildlife ecological concepts are included. |
The Donor, Dr. Julia Smith is a retired professor of Language and Literature at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Julia Garcia and George Smith were married in 1929 and joined two long time Texas families. Mr. Smith was the descendant of Canary Islanders. |
Graves Peeler who is credited with saving the Longhorn from extinction was many things. In his lifetime he was a rancher, field inspector, range detective, game hunter, and always single. He spent hours on horseback in solitude hunting throughout Mexico, Canada, and the Western United States. He was a man of principle who did not avoid confrontations making him successful as a lawman. Peeler has left a collection or oral history by and about himself. Also included are documents and a large photograph and film collection of his hunting trips and exploration of the West. |
Dr. J.(James) K.(Kellogg) Northway was a long time veterinarian
with the King Ranch at the beginning of the 20th century. Included in the collection he left for the Archives are correspondence, literary productions, photographs, and printed and oversized materials of his early days as a King Ranch veterinarian and his activities.
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Judge J.T. Canales was a leading South Texas Mexican American political leader, lawyer, judge, legislator, landowner, and one of the founders of L.U.L.A.C., the League of Latin American Citizens. His estate collection includes correspondence, historical and religious articles, land records and abstracts, over 50 maps and building plans, and other materials. The Canales family descend from the original Spanish Land Grantee Don Jose Salvador DeLaGarza of the 'El Espititu Santo' Land Grant, portions of which are still owned by the Canales family today. |
Files and legal papers from the court cases of Janet Cooper vs. Kingsville Independent School District. Janet Cooper sued for wrongful termination due to a teaching method she employed called the Sunshine Project. It involved role playing and simulation to dramatize conversion of a radically segregated society to one less segregated. Eight years of litigation resulted and the case went to the Supreme Court. Cooper won the case, was reinstated, and received back pay, retirement pay, and lawyer fees. |
Over 500 photographs, taken by pioneer Kingsville, Texas citizen, James (Jimmie) Andrew Dodd. The photographs are mostly of Kleberg County and the surrounding areas throughout the first half of the 20th century, including Riviera Beach, when it was a thriving resort community; Kingsville as it was growing from a small tent railroad community; and the people who helped develop those communities. |
The Presbyterian Pan American School, began in the first half of the 20th century, was created to offer an education to young boys from Mexico. Rev. James W. Skinner was the first president. The school celebrated its centennial in 2011-2012. Materials encompass the history of the school including yearbooks, photographs, student publications, and correspondence. |
The collection is a one album containing photographs of quarter horses and racehorses on the King Ranch, mostly on the Norias Division, around 1944. Sam Millar was a friend of Dr. J. K. Northway's, King Ranch's veterinarian. |
Julia Sue Runnels Ford was a writer for the 'Kingsville Record and Bishop News' in 1922 when she married Ernest A. Ford Sr in Riviera at her mother's home. The couple farmed, ranched, and were of service to their community in many ventures. The collection consists of Sue's photographs, negatives, two weekly columns published by the paper 'Farm Notes' and 'These are Your Neighbors,' and correspondence. The photographs and negatives are images of South Texas, during the middle of the twentieth century. Country and ranch life are depicted along with images of the people and culture of a small, growing community. The towns of Kingsville, Ricardo, and Corpus Christi are highlighted, along with the livestock and crops of the farms. King’s Ranch and the famous Santa Gertrudis breed of cattle are included. |
The collection of 143 photographs of All-American Javelina athletes from Texas A&I University and Texas A&M University-Kingsville, spanning years 1925-2010 was created for a John C. Conner Museum exhibit, "Javelina Pride: Eight Decades of Athletic Tradition," in the fall of 2011. Included are athletes from football, baseball, basketball, tennis, track & field, and golf. |
Copies of El Rancho, annuals published by the South Texas State Normal School, the South Texas State Teachers College, the Texas College of Arts & Industries, and Texas A&I University, between 1926-1992. |
The Tomas H. Molina Family Collection consists of .5 linear feet of documents including correspondence, personal, political, and religious papers about activities in which members of the family were involved, or discovered in their study of Duval County history. The collection also contains 379 images of family activities and historic events, most prominently, baseball teams from the early 1900s. |
The collection includes records from TAMUK since its beginning as South Texas State Normal School. Individual departments have their distinct finding aid and are listed below. |
Financial records, legal documents, personal correspondence, trade catalogs pertaining to the Wade family of Nueces County, Texas (now Lake Corpus Christi), are included in this collection. The Wade Ranch Papers were donated to the South Texas Archives by Thomas Priestly, grandson of Ezella Buchanan Priestly, who was the sister of LouElla Buchanan Wade, the wife of Wallis D. Wade. The papers were donated July 24, 1984. |
Aalbert Heine donated a collection of documents and books that instruct the care and maintenance of paper. Literature on paper making and paper conservation is included along with the art of making paper toys and papier Mache. |
In 1986 Alvaro de Hoyos, riding a mule, crossed the mountainous territory of Iturbide, Nuveo Leon, Mexico with a thermos of polio vaccine attached to his saddle as part of the Mexican National Polio-Vaccination Campaign, conducted under the auspices of UNICEF, in January and March of 1986. |
Materials accumulated about Alonso S. Perales, a founder of LULAC, a Nicaraguan Consul General, and a longtime civic leader in San Antonio. Perales was Consul general for twenty-five years and had served as counsel to the Nicaraguan delegation to the United Nations in 1945. He was a founder of the League of United Latin-American Citizens and was the author of two books, "In Defense of My Race" and "Are We Good neighbors?" |
Chris Strachwitz who created Arhoolie Productions, Inc. to promote the songs and styles of regionally known musicians donated music in different formats to South Texas Archives in 1997. This collection features mainly Mexican-American music familiar to the South Texas region. |
The Arnold-Hightower Family Collection includes football photographs of games played at Texas College of Arts and Industries (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville) during 1938 – 1939. Donald Hightower and Warren Arnold are featured in the football photographs. Arnold received offers to play for the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Chicago Bears; this correspondence is included. Two other Hightower students during those years are L. V. “Dugan†Hightower and Mildred Hightower. Wallace Arnold married Mildred Hightower and joined the Merchant Marines after America’s declaration of war. This collection contains information about the college days and World War II of the Arnold and Hightower families. |
The Benjamin A. Glusing Collection was donated in parts over thirty years. Ben donated favorite historical books, items of local interest and personal items from his office. The collection chronicles events of his life in Kingsville as a lawyer for the King Ranch and the town. He was involved at the state level as a legislator and the local level in community activities and his church's organizations. |
Mrs. Carrie N. Coleman was a long time public school teacher and active in Kingsville community affairs. The sister of a prominent King Ranch veterinarian she left a collection of correspondence, financial records, legal documents, photographic and printed materials, sound recordings and many local and school newspapers. |
The Chandler family came into the Kingsville area in the early part of the 20th century and helped settle the new railroad community. J.V. was a dentist who enjoyed writing poetry and was ultimately named Poet Laureate of Texas. He was active in local civic organizations and community projects. |
The Charles E. Pulliam Sound Records Collections consists of 36 78 RPM recordings of popular music during the 1930s through the 1940s. Two of the titles of the recordings include Voice of the Mountain Land by J. R. Thomas and The Clang of the Forge by Paul Rodney. |
