Related Collections

Kenedy Family Collection
The Kenedy family contributed 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.

W. L. Wilkinson Papers
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.