St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway
Floyd Elton & Jewell Griffith Rees Collection
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.
Flato Family Collection
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.
James Lewellyn Allhands Collection
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.
Watson Family Collection
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.
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.