A Nueces County Surveyor, Conrad M. Blucher’s Collection contains materials related to his activities as a surveyor of South Texas. There are diaries that span from 1905 to 1954 and describe in detail personal and business related events. The maps and blueprints in the collection date from 1896 through the 1950's, with one or two undated maps possibly being from as early as the 1860's or 1870's. There are also books, printed materials and newspaper clipping related to the surveying work done by Blucher. |
David More immigrated to Canada from Scotland in the late 19th century and to Texas in the early 20th century. He worked on various railroad-building projects and farmed in the area of Driscoll, Texas. The collection contains correspondence, family documents, and photographs. |
The Flato family was one of the first families to reside in the newly created town of Kingsville, Texas. Charles H. Flato Jr. moved with his wife Eleanor Louise von Roeder Flato to Kingsville from Shiner, Texas in 1904. During the early years of Kingsville Charles H. Flato Jr. was instrumental starting the education system, establishing businesses, acquiring the "Normal School" (now Texas A&M University - Kingsville), creating many community organizations and promoting Kingsville and Kleberg County. His family carried on his legacy after his early demise. |
This collection includes twenty-six negatives and a few photographs of early 1900 scenes in Premont, Texas. Correspondence concerning the family, schools, and conditions in Premont when wild burros roamed the streets is included along with financial records of Cibolo Ranch where Genoveva Barrera Leach was born and grew up. Leach graduated from Texas College of Arts and Sciences. She taught at Cibolo Ranch, La Copita, and Premont schools. A great reader and local historian she preserved papers and items she donated to South Texas Archives. |
Homer C. Givens was a mechanical engineer and instrumentation man who worked as a Superintendent for the La Gloria gas plant outside of Falfurrias, Texas for most of his career. The collection consists of one hundred and forty-two slides of the La Gloria gas plant, papers, and an autobiographical account of Homer C Givens. Givens had a long career working with and designing equipment used at the plant and was awarded recognition and esteem by his colleagues in the petroleum industry. |
J.L. Allhands was a railroad contractor and author of railroad history. The collection includes correspondence, diaries, railroad construction contracts, financial papers, manuscripts, and research notes for books and articles, printed materials, maps and broadsides, and scrapbooks pertaining to the history of several railroad lines in South Texas. |
Photographs of Lt. Josh W. Oden when he was in Korea and later in Tokyo, Japan in the first half of the 1950s. |
The U.S. Navy played an important role in the Vietnam War by conducting air raids against North Vietnam and evacuating civilians and South Vietnamese during the final days of the war. Most notably the USS Midway (CV-41) played an important role in the Evacuation of Vietnam (Operation Frequent Wind). The USS Midway was an aircraft carrier and the lead ship of her class. USS Midway also participated in Operation Desert Storm. She was decommissioned in 1992 and is now a museum. She will always be remembered for her participation in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War is still a controversial subject to this day. |
The Kingsville Historic Resources Survey Report was a grant funded project to document the extant cultural resources in the local Kingsville Historic District and to develop recommendations for the preservation of the historic resources of the area through potential creation of neighborhood districts or nomination for placement of individual properties on the National Register of Historic Places, the State register, or the local register. In the fall of 2011, Robert Trescott, Downtown Manager for the City of Kingsville, proposed that Texas A & M University Kingsville (TAMUK) partner with the City in the completion of the Inventory and Survey of the local Kingsville Historic District. In July 2012, the City hired Cynthia Martin, Architectural Historian, as a consultant to work on the project. |
With the hiring in 1972 of Texas A&I University at Kingsville's first bilingual teacher in theater, Joseph Rosenberg (formerly with Goddard College in Vermont), the theater department got its first taste of bilingual dramatic art. Rosenberg, whose family was bicultural and bilingual, decided he wanted to combine his Mexican and American cultures and initiated the Bilingual Theater Program.
La Fiaca was the first production that opened in Kingsville in 1973 and was acted in both Spanish and English. Later that summer, La Fiaca, was toured in Mexico.Other productions followed and the bicultural theater exchange program of Texas A&I University-Kingsville was begun and flourished through the year 1977 under the leadership of Dr. Rosenberg. |
Luis Fuentes Sr. was a respected business owner and pioneer of the Kingsville community.He was born in Mexico, his family immigrated to the United States when he was a child. He was a hard working citizen who created his own opportunities and owned several respected clothing businesses in South Texas in the first half of the 20th century. |
The Luman Henry Lord Correspondence includes .5 cubic feet of letters written by Union Civil War soldier, Luman Henry Lord to his family in Connecticut while he was stationed in Louisiana during the Civil War, 1862-1865. Also included are photos of family members taken before and after the Civil War. |
Manual Angel Trevino photographed his military buddies, artillery, bombed buildings, and unscathed European sites during World War II when he served in the medical core. |
Manuel Castro was a King Ranch semi-pro baseball player and umpire. The team called the King Ranch Cowboys began as a semi-pro team of ranch employees in the 1940s. They were better than most teams in South Texas and became known in the region. Castro collected baseball publications in the 1960s and 1970s which his niece, Cynthia S. Castro donated to the John E. Conner Museum in November 1999. The museum transferred the documents to the South Texas Archives in 2000. |
The collection tells the story of Mary Margaret Gussett Ewert's life in South Texas. Her family was involved in building the communities of Live Oak and Corpus Christi and her letters describe their activities. Mary Margaret worked as the secretary for the President of Texas A&I University. She later married Dr. William Arthur Ewert and raised a family. She was active in garden and women's clubs, her church and the Red Cross. She met and developed a good friendship with Lyndon Baines Johnson and his family. |
Personal and public documents of Melquiades (Mike) V. Ybarra who served as a Kingsville City Commissioner, Kleberg County Commissioner, and a Marine Corps veteran of World War II. Ybarra was a longtime civic and political leader in Kingsville who advocated for the rights of Hispanics and was most active as the president of LULAC. Materials from Mike Ybarra include correspondence, service awards, certificate awards, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, Department of the Navy, death announcement, notes of speeches, election materials, LULAC, campaign letters, photographs, and election posters. |
Correspondence, minutes, year books, printed annuals, calendars, scrapbooks and financial records for shows, calendars and yearbooks of the activities of the "Playhouse of Design" an art club originally begun by Mrs. Jake Trussell of Ricardo in January of 1960. Personal letters and speeches by past presidents and large scrapbooks for each year highlighthighlight the society’s activities. |
Thelma Pugh Lindholm, a graduate of Texas College of Arts and Industries, was fascinated by the history of Live Oak County, where she was born and raised. Her family lived and worked the land and the family history is intertwined with the history of the county. Mrs. Lindholm did extensive research in court records to verify the information she collected from her family’s recollections and narratives about their ranching and farming exploits in Live Oak County. |
The Seefeld Family was a proud and hardworking family in the early twentieth century in South Texas, most notably in Alice, Texas, the heart of the oil field industry. Successful and prosperous in Wisconsin, the Seefelds invested money into agricultural and oil interests in Jim Wells County. They were one of the first families to invest in oil, and on September 25, 1920 they formed the Diamond S Oil Company. The first oil well in Jim Wells County was drilled. Unfortunately it blew out resulting in the loss of much of the investment, the ranch and farming plots. The Seefeld Family will be remembered for their hard work,their ambitions and the risks they took in the oil and agricultural industries. |
