Related Collections

Sue and Ernest Ford Collection
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.

Ben Glusing Collection
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.

Texas Tropical Trail Region Records
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.

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.

L.C. McRoberts Family Collection
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.

John Salisbury House Family Collection
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.

Raul Ramiro Villarreal Papers
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.