From England to Nova Scotia to New Orleans and eventually Texas the Simons family kept their history intact by correspondence, diaries, financial reports and ledgers. Their story began in 1794 when Captain Thomas Simons left Liverpool, England and headed for the new world. The family settled in Goliad County, Texas, fought in the Texas Revolution, Mexican-American War and the United States Civil War. They lived in a volatile place and time. Documenting many events and family histories this collection spans over 200 years history of South Texas. |
The South Texas Hispanic Farm Labor Communities Oral History Project is a multi-disciplinary collaboration which incorporates oral history, archaeology, archival analysis, and public humanities to document and preserve the perspectives of individuals in South Texas who lived and worked as Hispanic farm laborers in the region from 1930-1990. |
The Kleberg Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, formerly known as Kleberg County Hospital Auxiliary, came into being on February 14, 1962, with the first election of officers and the ratification of its by-laws by members of the Community Service Department of the Woman's Club of Kingsville, which was the founding organization. The fledgling Auxiliary became independent with that meeting. When the new hospital was dedicated in 1985, the group changed names once again to the Spohn Kleberg Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. This collection consists of documents and photographs that this organization created during their volunteer services over 30 years. |
The St. Theresa Women's Club Records contain articles and records reflecting the history of St. Theresa Women's Club organization of founded in 1949. A book titled "50th Anniversary of St. Theresa Women's Club 1949-1999 St. Theresa's Church, Premont, Texas compiled by Delpha Moran Barrera chronicles the history of the club and the church. |
Stevens G. Herbst is an alumnus of the Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering at Texas A&I University/Texas A&M University-Kingsville. He studied under Dr. Dotterweich who was a pioneer in natural gas engineering and laid the foundation for the college as its founder. Dotterweich influenced many engineering students with his teaching, counsel, and leadership. After graduation, Herbst became an engineer and later created his own business, Rainbow Investments Company in Corpus Christi. He was instrumental in honoring Dr. Dotterweich’s legacy with the memorial project. He underwrote and guaranteed the funding for the project of the creation of a life size bronze statue by Armando Hinojosa of Dr. Dotterweich. |
Alvin Svoboda's love for the one screen theaters of small town America led him to collect ephemera from various theaters in South Texas. He became the owner of the Ganada Theater in Ganada, Texas to preserve the culture of this type of entertainment which began in the early 1940's. |
This Collection includes personal and business correspondence and biographical materials. In addition to these materials are the Carl C. Henry Papers, 1908-1972. Henry was a sales representative/manager for Theodore F. Koch & Co. and relative of Mr. Koch. This collection includes correspondence, abstracts and titles, financial records, and maps associated with the Theodore F. Koch Company. |
This collection is the Texas Historical Commission’s Project: Texas Heritage Trails Program Records dating from 2002 to 2013. The South Texas Region, Tropical Trail Region, covers 20 counties including the Gulf Coast from South Padre Island to Refugio to the Brush Country from George West to Cotulla and Brownsville, all-encompassing the Wild Horse Desert in the heart of the region which includes Hebbronville and Falfurrias. The records reflect the site visits to this region. |
This Kleberg County Extension Agent left his personal records covering the period from 1925 through 1949 of his activities in Kenedy County from 1936-1949, and Jackson County from 1919-1925. As the county agent he helped small and large farmers and ranchers in the two counties dominated by the large and famous King and Kenedy Ranches. Materials include correspondence, annual reports, photographs and newspaper clippings that reveal the agricultural endeavors going on in these counties. |
Carlos F. Truan played an instrumental role in shaping the destiny of the Lone Star State, serving the citizens of South Texas with dedication and vision over the course of an impressive, and indeed unprecedented, career as a member of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senator Truan came from a humble, single parent home and worked hard to earn his college degree from a small South Texas college. He entered the work world in the early 1960s, before the Civil Rights movement had even hinted at including Mexican Americans in the quest for equality and justice. Through the legislation he authored and/or sponsored he worked to make government more responsive to the people it served. |
The collection of graphic material consists of postcards, promotional publications and miscellaneous correspondence cards dated in the early 20th century. Most of the materials are addressed to Claudia Maldonado of San Diego, Texas. |
Collection of publications by Dr. Josiah Cox Russell, a professor of history at Texas A&I University in the 1970s. In 1971 Dr. Russell had been awarded the Prestigious Piper Professor Award from the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation. His work was primarily on medieval demography. |
Dr. Thein Wah, a Professor of Engineering from 1971 to 1984 at Texas A&M University-Kingsville donated his profession papers to South Texas Archives. He authored over fifty original papers and two books in the field of civil engineering. This collection consists of 34 of his published papers. |
Jose Cisneros was a world class illustrator specializing in Mexican, Spanish, and Southwest history. This small collection includes many of his images published in different sources. His first works were done in pen and ink. Horsemen and horses were among his favorite subjects. His book he is best known for is the 'Riders Across the Centuries: Horsemen of the Spanish Borderlands.' |
D.U. 'Buck' Buckner donated his memoirs and personal papers to South Texas Archives to document his family history. He spent his childhood years in Pharr, Texas. Buckner was an alumnus of Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville.) He worked as a Real Estate Appraiser and Consultant. His papers and writings tell the story of his family in the Rio Grande Valley in the middle and late years of the twentieth century. |
C.A. Davis, Jr attended Texas A&I College from 1939 - 1943. During his tenure as a student he wrote articles for South Texas paper as an Engineering Student from 1940-1942. |
Eduardo Hernandez is a Texas A&M University-Kingsville Alum with a B.S. in Criminology. He is currently working on his Masters in Criminology at TAMUK. Eduardo was accepted to the University of Cambridge to complete his second Maters, Philosophy in Criminological Research. Included is an oral history interview describing Eduardo’s life growing up, overcoming challenges and the acceptance process into the University of Cambridge. Also included are newspaper articles, personal photographs and his acceptance letter. |
Materials pertaining to the operation of Tau Beta Pi, engineering honors society, on campus. |
This collection describes Maggie Salinas’ community involvement and contributions to Kingsville during the last half of the twentieth century and first part of twenty-first century. A business owner, Salinas volunteered her time and resources to many local and regional organizations. The projects range from La Posada de Kingsville to being a member on the Advisory Board with the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Engineering Department. |
The new St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway, headquartered in Kingsville, opened up jobs for African-American workers. The African-American workers were not allowed to be in white unions so they formed their own, the Colored Trainmen of America, which was formed in Kingsville, Texas by the black railroad workers of the Gulf Coast Line. |
This ongoing project was created to stimulate interest in the South Texas Archives. It began as collaboration between the University Archivist, Lori Atkins and Patricia Allison, a writer for the Kingsville Record and Bishop News. In 2016 Lori asked Pat if she would be interested in researching collections at South Texas Archives and writing a monthly article in the local newspaper to highlight and describe the contents and families who donated these collections to the university archive. Historical events, local history of Texas A&M University-Kingsville and of this region of South Texas were part of these collections which would be of interest to both communities. The first article was published August 28, 2016 in the Sunday edition of the local newspaper under the title, 'Voices.' Other writings by Pat Allison beyond the 'Voices' articles were added in 2018. |
The Watson Family Collection is a collection from the early settlers of Kingsville, Oliver S. and Ella Watson who built and operated a boarding house on 5th Street. Their children worked on the railroad, joined the service, married and eventually moved to Houston and other places in Texas. The McAllister's, the Sell's, and the Bohanan's were all related by marriage to the Watson's. |
The collection of 2,325 Texanna volumes contains many rare and out of print editions that tell the history of South Texas from San Antonio to the Rio Grande Valley. |
The South Texas Archives houses over nine hundred volumes of books relating to botany, entomology, and succulents primarily from the Lower Rio Grande Valley, a gift of Robert Runyon's family. Runyon's Botanical Library was the largest and most complete private botanical library in Texas in 1970 when the collection was donated. The collection includes correspondence to and from Robert Runyon. Runyon went to the Rio Grande Valley area in 1909 and before 1920 began a decades-long campaign to save the Sabal Texana, a palm tree that was indigenous to the area, through preservation of an ancient grove and planting thousands of seeds in city parks. Runyon is widely known for cataloging the flora of the Rio Grande Valley. With only a rudimentary education and no formal training in botany other than what he learned through correspondence, reading and observation, Runyon, in 59 years as a resident of the Valley, discovered no less than 20 formerly unknown species of plants and one new genus in his area of South Texas. This correspondence relates to his studies in botany. |
Olan E. Kruse came to Texas College of Arts in Industries as an undergraduate and received a Bachelor of Arts in Physics in 1942. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he earned advanced degrees in Physics, taught at Stephen F. Austin College and ultimately returned to Texas A&I as chairman of the Physics Department where he supervised the design and construction of Hill Hall, the Physics Building, served as chairman of the ad hoc committee which established the Faculty Senate and was the founding president of the campus Faculty Senate. |
Dr. J. R. Manning was elected Head of the Department of Business Administration at the South Texas Teachers College in 1925. Throughout his forty-four year career, from 1925 to 1969, Dr. Manning directed the growth and direction of the Business Administration Department and was actively involved with several business-related student fraternities and clubs. Upon his retirement in 1969, the University named the building that housed the Business Administration Department since 1925 in his honor, Manning Hall. He went on to become Kingsville's mayor for three terms. Dr. J. R. Manning was given the status of Professor Emeritus in 1982 and he was the last surviving member of the original faculty of the South Texas State Teachers College, now Texas A&M University-Kingsville. His papers show his academic achievements and his dedication to the Business Administration Department and the University. |
The collection contains articles and short stories written by Edna May Tubbs along with several images of Bishop, Texas and South Texas. |
Agnes Grimm was an author and collector of area history. An area school teacher of Texas history, she kept extensive notes, photographs and maps about the history of South Texas and her personal effort to document it. Her book, Llanos Mestenas, was published in 1968. |
14 negatives (copies) of Mother Mercedes Henriquetta Pena Lane (Mother Lane), her family, and the patients she served as a curandera in the Kingsville, TX area during the 1930s. |
Photograph copies of Worth Wright. He was the superintendent of King Ranch during the 1930s. Various other workers and family members are photographed at the Ranch. |
Kathryn Roberts Fugate Evans came to Kingsville in 1926. She was instrumental in preserving the history of Kingsville writing articles and her book “Come Aboard’ and her involvement with the preservation of historic buildings in town and service organizations. Materials cover her research into railroads, Chamberlain Cemetery, and papers/articles and speeches. Her work on the Kleberg County Historic Commission includes documenting historical events and places resulting in the placement of Official Texas Historical Markers. |
The Anse E. and Mary Windham Family collection chronicles the career of Anse as a Chief Air Traffic Controller in the Navy and the life of both Mary and Anse in Kingsville, Texas. During his enlistment, Anse served aboard the USS Hornet. In 1969 he was a witness to the recovery of the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 space capsules. After his retirement from the Navy in 1978 Anse continued to work as a civilian Air Traffic Controller for an additional twenty years. Both Anse and Mary were active in Kingsville’s local organizations. Anse continued to fly his plane, flying students who were tracking animals for the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute and taking aerial photographs of South Texas. |
Larry Running Turtle Salazar, a Native American of Cherokee and Apache descent donated a collection of digital images of Native American artifacts, gatherings, and rallies. Included is an oral history of his life growing up in San Antonio and Corpus Christi, his spiritual beliefs and his connection to other Native Americans. He is a strong advocated for Native American issues and recognized as a wisdom keeper by his people. |
Dr. Zachary Thomson Scott was the director of the Texas Tuberculosis Association in Austin, Texas. This collection contains 46 photographs of the Mary Kleberg’s maternal family (Masterson), publications, books, genealogical information, and one soil map of Corpus Christi. The genealogical information are on various members of the Scott family and their lineage, along with biographical information on members of the King, Kenedy and Kleberg families. |
The Barlow photographs were taken in 1929 mostly of images of San Antonio, Texas. The Swafford Company, Municipal Auditorium, Fox Company, and Smith Young Tower are featured. The last photo in the collection is of the American Embassy in Santiago, Chile. |
This collection is a result of a funded grant awarded to Dr. Ming Tu. Her research centers on infant and toddler music behaviors and their interactivity with the iPad; music and autism; and the early impact on general intelligence and linguistic skills. The music is created with the use of percussion instruments the children make that imitate the sounds of animals. |
This small collection of Calhoun County, Texas land documents was donated to John Conner for the museum at the South Texas Normal School (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville) on January 15, 1930. It includes indentures for town lots in Calhoun County, correspondence, and a small book, sewn together at the spine titled, “Account of What Has Been Done for My Children,†dated 1786-1807, Vermont, for the children of Jonah Sandiford; Joseph, Benjamin, Clark, Jonah, and Simon. The second accession contains materials of same nature donated by the South Texas Historical Association in 1982. |
Rose Janet Fischer was a citizen of Kingsville, Texas involved with many civic and charitable organizations. She donated yearbooks from the American Association of University Women, Kingsville Music Club, Garden Club, Woman’s Club and the Daughter of the American Revolution. Included in her collection are vintage postcards and books. |
This collection is the results of a grant project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Conner Museum and South Texas Archives worked together to collect photographs, oral histories, and artifacts to tell the stories and celebrate the Hispanic Heritage of South Texas and Kingsville. |
This collection of 121 black and white portraits of past members of Kingsville Lion’s Club was donated to South Texas Archives in 2002. |
The Premont Elevian Club was started in 1955 as a women’s organization. The goals of the members were to improve themselves educationally and to improve the town of Premont. Over the years the group met once a month and organized charitable projects for the needs of the town. The collection includes scrapbooks, ledgers, meeting reports and photographs. |
In 1928 Miguel Avila and his wife Maria Amparo Mendoza opened a bakery in Kingsville and later a grocery store that sold “zebras.†Avila’s patrons asked him for herbs to use in folk medicine. The collection consists of business records, correspondence, publications, and photos of his children and grandchildren. |
Dr. Alberto M. Olivares Collection depicts his years at Texas A&I University and Texas A&M University-Kingsville as a Professor of Chemistry and in 1981 also Dean of the College of Graduate Studies. His accomplishments in his professional life as chairman and member of many academic boards and his service as Dean of Graduate Studies, Dr. Olivares' lifelong service to the university and to the community of Kingsville illustrate his dedication and commitment to both. |
Both David and Peggy Ansel worked for Texas A&M University-Kingsville. They cave South Texas Archives a collection of photographs of events at the university, publications from the university, football memorabilia, and maps of the area. |
Lon C. (Leonidas Carrington) Hill, Jr. was an early developer in the South Texas region. He was extremely instrumental in the growth and development of Corpus Christi and is known as the pioneer of irrigation in South Texas. |
The Sarah Jones Walling Collection includes records from the Kleberg County Historical Commission, St. Anne's Guild at the Church of the Epiphany Episcopal Church, the Agarita Garden Club and historical notes she collected on the Flato Opera House in Kingsville, Texas. Sarah Walling volunteered her time in my civic organizations and for her church, the Church of the Epiphany Episcopal in Kingsville, Texas. |
Edith Head, a local resident of Kingsville and a member of the Grand Chapter of Texas, Order of the Eastern Star donated individual compositions and collections of sheet music mostly dedicated to the Grand Matrons of the organization. |
This is a small collection of materials about events of the families of the Kennedys in Massachusetts and the Klebergs in Texas. Included are published cards of some of the Patron Saints and an undated map of the United States. |
Thirty-six separate oral history interviews, video tapes, slides, photographs and written histories documenting the history of the Black community of Kingsville are included in this collection. Complementing this collection are a three volume manuscript by Dan Eggleston on the Quarters and documents left by Hosea Bush about the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, a Black union of railroad workers. |
In October of 2017 Cynthia Woehl Fulton donated documents, photographs and memorabilia of her mother's, Jean Calhoun Woehl, time at Texas College of Arts and Industries (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville) and of her family who were descendants of Adolf Fuchs, a Lutheran minister, musician, and teacher who emigrated from Hamburg, Germany and settled in Texas around 1835. |
Dr. Richard E. Hartwig, Professor of Political Science and a self-proclaimed 'academic gypsy,' viewed being an academic as an adventure. He traveled widely studying and teaching internationally. Upon retiring from Texas A&M University-Kingsville Dr. Richard Hartwig donated a collection of university records including annual reports, political science projects, curriculum changes and records from the International Affairs Group and Rio Bravo Association. He also donated his research and papers he presented on drug related violence and crime on the U.S. / Mexican border and Latin America. |
The Dr. James C. Jernigan Collection consists of over 280 photographs from 1914 to his retirement from Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville) in 1975. The photos, originally in four scrapbooks, illustrate his life growing up in North Texas, his quest for a higher education and his accomplishments as President of a Texas A&I University. Professional documents and correspondence during his service in World War II are included along with newspaper clippings of major events during his professional life. |
The D.A. Barber collection was donated to the South Texas Archives by Phil McCormick, Barber’s grandson, in 2002. The donation consists of personal and business papers of Daniel Amos Barber who lived in Bee County, later moving his family to Kleberg County. He worked at several occupations throughout his life, first as a grocer, then realtor and lastly as a life insurance agent. There are also papers in the collection that pertain to John Dryder Morgan, Barber's business partner and his son-in-law. The last series of documents are the business papers of Eugene McCormick, the other son-in-law of D. A. Barber and a partner in business. |
Candace Jefferson was born and raised in Kingsville, Texas in the last half of the 20th century. Her father was a union representative for the Colored Trainmen of American in Kingsville when the railroad was young in South Texas. Candace Jefferson first worked in Houston in the Health Care field, later she worked for Condaleeza Rice and met Colin Powell at the State Department of the United States. Jefferson traveled and worked in Egypt and Israel. This collection of papers, documents, and photographs tell the rich story of her experiences. |
Joe Stanley Graham, professor of Anthropology and folklore at Texas A&M University-Kingsville from 1988 until shortly before his death in 1999 lived and worked on ranches in southwest Texas ultimately studying at the University of Texas, Austin with Dr. Amerigo Paredes, a leading folklorist from south Texas. Dr. Graham continued Dr. Paredes work of collecting materials about the rural Mexican and Mexican American communities, the people and their folkways. Hundreds of photographs, interviews, student term papers, and research materials used for museum exhibits have been saved for future researchers of his favored topics. |
The collection contains South Texas Archives Archivist, Cecilia Hunter's, scrapbook from her H.M. King's High School History class in 1979. The contents concern the Texas Legislature and various events and bills that were passed during that year. The other two documents are about Hunter's 2002 Texas Higher Education Star Award. Includes a Summary of the 2002 Texas Higher Education Star Awards, description of award, the selection committee, the recipients for the year, and the finalists. Texas A&M University-Kingsville - South Texas Archives and Special Collections was one of the 2002 Texas Higher Education Star Award Finalists 'Working with faculty members in other departments, projects sponsored by the archive staff offered student’s opportunities to collect historical documents that help engender a cultural pride.' The other document is a memorandum from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in October of 2000. |
L.C. McRoberts (1890-1976) was born in southern Indiana and came to Kingsville in 1910 to work for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. In 1913 he married Ruth Pinion in Vincennes, Indiana and had two sons and one daughter. After leaving the railroad he worked as a cotton broker, insurance agent and realtor in offices with Kleberg County Judge Ben Wilson. He was instrumental in bringing Texas A&I to Kingsville and was on the School Board for 20 years. |
Dr. Joseph O. Kuti was a professor in the agronomy and resource science department since the fall of 1988 when he accepted a position at Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville.) His teaching, publishing and interests ranged from genetic improvement of plants with nutritional and health benefits to environmental uses of native and exotic landscape plants. |
The Kaye Presley Collection contains Texas A&I memorabilia, King Ranch sale brochures, records from a variety of organizations and hundreds of negatives and photographs of students, faculty, and staff from the Kingsville and Riviera Independent School Districts taken when Presley was the Public Relations Specialist for the school districts. |
Dr. Columbus Vandiver Mooney Collection consists of his professional and scholarly papers, correspondence and reports during his time as a Professor of Chemical and Natural Gas Engineering and chair of the Frank H. Dotterweich Committee at Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville). |
The Kingsville Masonic Lodge 913 Records include the administrative documents created during the time that Jack R. Welhausen held the Knight position and other officer positions in the organization. |
The House family moved to Texas from Illinois in 1905. At first John Salisbury House, his wife Ellen Victoria Comeau, his sons Edmund Walter and Charles Percival and his daughter Clara Comeau settled on a farm near the town of Alfred in South Texas. All three of the House men went to work for the railroad, but each one moved on to enterprises that tied them closely to the growth of Kingsville. J. S. House went on to be postmaster and later the city treasurer. Walter and Percy House both went to work for the R. J. Kleberg and Co. Bank for many years. All three speculated in residential and farm real estate and each of them participated in many civic groups. The members of the House family arrived in Kingsville just after it was first created. As the town grew and prospered so did the House family and the records in the House Family Collection trace the growth and prosperity of the town through that of the House family. |
A collection of digital Photographs and documents that tell the story of Vicente Salazar Sr.'s life and family opening and working at the Salazar Store on 6th and Richard Street in Kingsville, Texas, in the early 1900s. |
The Kingsville Garden Club was organized in 1948 and are still active today. Some of their objectives are to stimulate cooperative interest in gardening, conservation, horticulture, flower arranging, and civic engagement. Their civic engagement includes but not limited to: starting junior garden clubs, beautification projects, seminars, publications, flower shows, plant exchanges and fundraisers. |
This collection chronicles the World War II experience of Capen Simons, father of Charles Simons, through personal letters, newspaper clippings, official government documents, Western Union telegrams and photographs. The collection covers his activities before the war, flight training, active duty, Capen going MIA, Capen being a POW, and his recollections after the war. Capen Simons is a descendant of Maurice Kavanaugh Simons of the South Texas Archives’ Simons Family Collection. |
The collection consists of mostly photographs of Alfred and Patricia Gross' professional and personal lives. They are materials from their estate donated by a great nephew of Alfred Gross, Brian T. Grisham. Dr. Gross was the head of Industrial Technology and a long time Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville) faculty member. Pat Gross was the Curriculum director for the Kingsville Independent School District. |
Yolanda Farias donated these documents to South Texas Archives in 2000. The Farias families are direct descendants, on their mother’s side, of Romanita and Luciano Garcia family of Ben Bolt, Texas. The documents were found in an old building that served as a cantina located on the ranch of the Garcia’s. The Garcia family owned and operated a general merchandizing store, in the mid-19th century and later a cantina on the ranch. The journal s are about the general store, but were found in the cantina as it was being torn down. The journal of personal transactions includes information about negotiations for arranged marriages of the family. |
The Hon. John F. Goode, Sr. was Mayor of Kingsville from 1922 to 1930. He and his wife, Sarah H. Good and his family relocated from Selado, Texas. They had five children and his son John F. Goode Jr. and wife, Ethel, donated the photographs of early Kingsville to Texas A&I University, now Texas A&M University-Kingsville in his later years. |
The Marie Bennet Alsmeyer Collection is two stories, one about the life of Marie Bennet Alsmeyer, a freshman in the journalism department of Texas College of Arts and Industries in 1941, she left to join the Navy as a Wave after Pearl Harbor. The other story is about Dr. Otis Malvin Montgomery, a journalism professor at Texas College of Arts and Industries who influenced Marie Bennet Alsmeyer and also joined the Navy during World War II. He tells of his experiences in letters he wrote to his daughter, Linda, titled 'Who Me, Stories from a Charmed Life.' Marie Bennet Alysmeyer tells her story in the published monograph, 'The Way of the Waves, Women in the Navy,' and 'Well Done, Mr. Monty... Carry On! Letters from O. M. Montgomery' by Marie Bennet Alsmeyer. The two became friends in 1941 and remained friends throughout their lives. |
J. L. McDougald, known as Mack, was the Game Management Department Supervisor for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department from the 1940s to the 1970s. In this capacity he also served the King Ranch as the game warden beginning in 1962. By 1975 McDougald was the chief of security for the King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas. His collection of papers reflects his professional life. |
Hosea Bush donated union records of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen to South Texas Archives in 1989. The records date from the 1940s to the 1970s. Bush served as Secretary and Treasurer to the union in the 1950s and 1960s. The collection consists of the administrative records of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. |
Materials from the time Humble Oil/Exxon was created in South Texas. Negatives show the early days of oil and gas development in South Texas. Includes Camp at Laguna Madre Project, Kenedy Ranch; Stratton Camp; and Colorado Camp. Materials also cover the Bridge Club. |
Suzana Brown, granddaughter Paul Park Brown Sr. donated his small collection of letters and notebooks as a classroom assignment for History 1302 with Dr. Leslie Hunter while attending Texas A&M University-Kingsville. As a part of her term project on reporting the oral history of a veteran of a war she has submitted these documents about her grandfather. Included are photographs, notebooks/journals kept while Mr. Brown served in the military during World War II, correspondence during the War and correspondence as he attempted to have a reunion of his fellow soldier. |
The collection was given to South Texas Archives from the estate of Lawrence J. Elling, an engineering graduate of Texas A&I. He received his BS in 1946 and an MS in 1953. He worked for Houston Gas and was ultimately Chief Design Engineer for Entex in Houston. The Archives accepted his thesis, and supporting documentation including class term papers, maps, drawings, and other research in support of his thesis. Also accepted were his diploma, certificates and photos of his family which lived in Kingsville, Riviera, and Vattman for most of the first half of the 20th century. |
Don Nereo Navarro came from a family long prominent in the State of Texas. The history of the family, a copy of the last will of Jose Antonio Navarro, Don Nereo’s grandfather and photographs piece together the family history of this family from late 1700’s to late 1800’s. |
Aerial photos of the Port of Corpus Christi. Photos are of different views of the port, city of Corpus Christi, North Beach, and the bascule bridge. |
John Rollo, a citizen of Australia, donated his collection of digital files relating to the pioneer ranching families of South Texas. These include materials on the King Ranch in Australia, images of newspaper clippings, and publications concerning the activities of the King Ranch in the United States. Materials also cover Mr. Rollo’s genealogical work on important families of the South Texas region including the James Bryden Family, the King Family, the Kenedy Family, the Chamberlain Family, and the Chapman Family. Included in the collection is the background leading to the litigation of Chapman vs. King Ranch Inc. concerning the Rincón de Santa Gertrudis property which involved James Bryden. The genealogical timelines for the various family connections, though not complete, are their footprints from the past and add another dimension to the historical context of the area. |
This collecction consists of records from the organization of retired teachers from Bishop, Kingsville and Robstown organized in 1971 for the purpose of serving as a local unit of the Texas Retired Teachers Association, to help retired teachers maintain identity with the teaching profession, to further the cause of education, to help advance the interests and welfare of the retired teachers, to foster good fellowship, and to cooperate with the National Retired Teachers Association by promoting membership, legislation, national projects and programs of the National Association. Miss Ruby Gustavson was the organizer and first president. |
Photos of Ida Mae and William Schultz who owned and operated Schultz’s Fifth Street Bar in Kingsville during the first half of the 20th Century. His wife Ida Mae operated the Kingsville Reality. They had four daughters. |
Ben A. Lindermann of Alice, Texas gifted South Texas Archives with his family photograph collection dating from 1880 to 1937. The children featured are Cora Mae Lindermann Barden and Ben A. Lindermann Jr., but identification of photographs is not available. |
Photographs from the Valley Boot Company located in Mercedes, Texas. The photos show the inside and outside of the store, workers, and customers. |
The bulk of the materials are photos from La Raza Unida meetings. The other materials are Texas A&M University-Kingsville graduation programs, and a Lantana Duchess award. |
Tom Madison Brookshire moved to Kingsville from Lufkin in 1923. He was a rancher and a farmer and also associated with several Kingsville businesses. These photographs focus on his Brookshire Market on Kleberg Avenue. Brookshire was a veteran of World War I, active worker in the Democratic Party and served as a Kleberg County Judge. He was married to Dixie Brookshire; they had one son, Robert. Tom Brookshire was generous in giving to the city. The Brookshire Pool at the Harvey School Playground and the outdoor pool at Texas College of Arts and Industries (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville) were funded by Brookshire. A Scholarship Fund was set up under the Brookshire Foundation which also funded many projects of the university including the Conner Museum. Tom Brookshire died at age 72 and services were held at First Methodist Church of Kingsville. |
The Kingsville P.T.A. was organized in 1911. In the beginning years the organization was referred to as the Kingsville City Council of Parent-Teacher Associations, District 21 of the Texas branch of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers. The first president was Mrs. Earl Braley. This collection primarily focuses of the meetings from 1969 to 1977. |
The Perez-Saunders Family Collection consists of photographs and legal documents of the pioneer family, Perez of Concepcion, Texas in Duval County in the late 19th century. Jose Inocente Perez and his wife, Francisca Saenz moved to the Concepcion area about 1852 from Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. They had thirteen children. One of their granddaughters, Rafaela Perez married James Columbus Saunders in Brooks County. This collection is a history of the families. |
Joseph William Garrison and his wife opened the Garrison’s Ice Cream Factory in Bishop, Texas in 1914. The following year the plant was moved to Kingsville. There were two branches, Garrison’s Ice Cream Factory and Kingsville Bottling and Ice Cream Company. This start was the forerunner of the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company founded by Joseph William Garrison. Later the company’s name changed to Garrison and Sons, including Joe and Cecil Garrison. Garrison delivered ice cream with his wagon which served as a concession stand where he would sell ice cream and soft drinks at ball games. Later his son Joe would become mayor of Kingsville. Cecil served on the Fire Department and Lion’s Club. |
This small collection consists of photographs of abandoned and decaying buildings in Benavides, Roma, and Hebbronville, Texas and of the restored chapel on Randado Ranch near Hebbronville. All photos were taken in 1999 by Daniel Hunter a professional photographer from San Francisco, California. |
The Calvin Brown Family moved to Rivera, Texas in 1913. Calvin’s great-grandfather, Ignatius Loyola Underbrink, came first from Illinois to sell land for the Koch Land Company. Orlando Underbrink, Calvin’s grandfather, later purchased and developed Loyola Beach. Orlando built King’s Inn, a fish market, and cabins to rent. Margie Underbrink, the daughter of Orlando, married Robert Brown who worked at King’s Inn and invented their world famous tartar sauce. Calvin was born in 1952 and made his living as a fisherman in Rivera. |
Mr. and Mrs. John Schlinke opened Schlinke’s Confectionary store at 107 N. 5th Street in Kingsville, Texas in 1908. The sign on the building read, ‘Ice Cold Drinks, Cigars, Ice Cream, Sodas, Restaurant, SHORT ORDER.’ It was reported to be the first restaurant opened in Kingsville. In 1930 the family changed the business to a shoe repair at the same location. They named it Schlinke’s Boot and Shoe Hospital. A fire destroyed the building in the 1960s and a new building was built in 1969. The Schlinke’s reopened their shoe repair business and continued until 1980. |
S. Burgin Dunn was a veteran of the navy in World War II, taught physics and mathematics at Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville,) had a family and was involved with the First United Methodist Church in Kingsville, Texas. This collection reflects the professional life of Burgin Dunn and his love of astronomy and phyics. |
Carolyn Regan was Carolyn Stromberger when she attended Texas College of Arts and Industries (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville) from fall of 1949 to spring of 1954. Carolyn was involved in many activities and clubs and created scrapbooks of her years at college. This collection contains three scrapbooks illustrating her involvement with the students and faculty of Texas College of Arts and Industries during the years of 1949 to 1954. |
This collection consists of twenty-one photographs of the 1917 class of Corpus Christi High School. It includes photos of Madelyn Fisher, Carrie Stevens, Bernard Gussett, Estelle Weil, Parnot Donigan, Edwin Austin, Holworthy Hearh, Henry Manella, Donald Barnard, T. D. Wilson, Mauda Davis, and Ed Carney Sanders and was donated in 1992 by Lillie Mae Rogers and Nancy Gilliam. |
The Lobrecht Family Collection consists of one hundred, forty photographs and negatives most of which are from the Premont, Texas region in the early 20th century, nine oral history tapes and their transcriptions, a small amount of correspondence and some books. The materials of the collection deal mainly with the memories of Dorr Lobrecht through the oral history tapes and transcripts and the history of Premont, Texas during the 1920s, 30s, 40s by his son Alfred Lobrecht. |
Robert O. Coalson was from Uvalde, Texas and was the brother of Dr. George O. Coalson, History Professor at Texas College of Arts and Industries. While working for U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Division he kept field diaries of observations he made while working on ranches. His diaries detail time, location of ranch, trapping, tagging, and monitoring of wild animals. |
Dr. Edwin Robert Bogusch was born at Mason, Texas in 1905. He received his BA, MA and Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Texas. Dr. Bogusch began his teaching career at the age of eighteen in a one-room schoolhouse in Helotes, Texas. Dr. Bogusch was a professor at Texas A&I College from 1941 to 1974 when he retired. He was named Chairman of the Biology Department in 1948 and served in that capacity for twenty years. While he was at Texas A&I College, he wrote many articles and a few books, produced many films and audio tapes all on the subjects of the flora and fauna of South Texas. Dr. Edwin R. Bogusch died at the age of 80 years old in 1986. |
These papers tell the family histories of Edward Bradley’s daughter, Sarah Bradley who married Archelous B. Dodson. Sarah was known as Bessie Dodson who created the first flag of Texas in 1835. They had six children in Grimes County. One of their daughters, Harriet Houston Dodson, married Samuel S. McWhorter. To this union was born ten children. Samuel served in the Civil War and died young of tuberculosis. The family history is continued to 1967 in this small collection. |
The George O. Coalson Collection consists of 1.5 linear feet of research materials, maps, written articles, newspapers, and books. Most of the materials are copies and notes from sources first printed as early as the mid-1800s up through 1995. Dr. Coalson complies the materials from 1955 up to his death in 1995. |
This collection contains one audio, video tape and twenty handwritten letters of Ramiro Muniz, known as Ramsey Muniz, founder of La Raza Unida in Texas, an incarcerated Hispanic political activist who ran for governor of Texas in 1972 and 1974, each time as the nominee of the Raza Unida Party. Mr. Muniz writes from prison in 2002 to Texas A&M University-Kingsville student, Michelle Arevelo-Ketto, who is researching the Raza Unida Party for a term paper. |
Dr. Otis Malvin (Monty) Montgomery was a journalism professor at Texas College of Arts and Industries. This collection is an autobiographical account of his life from 1907 to 1993. |
Joseph M. and Susan Goffe settled in Goliad County, Texas prior to 1860. They created a furniture business selling furniture, coffins and caskets, orders filled at all hours. Joseph had served as a Private with the Texas Mounted Volunteers in the Mexican War. On January 29, 1887 Susan applied for a widow’s pension to the United States of America, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Pensions and was granted a pension of $8.00 a month. These papers include correspondence, financial records of their business and titles of property. |
Raul Ramiro Villarreal was a political activist in South Texas during the height of the Chicano movement, 1969-1979. He became involved in Chicano activities at Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, Kleberg County, Brooks County and Jim Wells County. Over the years, he evolved from militancy to a feeling that one needed to work for La Raza through whatever avenue was available. His writings and oral history reflect these sentiments. |
Ricardo and Debbie Backal Mexican Art and Rare Book Collectionat the South Texas Archives is comprised of digital files of the loan of Crypto-Judaism monographs dating back to the 1500s, paintings of Spanish and Mexican culture, and Mexican calendars that were created from the paintings. |
The objective of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster high ethical standards in business and professions, personal and community life. This collection of records contains the District 593 and 5930 Directories, Conference Programs, Governor Newsletters, and Assembly Programs from 1980 to 2007. |
The Ladd Family Collection consists primarily of personal correspondence between family members, photographs and scrapbook, legal materials, financial materials. Pauline Schostag Ladd (mother) or Robert Boyd Ladd (son) wrote or received the majority of the correspondence. The correspondence takes place mostly during the 20th century. Both Pauline and Boyd were educators, Pauline at the elementary level and Boyd at the university level. The collection also documents most of the educational achievements of the family, and includes many of the diplomas and certificates. Reprocessing occurred in 2018 with the original accession numbers left on individual items and keeping the original order. |
José Ely Carrales's collection consists of seven RPMs, three created by friends and relatives at the Newberry Record Store in Premont, Texas. Other recordings donated were commercially produced. Carrales donated Civil Air Patrol training documents used during time served with the Corpus Christi Civil Air Patrol. |
In 1970 Richard Mertz, a graduate student at Texas A&I researched the events of Gregorio Cortez's life for his thesis. He focused on the incident where Cortez kills Sheriff Morris in Karnes County, Texas while being arrested for horse theft. The Texas Rangers captured Cortez and there was a trial. The research includes documents about the Rangers, the court case, correspondence, and newspaper articles concerning the case. |
In 1931 Mrs. J.V. Chandler founded The Kingsville Music Club with 65 charter members. The collection chronicles the many programs the club sponsored and a scrapbook dedicated to the 50th Anniversary. |
The Kingsville Community Concert Association was formed in 1948, as part of the nationwide Community Concerts, Inc. of Columbia Artists Management. The goals of the organization was to build and maintain through a nonprofit plan a permanent concert audience on a strictly membership basis. To cultivate an interest in good music, to hear good music three times annually provided by the association. And to foster and encourage public appreciation of music and the teaching of music, history of music, and music appreciation in the schools of Kingsville and surrounding areas. |
Professional papers of Dr. Julian J. Schreur, who taught physics and astronomy at Texas A&M University-Kingsville for fifteen years, are included in this collection. The papers reflect his achievements during his years as a professor and his love of music. |
This Small Scale Collection consists of reference materials concerning Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s proposal to implement a Mechanical Engineering department into their curriculum. These documents pertain to the controversy regarding the establishment of a School of Engineering at TAMUCC and duplication of these types of programs in the South Texas geographic region. |
Dr. George O. Coalson dedicated his entire life to the study of South Texas History. Over a span of 45 years, he created an annotated bibliography that consists of 10 major eras of Texas history from pre-Columbian era to 1995; an additional 4 series of subject matter focuses on transportation, crime, Baffin Bay and miscellaneous. The 14 series are divided into approximately 6,000 different sub-series, and organized alphabetically by subject and year where applicable. |
The collection contains business and financial records from the Cude family farm operating in Beeville, Texas. William Cude was involved in getting roads paved in Bee County and a charter member of Texas Association of Future Farmers of America, and served as president of Bee County Farm Bureau. |
Columbus Walter Hock Jr served in the Army during WWII and was stationed in Calcutta, India. Before and after the war he worked in the oil fields for Braun and Ruthe and later Humble Oil for 53 years. |
Corpus Christi Caller Times “Viewpoints†articles written by Murphy Givens. |
Materials cover the South Texas Association of Biologists including meeting, agendas, minutes, correspondence and includes programs for the Conference on Undergraduate Education in the Biological Sciences, Commission on Undergraduate Education in the Biological Sciences (C.U.E.B.S.) |
Samuel Preston Doughty compiled the genealogy records of his family dating back to the 1600’s to the time when they first immigrated to South Carolina. Doughty, a Certified Public Accountant in Corpus Christi, donated his personal family documents, photographs, and newspaper clippings of his professional activities and accomplishments. He was a Texas A&I graduate and involved with the Alumni Association. His book, Our Doughty Families was published in 1969. |
The family collection of Robert and Melba Gafford begins even before their wedding in March, in Gulfport, Mississippi where Bob met Melba while he was attending graduate training at Keesler AFB. Documents and photographs illustrate their careers and lives in Kingsville, Texas in the retail business, ranching, real estate and service in many civic organizations. |
The South Texas Oral History & Folklore Collection is a collection various oral history projects given to South Texas Archives over the years. This collection has hundreds of oral histories ranging in topics, people, and eras. A large portion of these oral histories are from the founding people who came to the area around the turn of the 20th century. |
The collection consists of three photographs of different subject matter in Kingsville. One photo is of a car dressed up as a parade float; second photo is a portrait of a pilot standing in front of a plane; and the third is a group photo of the Women’s Club of Kingsville. |
Gustav and Ida Adams and family came to West Sinton, San Patricio County, Texas from Guadalupe County in 1913. He transformed the brushland into farmland. In 1914 a schoolhouse was built on land he provided. The Adams Family grew cotton, milo, and corn. In 2013, the Adams Family Farm became a Designated Family Land Heritage Property for 100 years of agriculture by the same family in Texas. |
Peggy (Wright) Westbrook was born in 1931 in Luling, Texas. She was born and married into oil families allowing her to live in places like Australia and Alaska. Peggy is best known for her Santas that she paints from blocks of wood. Over the years, starting in 1971 with her first, she has painted thousands for her customers all over the world. |
The JoRene Cochran Newton Collection accumulated while Mrs. Newton taught art in Kingsville, Texas, first at H.M. King High School and subsequently at Epiphany Episcopal School. Her students did the artwork for the Descant, the literary publication of the high school. Some students have continued as art teachers and as artists. |
Juan Nevarez of Robstown, Texas first worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps in Wyoming to support the family after his father died. He enlisted in the army in 1941; his infantry position was first machine gunner. Overseas Juan was injured badly by mortar fire and spent over a year recovering at the V.A. hospital in San Antonio. He received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his service. While in training he took these photographs, later his grandson John Navares attended Texas A&M University-Kingsville in 1998. He took Dr. Hunter’s history class which required a special project: “La Castana, A Survey of Hispanic Historical and Cultural Resources of South Texas.†For this project John submitted a paper and the 13 photographs that comprise this collection. |
John E. Conner was a member of the first faculty at the South Texas State Teachers College that opened in Kingsville in 1925. He was a chairman of the history department, and later dean of the college. He trained students in history by having them visit historic sites and collect documents throughout South Texas; establishing the Robert J. Kleberg History Club and laying the foundation of the South Texas Archives. He left personal papers, records of the South Texas Historical Association, and the early days of Texas College of Arts & Industries as well as research materials from his work and his study. His son, Dr. William Conner and his daughter-in-law Katherine Smith Conner also gave historical records, and family photographs. |
The Bill and Marjorie Walraven Collection is the library of former Corpus Christi Caller-Times columnist Bill Walraven and his wife, Marjorie K. Walraven. The collection contains more than 700 books Mr. Walraven gathered over his lifetime, his columns for the Caller-Times , speeches he made throughout his career as a journalist and author, and other research notes. The Walravens have had an abiding love for Texas and respect for telling its story and wanted to honor Bill’s memory by making his collection available for use. |
Materials relate to the history of the club from its foundation to present day. Materials include correspondence, flyers, programs, agendas, minutes, and six divisions of the club: Bluebonnet Drama Club, Community Service, NOW, Junior Woman, Flair, and A.W.A.R.E. |
Materials chronicle David Flores’s time in the Boy Scouts of America. Photos include Camp Karankawa, Eagle Scout projects and ceremonies, Camporees, Winter Camp, Summer Camp, and various other activities. |
This Small Scale Collection consists of reference materials from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. |
This Small Scale Collection consists of reference materials concerning to addenda to James Alton & Ross papers, Stock Certificates and related correspondence. |
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Professor Norman Laird (Brownie) McNeil was a folklorist, scholar, and educator who studied and collected the ballads and literature of the Mexican people in South Texas. The collection includes correspondence, biographical materials, literary productions, newspaper clippings, photographs, printed materials, and sound recordings of corridos, ballads, and folk songs of Texas and Mexico, as well as articles and manuscripts on curanderos and folk medicine in South Texas |